Wild Spur Sarsaparilla

I visited my folks this weekend, and I brought this to enjoy with pork chops for lunch:

Brand: Wild Spur Sarsaparilla.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This was a good one. It had a hint of vanilla, and was pretty smooth/creamy. There's really nothing fancy about this, but it was very tasty.

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Whistler Lime Soda

I cracked into my first bottle from last Friday's trip to Blue Sun Soda:

Brand: Whistler Lime Soda.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This had a nice lime flavor that was pretty smooth. However, it was a little weak, and it was like I could taste the glass bottle a bit (if that makes any sense). It wasn't bad, but it needed a bit more. It's getting a pretty average score.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Another Trip to Blue Sun Soda

Yesterday, my kindergartener had a half-day of school, and my youngest son was at Grandma's house, so I asked Henry what he wanted to do with his afternoon with me. He wanted to go play pinball at Blue Sun Soda. So I complied a list of sodas I've had, and we stopped by.

There was a "shooting game" on top of their toilet.  I think they were asking us to "aim."

"Sodas of the World" section.  I grabbed a few of these.

My son just played pinball the whole time.  They have 6 machines,
and 3 or 4 are free.  I was told they're getting another machine shortly!

"Springtime Sodas."

The guy working there asked if I had Virgil's with NUTMEG.  I've had Virgil's, but not this special blend.
He said they liked this so much, that they bought a palette because they only release it once a year.

Made in-house "Whistler" soda.  Blue Sun purchased this from the north metro a few months back.

You can peak through a hole in the wall to see Whistler being made on this awesomely-colored old bottling machine!

This was my haul yesterday.  An assorted case, a big bottle of Virgil's with nutmeg, and an 8-pack of Whistler.

The Whistler sodas I bought.

The guy working there laughed when he walked past me at one time and remarked on the list in my hand: "I like a guy who knows what he's after!"  I told him I have a soda/root beer blog, and that I'm referencing what I've already had (I reference my blog here on my phone, and I also had a sheet of paper which listed what I had stored in my basement that I haven't drank/reviewed yet).

I told him that after this trip, I'll have had EVERY ROOT BEER THEY HAVE TO OFFER.  That made me a little sad.  But he noted that they're hoping to expand their root beer selection by 50% shortly.  (I had noticed a few brands there yesterday that weren't there the last time I stopped in.)

Alright, I think I have my soda selection for most of the summer!  I bought these 33 bottles yesterday, and I still had most of a case from the last time I was in.  Time to get drinking!

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.

Jones Root Beer

After a race yesterday, I cracked into this:

Brand: Jones Root Beer.

Origin: Seattle, WA.

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

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar.

Review: The first thing that hit me was the caramel flavor - it was a very "caramel-y" root beer. It wasn't too bad. It was pretty smooth with just a little bit of a foamy head. I thought it was OK. If you really like a bit of caramel flavor, then try this for sure. But I'll give it a slightly-above-average score of 6.5.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Carousel Orange Soda

My kindergartener is home with some spots on his back (waiting on test results to see if it's chickenpox), so he played Legos as I enjoyed this:

Legos alllll over our table. 

Brand: Carousel Orange Soda.

Origin: Arlington Heights, IL.

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

Sweetener: Sugar and/or Corn Sweetener.

Review: This had a soft, subtle flavor. It was OK, but just a little weak. And it's hard to rank on the "sharp" to "smooth" scale because each sip starts a little sharper and ends a little creamier. Not bad. Not great either. Nothing fancy. Cool label though.

Score: 5 out of 10.

1893 Citrus Cola (by Pepsi)

I grabbed this from Target this weekend:

Brand: 1893 Citrus Cola (by Pepsi).

Origin: unknown.

Purchase Place: Target, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Fair trade certified sugar.

Review: I was ready for an "orange" punch, but after a sip, it was clearly a "grapefruit" flavor. And then, sure enough, I noticed that it said it was infused with "grapefruit essence." If you like grapefruit, then give this a try - the grapefruit flavor was pretty spot on. It was OK, but their plain 1893 Cola was much better.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Soda Can Portrait

Here's a portrait of Michael Jackson done by Seaton Brown that was made out of 1,680 recycled soda cans:

Close up.

Hosmer Mountain Black Cherry Soda

I opened this yesterday on my birthday:

Brand: Hosmer Mountain Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Willimantic, CT.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This was OK, but not amazing. It had a decent flavor, and ALMOST verged on "black cherry CREAM." Nothing exciting, but was decent. I'll rate it just barely above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer

I cracked into this yesterday:

Brand: Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer

Origin: Pennsauken, NJ.

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

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: I'm never quite sure how to describe a birch beer. Maybe like a "cleaner" or crisper root beer? I dunno. This one is easier to describe. First of all, it's good. Secondly, I'd describe the flavor as a mix between a deep cola mixed with a light root beer. This was REALLY good. It had some fruity undertones (like a good cola would have), but then a slight herbiness like a root beer. I enjoyed this a lot. This one gets a pretty high score.

Score: 9 out of 10.