Frostie Orange Soda

I was getting some "specialty" ingredients for a recipe at Lunds last week, and I walked down the soda aisle and grabbed this:

Brand: Frostie Orange Soda

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Lund's Grocery Store, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: "High Fructose Corn Syrup and/or cane sugar."

Review: The first sip was good, but then there was a "sharpness" that didn't belong in an orange soda. I didn't expect it to be "smooth," I just didn't expect it to have that strange bite. It wasn't TOO bad, but it wasn't that desirable. I'll give it a middle-of-the-road score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Final 3 Hard Sodas: Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola, Best Damn Cherry Cola, and Not Your Father's Hard Root Beer

I recently finished my final 3 hard sodas from Total Wine:

Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola, Best Damn Cherry Cola, and Not Your Father's Hard Root Beer.

Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola: this was a nice mix of booze and soda for me. I like the flavor of hard liquor, but (almost every time) it's a bit much. This is a WAY toned-down version of Jack Daniel's that has a little carbonation and a cherry kick. This fella thinks thinks that's a great combo. Score: 8 out of 10.

Not Your Father's Hard Root Beer: I still don't like hard root beers. I just don't think that beer and root beer flavors go well together. It tastes like burnt root beer. I thought it was a bit better than Best Damn Hard Root Beer and that I'd give this like a 3 out of 10. Sure enough, I went back and looked at my review of Best Damn Root Beer, and I gave that a 2.5. So Not Your Father's is better, but I'm still FAR from being a fan of either. Score: 3 out of 10.

Best Damn Cherry Cola: this was the surprise of the group. I really REALLY didn't like Best Damn Root Beer when I tried that last year, and I expected this to yield similar results. But the slight beer-y flavor works much better with the cherry cola. It's a very "black cherry" cherry flavor that is really deep. And then the beer-y kick in the end isn't bad. If you like beer and cherry cola, then for sure give this a try! Score: 7 out of 10.


Sidenote: here's my review of my first 3 hard sodas from Total Wine.

Frozen Soda. Oops.

Cheerwine

I had the diet version of this 4 years ago, so it was about time to try the regular version (this was the 2nd soda my wife bought for me at Cub recently):

Brand: Cheerwine.

Origin: Salisbury, NC.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was good. It's some sort of cherry cola (one place on the bottle it says "wild cherry"). It's pretty sweet, but the carbonation gives it just a little kick. This is a keeper! Bonus: try Cheerwine this year because it's 100 years old in 2017.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Tree Fort Classic Cola

My wife was at Cub Foods in St. Paul over the weekend, and she sent me this picture and asked what I wanted:

I had her grab a Tree Fort Cola and a Cheerwine. I started with the Tree Fort Cola:

Brand: Tree Fort Classic Cola.

Origin: Minneapolis, MN.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I wasn't sure what to think after the first sip. This had a very deep almost "brown sugar"-like sweetness. After a few more sips, I realized it was a sweetness that was a bit like very almond-flavored frosting. It was a VERY unique cola, and I ended up liking it in the end. But it was so different, that it took me a bit to warm up to it. I'll rate is just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

O-Zell Vanilla Dream

I tried this recently:

Brand: O-Zell Vanilla Dream.

Origin: Silver Lake, CA.

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

Sweetener: Hawaiian Cane Sugar Blend.

Review: This smelled good. But tasted like piss with a hint of vanilla. Currently, O-Zell is 0-2 in my book. I didn't come close to finishing this. Most of it got dumped. It had a very "chemically" sharpness to it that was a huge turn off. It just did not taste good at all. No thanks.

Score: 2 out of 10.

North Star Pineapple Orange Soda

I brought this to class with me today:

With a board full of notes in the background. Busy day.

Brand: North Star Pineapple Orange Soda.

Origin: Forest Lake, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: OK, "pineapple orange" doesn't sound that good to me. I mean, let's be honest. But I just thought I'd give this a try. The flavor is subtle and "soft," and it was surprisingly good. The pineapple isn't harsh or too sharp, and it tastes like a true mix of pineapple and orange. Sure, I had low expectations for this, but it flew past them. Not too shabby.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Ramblin' Maple Root Beer

I tried this yesterday afternoon:

Brand: Ramblin' Maple Root Beer.

Origin: Atlanta, GA.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This smelled STRONGLY of maple syrup when I popped the cap. It tasted like it too, but it was a strong "burnt" flavor - I feel like something about the way carbonation works with that flavor makes it very harsh and horrible. The maple flavor isn't bad, it just BECOMES bad (I think). If you REALLY like maple flavored things, then try this. Otherwise, stay away. I only mustered a handful of sips.

Score: 2 out of 10.

Northwoods Soda Locator

I wanted to try a Northwoods Soda, so I looked them up online. They had a locator that was really helpful. This is the closest place where I can purchase it:

Yeah, I don't think that's quite worth it for a soda...

Lake Tahoe Blue Cream Soda

Now that class has started at Hamline, I thought I'd bring a soda to celebrate:

Sitting on top of the printer in my Digital Media Arts / Digital Photography classroom.

Brand: Lake Tahoe Blue Cream Soda.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a decent initial flavor. It was quite creamy and smooth, and it had the standard "blue" flavor of blue cream sodas. (Is that actually a favor, or is that perceived because it's blue?) It was good, but didn't stand out as anything fantastic. I'll rank it just above average.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.