Cherry Float Coke Zero

I enjoyed this in Alexandria MN on a family vacation:

On the crowded counter before supper one night in our rental cabin.

Brand: Cherry Float Coke Zero.

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

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

Sweetener: Aspartame and Sucralose.

Review: "Regular" Cherry Coke Zero is one of normal "go to" sodas, so I didn't know what I'd think of this CHERRY FLOAT Coke Zero. I had weak expectations (especially after last week's POOR showing of A&W's Root Beer Float soda). But it was quite good! There was a little extra creaminess to it, but not as far as a "cream soda." It's like a Coke Zero with a little extra vanilla cream to it. Not bad! I poured out a few sips for my boys, and they enjoyed it as well.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Blumer's Root Beer

I opened this with supper last night:

Brand: Blumer's Non-Alcoholic Root Beer.

Origin: Monroe, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was good! It was pretty smooth and creamy. It had a nice hint of wintergreen but withOUT being too much - I like a little wintergreen, but many root beers overdo it. Just a solid root beer.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Big Ben's Lemon Bubbles!

I opened this while doing a lot of cooking last night:

 
Brand: Big Ben's Lemon Bubbles!

Origin: Catawissa, PA.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really sweet. It was a tasty lemon soda - at first sip, I thought "this is like a Sprite or 7Up," but then I realized I wasn't tasting the LIME of those sodas. It was just lemon, but it was overly sweetened to make up for it. Very tasty. Went down easy.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Jones Soda Special Release Zero Cola

I grabbed this from Hy-Vee last week with my son:

 

Brand: Jones Soda Special Release Zero Cola.

Origin: Seattle, WA. 

Purchase Place: Hy-Vee, Eagan, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This had a lot of flavor for a 0 calorie soda! The cola flavor was quite unique, and it had a hint of that "Dr. Pepper bite" to it. It was good! Both of my boys enjoyed it as well. We were happy with this one!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Mug Zero Sugar Root Beer

I stopped at our local "corner store" and grabbed a Zero Sugar Mug:

 
Brand: Zero Sugar Mug Root Beer.

Origin: Purchase, NY.

Purchase Place: Marshall Stop, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This really did NOT taste "diet" or "low calorie." It still had that pretty standard DEEP Mug Root Beer flavor. I was pleasantly surprised! I expected it to be a solid soda, but didn't expect it to taste THAT "normal." If you like Mug and want a diet option, then you need to try this. 

Score: 8 out of 10.

Assam Milk Tea

Last week, my family and I stopped by Shanghai Wholesale Market Place in St. Paul (across the road from Menards in the Midway neighborhood) for the first time. I found an aisle full of drinks:

Lots of fun things to try!

I went back on Sunday with both of my boys (1 boy was gone we we first stopped by) and I grabbed a drink:

A smaller can: 10.48 oz.

The non-English side of the can.

I love things lost in translation: "If sedimentation or oil slick from the milk fat agglomeration
of the case is a product characteristics, quality without fear, please drink at ease."

Brand: Assam Milk Tea.

Origin: Siehe Village, Taiwan.

Purchase Place: Shanghai Wholesale Market Place, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: unknown.

Review: I often get a "royal milk tea" from local tea shops (like Sencha and Niko Niko Boba), so I know the flavor of that... or at least what I EXPECT. This was a lot sweeter! It almost had a lavender flavor to it. I determined that it wasn't lavender, but some other "perfumy" flavor. It was good, but not as smooth as the milk teas that I knew of. The flavor was sweet and a bit unique. It was tasty!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

p.s. I picked up some tapioca pearls at Shanghai Wholesale as well, so I made some pearls to have with my milk tea:

The Potions Cauldron "Witches Brew" Blue Grape Soda

This was $5.99 for a single bottle, but I HAD to try it:

When you tap and then spin the bottle, this happens:

Brand: The Potions Cauldron "Witches Brew" Blue Grape Soda.

Origin: York, England.

Purchase Place: Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was an experience. My boys and I all thought it had good grape flavor and a lot of sweetness - this was a "kids" soda and not an "adult" soda. The flavor was pleasant and it wasn't TOO sweet. The experience of the swirling soda was fun, but I don't know if it was $6 worth of fun. The flavor was good though, and it went down real easy for all of us!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Galvanina Organic Cola

On a camping / mountain biking trip recently, I found this fun bottle of cola - I loved the "embossed" glass:

Yes, that's my boys eating ice cream in the background!

A good head!

Brand: Galvanina Organic Cola.

Origin: Remini, Italy.

Purchase Place: Victual, Crosby, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was a deeply flavored cola. The first part of the sip tasted like any regular cola, but the end of each sip had a deeper and herby flavor. It was very unique, and all of my family who tried it thought it was good (both my boys, along with my sister and my nephew). But we also all agreed that we wouldn't regularly spend $5.50 on this soda like we did at Victual in the cute mountain biking town of Crosby, MN. Fun, unique, and a quality cola.

Score: 8 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.

Buddy's Strawberry Soda

I opened this yesterday afternoon:

 

Brand: Buddy's Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Sleepy Eye, MN.

Purchase Place: Kowalski's Market, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was classically good! It had a strong strawberry flavor (like "candy" strawberry and not "real" strawberry), and it was really creamy - not creamy enough to be a "strawberry CREAM," but nice and smooth. This went down easy and had the perfect amount of sweetness - it was really sugary, but not TOO sugary. This was a treat.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Sno-Cap Root Beer

I opened this while making some ribs the other night (to help baste the ribs, and to also enjoy as a drink):

Brand: Sno-Cap Root Beer.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: Granulated Sugar.

Review: This was pretty smooth, creamy, and tasty! My wife said it tasted like A&W, but it was a bit more unique than that - there was a lot of vanilla flavor, and just a HINT of caramel as well. I don't really care for caramel in root beer, but this is subtle enough that it doesn't ruin it.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop

I cracked into this at work:

Brand: Premium Fitz's Pumpkin Pop.

Origin: St. Louis, MO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: I was leary about this from the start. If I hadn't read "pumpkin" on the label, I would NOT have known it was supposed to be pumpkin! It was very heavy on the cinnamon - like baking cinnamon and not "red hot" cinnamon. I think they were going for like a "pumpkin spice" but made it very "spice"-heavy. In this case, it tasted all of cinnamon spice.

Now, all that being said, it was GOOD! It still tasted good. It was sweet and dessert-like. This one surprised me!

Score: 8 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.

Dublin Texas Founder's Recipe Cola

I brought this to work with me this morning:

 
Brand: Dublin Texas Founder's Recipe Cola

Origin: Dublin, Texas.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a deep, rich flavor from the first sip! There was a unique sweetness to this, and then I realized it was the "cinnamon flavoring" in the ingredients list - it had a very smooth and rich cinnamon flavor (not like a sharp "red hot" flavor, but like deep baking cinnamon taste). A bit unique, and quite good. I enjoyed this!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Baumeister Vanilla Cream Soda

I've enjoyed Baumeister sodas over the years, so I had high hopes for this:

 
Brand: Baumeister Vanilla Cream Soda.

Origin: Green Bay, WI.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This soda was very sweet and tasty like some other Baumeister sodas that I've had. Both the VANILLA and the CREAM were intense - I don't know that I've had a strong vanilla flavor in a soda before. And it wasn't too much - it was really nice. It was creamy and smooth and went down easy. It was quite sweet and I'd feel overly sugared-out if I were to have more than 1 bottle of this, but the flavor was nice and JUST ON THE VERGE of being too much.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Blumers Root Beer

I brought another soda to class with me this past week:

 
Brand: Blumers Root Beer.

Origin: Monroe, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was smooooth! It had a pretty classic root beer flavor with a hint of wintergreen, but it didn't have too much of anything. It really fell on the "smooth" side of root beer (on the "smooth" to "bite" scale). It was frothy and pretty tasty. It wasn't anything unique or amazing, but it was a solid root beer!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Twig's Diet Forget Me Not Grape

I opened this during darkroom time in class earlier today:

 

Brand: Twig's Diet Forget Me Not Grape.  

Origin: Shawano, WI.

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

Sweetener: Sucralose.

Review: This was my first soda from my renewed stash from my run to MN's Largest Candy Store last month before they closed for the season. I've always had decent luck with Twig sodas, and this one didn't disappoint. It does NOT taste diet - it has a full, rich, sugary flavor. There might be the SLIGHTEST "chemically" taste in the aftertaste, but I have to concentrate to really notice if it's there. This was good! (Oh, and a portion of sales goes to the "Forget Me Not Fund" in support of Alzheimer's awareness and education - hence the name and purple ribbons on the bottle.)

Score: 8 out of 10.

A-Treat Draft Style Birch Beer

This had been sitting in my fridge for a while, and I finally opened it:

 

Brand: A-Treat Draft Style Birch Beer.

Origin: Orefield, PA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Something about the kind of bland logo made me less excited to try this. But the first sip changed that pretty quickly! This was a real solid soda! I often don't care for birch beers, but this one tasted a lot like root beer - I mean... many of them do, but this one didn't disappoint. It's a bit heavy on the wintergreen (not TOO heavy) and it goes down smooth. A surprisingly fun soda! 

Score: 8.5 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.

Calypso Lemon Tea

This is my first and might be my last review of a bottled tea:

Brand: Calypso Lemon Tea.

Origin: Milwaukee, WI (even though its tagline is "Taste Of The Island").

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was good. It was fine. It was what you'd expect. I was in the mood for a lemon tea when I was walking through Menards, and this hit the spot. It was sweet and lemony and had a good tea flavor. It tasted like every-other sort of lemon tea or lemonade tea or Arnold Palmer that I've ever had. So that's why I say I won't review more things like this, as they are all just decent, refreshing, and similar. Yes, I'm sure there's a difference between different brands, but I don't have them nearly enough to compare flavors. Maybe someday... but I'm not planning on it right now.

Score: 8 out of 10.