Northern Soda Company Cherry Lime Soda

I opened this with supper last night, as the 2nd in the pack my wife picked up from Remix:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Cherry Lime Soda,

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix Popcorn and Delights, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was good! Flavorful! The cherry was a bit tart, but with plenty of sweetness to balance it out. And then there's a nice kick of lime as well. This was a classic flavor that both my wife and I loved. A REALLY good soda! 

Score: 9 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Sweet Liberty Blue Raspberry Lemonade

My wife and youngest son stopped by Remix over the weekend, and they came back with a 4-pack of Northern Soda for me:

4-pack on the counter.

The first one we tried!

Brand: Northern Soda Company Sweet Liberty Blue Raspberry Lemonade.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix Popcorn and Delights, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was (unsurprisingly) unnaturally blue. It didn't have much lemonade flavor at all, as it was mostly "blue raspberry." I thought it tasted like a melted blue raspberry Icee, and my boys said it tasted liked a melted Freezee. It tasted good, but those thoughts made it a little more depressing to drink: we WANTED it to be a Freezee or an Icee, and it wasn't. It was just soda. So I have to rank this a little lower than I'd initially rank it because it WANTS US to WANT IT to be something else. But the flavor IS good if you're interested!

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Mrs. Sippy: 1950's Style Spiced Cherry Cream Soda

I grabbed this from Remix recently:

An afternoon treat for me!!

Brand: Northern Soda Company Mrs. Sippy: 1950's Style Spiced Cherry Cream Soda.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix Popcorn, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all, nice play on "Mississippi" (as "Mrs. Sippy") with a paddleboat on the front of the label. Clever. Secondly, the flavor: it was good! It's the best version of what I thought "spiced cherry cream soda" could be. (It's a BIT like a extra fruity Dr. Pepper, but just a little.) The "spiced" bit hits first - it's like an herby note to start each sip. And then it ends with an almost subtle super smooth cherry flavor - something I would definitely call "cherry creme" and not just "cherry." I was afraid this flavor could be too over-powering, but it's not. It's very smooth and goes down easy. It's sweet without being overly sweet. Very unique flavor that DOES taste old fashioned. I love a good unique soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company's Vanilla Bean Root Beer

I opened this during class today:

 

Brand: Northern Soda Company's Vanilla Bean Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was interesting from the first sip. Something about "vanilla bean" made me think it would be a bit smooth and creamy, but it wasn't - there's a slight sharpness to it. It made me pause, but it's not bad! There's also a slight fruitiness to it as well. This was very unique!

In the end, the "vanilla bean" flavor DOES come through, but not before a fruity flavor as well. At VERY first sip, I thought I wasn't going to like this, but even by the end of that first sip, I was on board. This is unique, both smooth and sharp, and has a great flavor.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company's Orange Cream Root Beer

I still have 2 sodas left from my Father's Day variety pack. So I left the "best sounding" one for later, and tried this orange cream root beer:

Brand: Northern Soda Company's Orange Cream Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: When I popped the top, I instantly smelled that smooth "orange cream" smell. And my first sip had a strong orange cream flavor. But then the rest of the sip was very much JUST "root beer." It was almost odd how separate the flavors were. But it wasn't BAD, it was just unusual how the different flavors hit. It's a tasty orange cream flavor followed by a very basic (but creamy and smooth) root beer flavor. Honestly, I liked it a whole lot more than I thought I would.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Butter Scotch Root Beer

I brought this to work with me earlier this week: 

 

Brand: Northern Soda Company Butter Scotch Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This is another soda from my Father's Day variety pack my wife got me from the delicious Remix down the street (click here for a recent post about Remix, and click here for the first time I checked them out). I'm kind of torn on butterscotch flavored things: sometimes it feels too heavy and gross, but other times it's a nice and smooth addition. I tend to like it in a root beer when it's subtle.

But most "butterscotch root beers" aren't too subtle with the butterscotch. And this one was no exception. The butterscotch flavor is quite good and smooth and tasty, but it's just a bit too heavy for my taste. I can barely taste any "root beer" - it's generally just "butterscotch." It's not as extreme as some butterscotch root beers that I've had, but I still wish it was a bit lighter on the butterscotch. It wasn't horrible by any means, so I'll rank this right in the middle...

Score: 5 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Bing Cherry Root Beer

I was excited to try this one from the variety pack my wife got me:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Bing Cherry Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I was excited for this one, and it didn't disappoint! This was pretty unique and really tasty! The cherry flavor is a bit "soft" and "creamy," and it's quite good. It's not a strong cherry flavor, and that works really nicely here. And then that cherry flavor transitions into a smooth and tasty root beer. This meld of flavors works really well - they found a cherry flavor to compliment their root beer. This was fun!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Toasted Pecan Root Beer

I opened my 2nd soda from my "root beer variety pack" earlier today:

 

In front of goodies from our garden.

Brand: Northern Soda Company Toasted Pecan Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I swore that I've had this before, but I found no record of it on this blog. So I was going in for the first time. And it was good! It really wasn't much like root beer, though. It was very sugary and sweet. The pecan flavor was strong and pretty spot-on: it tasted like a pecan pie. A very sweet pecan pie with a lot of butterscotch notes as well. Again, there's not much of a root beer flavor to this as it's more of a "sweet pecan/butterscotch soda" instead of a "toasted pecan root beer," but it's still very tasty!

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Root Beer

I just HAD to start with the "normal" root beer from my "root beer variety pack" that I just got for Father's Day:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I've had this one before, but I made it a point to NOT look back at my old review before trying this again. When I first took a sip, it had a nice, classic root beer flavor that was immediately followed by a pretty strong brown sugar flavor. The brown sugar flavor was nice and a bit unexpected. It was unique and quite good.

So now that I've tried it (again), I looked back to my old review from 3 years ago. I described the aftertaste as "cherry-like" back then, but now I would stick to my thoughts of it being more "brown sugar-like." Interesting. I don't know if it's me or their recipe that has changed. Either way, I gave it the same score now as I did then, so my feelings are consistent!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Northern Soda Company Black Berry

I stopped by Remix quickly this past week to grab another can of Northern Soda:

Brand: Northern Soda Company Black Cherry. 

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all, it took me a few glances to realize this said "Black BERRY" and not "Black CHERRY." I didn't know if it was "blackberry" flavored (which is ONE word according to the dictionary), or if it was like a deep "berry" version of "black cherry" (which would be a good reason for making it TWO words like it appears on the label).

 

Well, I can't tell you if it's "blackberry" or black berry" after tasting it, but it doesn't matter. Because it was TASTY. It had a rich, deep flavor, but it wasn't heavy and/or syrupy. It was light and fresh, but far from weak! My wife usually doesn't share my soda taste (I'm OK with syrupy, and she's not), but she loved this one as well. This was my favorite Northern Soda by far!

(See more cans of Northern Soda at Remix in this post from July.)

Score: 9 out of 10.

 

Northern Soda Company 1950's Lime

I swung by Remix today for 2 small bags of popcorn, and I also grabbed this soda: 

Brand: Northern Soda Company 1950's Lime.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was NEON green - I didn't realize that until I poured a little into a glass for my boys to share. And it was pretty good. It had a strong, sweet lime flavor that was enjoyable. My only complaint is that it was a little medicinal after a bit. Not bad overall, so I'll rank it as average.

Score: 5 out of 10. 

 

Northern Soda Company Root Beer

I grabbed these from Remix a few days ago:

Remix has a large variety of this brand, so I hope I like these!

I had to start with the "normal" root beer.

Brand: Northern Soda Company Root Beer.

Origin: Arden Hills, MN.

Purchase Place: Remix, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: The first sip was pretty "classic" root beer, which is what I was expecting based on the retro can design. (Side note: the cans are just plain aluminum with a big sticker that wraps around it as the label, and that seems unique for canned sodas.) 

But after the initial root-beer-on-the-lips taste, it really ends with a strong unique taste: it's a little "herby" and a lot "cherry-like!" It shocked me at first, but then I really started to like it. Super unique, and fruity. The only complaint is that it tastes just a LITTLE weak. This is totally one of those that everyone might not like because they "took a chance," but I sure like it. It makes me excited to try their maple root beer, and excited to head back to Remix to try other kids of Northern Soda Company sodas!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.