Polly's Pop Black Cherry

Last night, I opened this while cleaning the kitchen:

Brand: Polly's Pop Black Cherry.

Origin: Independence, MO.

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

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This sure wasn't a black cherry "cola" - this was just a black cherry "pop" as the brand name implies. It was pretty smooth and just a bit creamy. Nothing remarkable, but pretty tasty. It went down easy.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.

RC Royal Crown Cola

I had a lot of these as a kid at my grandparent's house, but I haven't had one in years...

Brand: RC Royal Crown Cola.

Origin: Plano, TX.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was a decent cola. It had the normal cola flavor, with a slight fruity sweetness at the end. Nothing remarkable, but still good.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Fluids Soda 10-30

I opened this a few hours ago:

Brand: Fluids Soda 10-30.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: First of all, I did NOT know what this flavor was. There was nothing on the bottle saying what this would taste like. I figured it might be a cola, but it didn't smell like that. And it was quite dark - darker than a cola it would seem. When I took a sip, it was sweet and anise-like. (But I don't really like anise, and this wasn't horrible.) I then saw someone online (in its ONE Amazon review) say it kind of tasted like black jelly beans, and I could see where they were coming from. Unique and OK.

Score: 5.5 out of 10.

Melba's Fixins Key Lime Pie Soda

I opened this on a hot afternoon yesterday:

Brand: Melba's Fixins Key Lime Pie Soda

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This is quite smooth and tasty! I expected this to be (AT BEST) a soda that I sip and didn't enjoy much. But it ended up being very drinkable. My oldest son likes key lime greek yogurt, and it reminds me of a liquid version of that. It was good!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Crush Grape

I was surprised to realize that I'd never reviewed any "Crush" sodas! So here's grape:

On the deck of a little cabin I'm staying in right along Trade River in WI.

Brand: Crush Grape.

Origin: Plano, TX.

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

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: I think most grape sodas can win me over pretty easily. This is one of them. It's sugary, sweet, and heavy on the grape. It tastes like being a kid. Tasty!

Score: 8.5 out of 10.

Spring Grove Soda Recipes

Spring Grove Soda posted this on their Facebook page earlier today:

Some of these I want to try! I'm not real big on alcohol, but my Mom likes RumChata, so that last one could sound good to the both of us! And "cinnamon roll" sounds good to me as well. As does "cream puff."

Oak Creek Barrel Aged Root Beer

Sorry! It's been nearly a month since my last review! We just got through finals, and grades got submitted last night. So now I'm taking a breather with a root beer I've had in the fridge for the last 4 weeks...

Brand: Oak Creek Barrel Aged Root Beer.

Origin: Redding, California.

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

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This was good! I'm glad I had a good root beer waiting for me after a month of inactivity on this blog. It was really deep and herby. There was a lot of flavor, with just a hint of anise and really no wintergreen. It went down pretty easy! I call this one quite a bit more than the "blonde" Oak Creek root beer. Tasty!

Score: 9 out of 10.

Timeline of Cherry Coke

Cherry Coke over the years.

And Cherry Coke Zero recently got a makeover as well:

Old and new cans.

J. Gasco's Elderflower Fizzy Italian Soda

Last night, I tried this TINY 6.75 oz bottle of Italian Soda:

I didn't get a photo in comparison to something else - this is TINY!

Brand: J. Gasco's Elderflower Fizzy Italian Soda.

Origin: Torino, Italy.

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

Sweetener: Sugar and "Burnt Sugar."

Review: This had a nice "adult" flavor - it was sweet, but it was a dry sweetness that wasn't too over-the-top. My wife and I enjoyed it. It would be great in a mixed drink, but it was just fine on it's own as well. I had to google "burnt sugar" to see what that was, as it's listed as the last ingredient on the list. This was unique and tasty! Worth a try!

Score: 8 out of 10.

Kickin' Cow Cola

The boys and I cracked into this earlier today:

I had no idea what the flavor was, but my boys were excited to try it anyway:

Charlie trying his first sip...

... and his reaction.

My older son said it tasted like "soap mixed with mouthwash" and he didn't finish his sip. My younger son (pictured) loved it.


Brand: Kickin' Cow Cola.

Origin: Poultney, VT.

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

Sweetener: Evaporated Cane Juice.

Review: I had to go online to see what the flavor actually was. All I found was "like natural Pepsi," which I thought was way off. This was hardly "cola-like" at all. I'd describe it as a "gentle" ginger ale. It was nearly clear, with just a slight tan color. It wasn't bad (SURELY not as bad as "soap mixed with mouthwash), but it wasn't totally amazing either. I'll rank it just above average.

Score: 6 out of 10.