Thomas Kemper Low Calorie Root Beer

It had been years since I had "regular" Thomas Kemper root beer. So it was time to try their low calorie version:

Brand: Thomas Kemper Low Calorie Root Beer.

Origin: Portland, OR.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Honey and Sucralose.

Review: This was listed as 20 calories, so I looked at the ingredients list: it had sucralose as it's "main" sweetener, but it also had honey. I've had mixed reactions to honey in root beer. But this was OK. It was REALLY creamy (almost to a fault), and the flavor was OK: the honey added a unique sweetness to it, but it wasn't bad. It was a bit herby, but sure not over-the-top. I liked this WAY more than the regular Thomas Kemper's Root Beer. It was unique and decent. Not bad!

Score: 7 out of 10.

Root Jack Orange Flavored Root Beer Pirate Energy Drink

I opened this earlier today: 

Brand: Root Jack Orange Flavored Root Beer Pirate Energy Drink.

Origin: Mishawaka, IN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Review: This is labeled a "pirate energy drink," so I was a little concerned. It has your daily allowance of vitamin C to "keep scurvy in check," so that's good. It has quillaja which Google tells me is sometimes used to help with foam in root beer. And it has caffeine and guarana seed extract which are both stimulants. I also found online that it has 10 mg of caffeine/oz, so this bottle had 120 mg of caffeine! 

But on to the flavor. It's not great. It has that energy drink chemically-ness to it. The orange flavor with the root beer isn't bad - that's actually kinda fun. If you like energy drinks, then you might like this. If you don't then you might want to steer away from this one. Not bad, totally unique, but not great.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Blue Sun Super Sour Soda Pucker Up Grape

Yes, it's been over 2 weeks since my last post... I've had this soda in the fridge, but I kept putting off trying it because I was a bit scared. And it's not just one I can grab and take to class as it could leave a horrible taste in my mouth. But FINALLY, here we are... 

Brand: Blue Sun Super Sour Soda Pucker Up Grape.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This SMELLED just like a normal grape soda. And even when it first hit my tongue, it tasted like a normal grape soda. But then a second later, the SOUR hits, and it makes my cheeks pucker! 

Not surprisingly, my boys tried this and loved it. They thought it was quite good. 

The grape flavor is quite sweet (almost surprisingly sweet), and then it hits with the "candy" sour. The sour really isn't TOO much - yes, it made my face have a physical reaction each time, but it's still almost subtle. Almost. Not bad, and just a fun soda. This is NOT something I would pick when I just wanted to sip on something, but something I'd grab with a friend. As a "drinking" soda, it's crap. But for the experience, I'll rate this just above average.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Frostie Orange Soda

Last night as I was peeling oranges for my wife to take to work today, I opened something orange for myself:

Brand: Frostie Orange Soda.

Origin: Detroit, MI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: Ehh... this was OK. There's nothing that stands out much about it's flavor - it's orange soda. It's just a little odd because it's smooth on the front end but has a slight sharpness in its aftertaste. I liked it more at the first sip when it was a little smooth, and I would have NEARLY called it a "orange cream" soda, but then that changed a little at the end of the sip. Not bad, but nothing great, so it gets a middle-of-the-road score.

Score: 5 out of 10.

The Soda Fountain at the Minnesota History Center

Last week, I chaperoned my son's class on a trip to the Minnesota History Center. My group of kids loved the old soda fountain, and I snapped some photos of that display:

The soda fountain at the MN History Center.

Behind the counter.

The different flavors of syrup.

My son ringing up my bill for some ice cream and a soda.

The menu on the wall. I also ordered a $0.39 banana split.

Gray's Brewing Company Black Cherry Soda

I opened this earlier tonight while working in the kitchen:

Brand: Gray's Brewing Company Black Cherry Soda.

Origin: Janesville, WI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was really creamy. I had to re-look at the label because I expected it to say "Black Cherry CREAM." It's not a Black Cherry COLA which is what I think I was expecting initially. The flavor was really deep and strong and almost a little grape-like. (Had you told me it was grape, I would have believed you!) My 10-year-old son loved it too, but my wife thought it was a little too Nyquil-esque. (But I love a sugary soda!) Solid tasty soda!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Taste Tests: "Diet" vs "Zero Sugar"

As Rhett mentions in this post, these labels seem to just be marketing.

Watch as they try to guess if they are drinking "diet" or "zero sugar" sodas:



Here's the direct link on Facebook.

And here's the full clip from YouTube (which is 16 min vs the 5 min Facebook version - I love Rhett and Link, but I always seem to prefer the more edited Facebook version).

Jones Special Release Icee Cherry Soda

I opened this last night: 

Brand: Jones Special Release Icee Cherry Soda.

Origin: Seattle, WA.

Purchase Place: Cub Foods, Minneapolis, MN.

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar.

Review: It SMELLS like a cherry Icee at first sniff! And the taste is right on when it first hit my tongue. But then it has a harsh, almost bitter flavor. As I think about it, it's about right on when sipping a melted Icee, but that's just not desirable to me. 

My wife tried it and said "Yum, it tastes like sipping a melted Icee!" But that was the exact reason I did NOT like it. So this soda is going to have varying reviews! If you've ever loved sipping a melted Icee (I haven't), this this soda is made for you.

It seemed to get better as I sipped (and that could partially be due to me just getting used to it), but I was hoping this would just be sweet and delicious... and it wasn't. I figured I'd love this, but it didn't live up to my expectations. Dang.

Score: 2.5 out of 10.

Belvoir Farm Organic Elderflower Lemonade Soft Drink

I opened this last night while cooking (sorry for the mess):

Brand: Belvoir Farm Organic Elderflower Lemonade Soft Drink.

Origin: United Kingdom.

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

Sweetener: Organic Cane Sugar.

Review: This was pretty "elderflower heavy" (which is not a phrase I think I've ever said). It has just a HINT of sourness, but that's about all I could take away from the "lemonade" part of the flavor.  I wish it was a bit more equal on the elderflower and lemonade scale. The flavor is nice and subtle overall. Not bad (especially if you like elderflower), but I wanted a little more from this.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Looks Like Orange Tastes Like Grape Soda

I opened this while cooking last night: 

I don't know what's with the eyeball...

Brand: Looks Like Orange Tastes Like Grape Soda.

Origin: Gardena, CA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Bloomington, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: Yes, that's the name of the soda. "Looks Like Orange Tastes Like Grape." Guess what? The title says it all. It's a pretty nostalgic grape flavor that's relatively sweet. Nothing fancy here, but just a decent orange-colored grape soda. For some reason.

Score: 8 out of 10.