Casey's Cola

We recently got together with my parents for Christmas, and they just opened a bottle of "Casey's Cola" that they didn't want to keep, so they sent it with me:

A few glasses poured out, but still 2/3 full.

Brand: Casey's Cola.  

Origin: Ankeny, IA.

Purchase Place: Casey's General Store, Wells, MN. 

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup. 

Review: This was a bit weird. It had that strong and sharp "fruity" flavor of some colas that I like, but it was super sharp in this one. It was just harsh to drink. It was OK to sip, but it wasn't that enjoyable. I know that there are people that will like this sharpness, but it wasn't for me. It wasn't HORRIBLE, but it's just not what I'm looking for out of a cola.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Casey's General Store Root Beer

My parents visited this past weekend, and they brought up a bottle of root beer from their drive up:

Photo after most of it was drank. Sorry.

Brand: Casey's General Store Root Beer.  

Origin: Ankeny, IA.

Purchase Place: Casey's General Store, Wells, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This had a pretty rich and "classic" root beer flavor. I was pleasantly surprised as I expected a "store brand" to be weaker / stranger / worse. But this was good! The flavor really hit hard, but it was pretty spot-on. It's a solid root beer!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Root Beer Cotton Candy (yes, you read that correctly)

When we stopped at Minnesota's Largest Candy Store last month, I saw a stack FULL of different / random flavors of cotton candy. I just HAD to try this one:

Brand: Chocolate Storybook Root Beer Cotton Candy

Origin: Des Moines, Iowa.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was better than I thought it would be. It was a pretty solid root beer flavor, and it wasn't strange or artificial tasting at all. It was a good, fluffy cotton candy with a fun root beer flavor. I shared it with my family, and they all enjoyed it too (photo above taken in my sister's garage where we stood about and ate this).

Check out all the random flavors of Chocolate Storybrook cotton candy on their website. (They also have 3-packs of "themed" cotton candy like their "Rise and Shine Trio:" bacon, coffee, and pancakes with maple syrup cotton candy!)

Score: 9 out of 10.
 

Millstream Old Time Root Beer

As someone who grew up in Southern Minnesota, I've been raised to have a distrust in all things Iowan. It's in my blood. But my love for root beer is stronger than my negative feelings for Iowa, so I had to try this Iowa-born Millstream Root Beer.

Brand: Millstream Old Time Root Beer

Origin: Amana, Iowa.

Purchase Place: "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store," Jordan, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a unique flavor that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  It's a bit herby with a little bit of anise flavor (but not too much for this anise hater right here).  Good, but not amazing.

Score: 7 out of 10.