Liquid Death Killer Cola Flavored Sparkling Water

On Saturday, I stopped at "Five Below" with my son so he could shop for his girlfriend, and I grabbed a Liquid Death. On Sunday, I opened it while I cooked supper:

I was ready to "murder my thirst" as it says at the bottom.  ;)

 

Brand: Liquid Death Killer Cola Flavored Sparkling Water.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Five Below, Roseville, MN.

Sweetener: Agave Nectar and Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: First of all, you have to note that it's a "flavored sparkling water" and not a "soda." It's not nearly as sweet as you'd expect a soda to be. But with both agave and stevia, it's still PLENTY sweet - it's not like a La Croix or something.

I don't know if I would have labeled this as a "cola" by just sipping it blindly. It had a real fruity / floral sweetness to it, and a bit of that "sharpness" that stevia tends to add. It wasn't a bad flavor, but it really wasn't what I'd say was "cola." In the end, I didn't care for the sharpness it had (even though it was only slightly carbonated which helped, because otherwise it would have been VERY "sharp"), and the flavor wasn't what I expected. The sweetness was good, so I'll give this a middle-of-the-road score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water

I think when I grabbed this, I thought it was soda, but it was unsweetened flavored water:

Brand: Northwoods "The Squeeze:" Lime Mint Soda Water.

Origin: Williamsburg, MI.

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

Sweetener: None.

Review: I *think* I thought this was a NorthSTAR and not a NorthWOODS soda when I grabbed it. (And I thought it WAS a soda and not a water.) Oh well. The label was cool and pulled me in. The first sip reminded me of La Croix Lime (or lemon?) that I got from my uncle as a kid. So that was decent. And then each sip ended with that hint of mint flavor, and that was a nice combo with the lime. Not nearly as sweet as a soda (obviously), but still a fun drink.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Spindrift Lime Sparkling Water

This is NOT going to turn into a "sparkling water" blog, but I happened to grab this last week and figured I'd review it. 

At work with photo paper, negatives, and the darkroom door in the background.

Brand: Spindrift Lime Sparkling Water.  

Origin: Newton, MA.

Purchase Place: Menards, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I was walking through Menards and saw these large cans, and they looked good. So I grabbed one. But I was pretty let down with my first sip. Yes, I get that it's JUST carbonated water and lime juice with no sweetener, but the lime flavor had an odd almost fruitiness to it (and not in a good way). I was expecting (and OK with) a sharper citrus punch, and it didn't have that. I didn't expect a smoother lime water - I feel like that wasn't what I signed up for.

But truth be told, it grew on me a bit as I sipped on these 16 ounces. Part of that might have been just figuring out what the flavor was and slowly becoming OK with that. It went from maybe a score of 2 or 3 at the start to more like a 4 by the end of the can. So I still don't love it, but it's not completely horrible.

Score: 4 out of 10.

The First Taste of La Croix

Fora the Red Drink by Casamara Club

My boys and I recently got back from 3 days of mountain biking in Cuyuna State Park. On our 2nd day, I found this cool looking can at a fancy ice cream shop:

On the ladder of my boys' bunk bed at our small hotel.

Look at that wild ingredients list! Grapefruit Peel? Rhubarb Root? Black pepper?!?

Brand: Fora the Red Drink by Casamara Club.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Victual, Crosby, MN.

Sweetener: Demerara Cane Sugar.

Review: This tasted unlike anything I've ever had. It's basically a flavored, carbonated, and lightly sweetened water. (And it's just BARELY light pink, so I don't know that it deserves to be called "the red drink.") It initially has the citrus hit of lemon, but then the flavor goes much deeper than that. I feel like the black pepper gives it almost a ginger-like "spiciness," and the hibiscus and rose definitely give it some flowery notes. (And maybe that's some of the strawberry coming through as well.) 

Honestly, I didn't love it, but I enjoyed it because it was so unique! My wife (who loves La Croix and Bubly waters) could have enjoyed this. It's a bit sweeter than La Croix as there's actually 20 calories of sugar in this, and I appreciated that. I'll give it an average 5, although the experience was higher and the flavor was lower.

Score: 5 out of 10.

New York Seltzer Root Beer Soda

My wife brought this home for me from the grocery store: 

This was sort of an accidental re-review. I had this YEARS ago and I felt like I didn't like it, so I've been ignoring "New York Seltzers" when I see them around. But as it turns out, I ranked it a 6.5 when I first had it nearly 6 years ago, and that's not horrible. So when my wife brought this home for me, I had to try it again.

Brand: New York Seltzer Root Beer Soda.

Origin: Walnut, CA.

Purchase Place: Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Yep, not horrible. It has a decent root beer flavor, but you NEED to keep in mind that it's water. If you want "root beer," don't have this. This is a sparkling root beer flavored water. Check out my first review, because that still holds pretty true. I think it's time to try a few more of these seltzers...

Score: 6.5 out of 10.  (still)

Topo Chico Grapefruit Mineral Water

I cracked into this last night:

Brand: Topo Chico Grapefruit Mineral Water.

Origin: Monterrey, Mexico.

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

Sweetener: None.

Review: I saw "grapefruit" on the label, but I didn't realize this was just mineral water until my first sip. It was decent as no-calorie slightly-flavored water. It was like a fancy La Croix. Nothing amazing, but still refreshing. I'll give it an average score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Vanilla Hi Ball Energy

I did a triathlon 2 weeks ago, and these were being handed out at the finish:

Brand: Vanilla Hi Ball Energy.

Origin: San Francisco, CA.

Purchase Place: Maple Grove Triathlon.

Sweetener: None.

Review: I saw a woman at the race dumping hers on the ground, so I didn't have high hopes. Turns out, she was 100% justified. This was horrible. It tasted like the worst possible version of La Croix water. The vanilla flavor was OK, but NOT in an unsweetened carbonated water drink. Gah. It needed about 50 grams of sugar to be drinkable. Disgusting. I only could manage a few sips of this.

Score: 1 out of 10.

Original New York Seltzer Black Cherry Soda

I brought this to my class yesterday:

Brand: Original New York Seltzer Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Walnut, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: So don't think that this is "soda" - it's really more of a flavored water. With 90 calories. But this was pretty good. The root beer version of this was OK, but this was a bit better. (Less weird than the root beer version.) It has a smooth black cherry flavor, and then a bit of "crispness" from the carbonated water. Not bad.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.

Coca Cola > Water

The logic is sound.  Down with water.

Original New York Seltzer Root Beer Soda

I was intrigued by this tiny bottle, so I brought it to class with me today:

Brand: Original New York Seltzer Root Beer Soda.

Origin: Walnut, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This first struck me because it only had 4 ingredients: carbonated water, cane sugar, citric acid, and natural flavors. That's not unheard of, but definitely on the lower end of ingredients. So I was ready for this to be more of a "flavored water" than a "soda." I sniffed it, and it smelled like root beer. The first sip was totally root beer. And then there's a sharpness and crispness that comes later in the sip that's the normal "carbonated water" experience. So really, it's like a carbonated water drink that's flavored like root beer. The sharpness is a LITTLE weird at the end of each drink, but it's not bad. The root beer flavor is pretty classic and smooth (until the sharpness hits). It's a very unique experience - I'll give it a slightly better-than-average score.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

p.s. Under the cover, there was a message. They were founded in 1981, so it asked "What's the best thing 2 happen 2U in 1981?" Well, I was born. So that was good.