I bought 9 different sodas from World Market recently and have decided to document my tasty findings.
1. Coco Fizz Chocolate Soda, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, zuberfizz.com
This is the first one I tried. I got impatient after I got home and was craving something sweet so I popped this one open before it was ice cold. But hey, I like warm soda anyways. This definitely tasted chocolaty. Much more than, say, chocolate beer. However, it didn't taste exactly like chocolate but like chocolate flavor. It sorta tasted like a carbonated Yoo-Hoo. A better explanation might be that it tasted like a liquid, carbonated chocolate lollipop. It was pretty good, but by the end of it I was kind of tired of it. I give it 3/5 stars.
2. Bubble Up, produced by Dad's Root Beer Company and bottled by OrcaBeverage Soda Works, dadsrootbeer.com & orcabeverage.com
A lot of the sodas I bought are sweet and sugary, and since I had just eaten some strawberry yogurt French toast I opted for this "Crisp and Refreshing Lemon Lime Soda" instead. Lemon and lime, indeed. It tastes pretty similar to Sprite and 7up. Despite its name, the drink is significantly less bubbly than Sprite. In fact, I think I prefer it over Sprite for just that reason. I would definitely drink this one again but don't plan on driving back to World Market and buying them out so I give it 4/5 stars.
3. NuGrape, Orca Beverage Soda Works, orcabeverage.com
I was really hesitant to buy this one because I hate all things that are supposed to taste like grape. Don't get me wrong, I love grapes, I just hate grape flavor. This soda tasted exactly like what I suspected grape soda would taste like. My roommate said it tasted like Fanta. I think it smelled like Dimetapp. I didn't hate this one; it was better than a lot of other grape tasting things I've had. I personally give this 3/5 starts but if you're into grape-flavored things this is probably right up your alley.
4. Creme, Boylan Bottling Co., boylanbottling.com
This soda was SO SWEET. Goodness, it was like drinking candy. It wasn't a bad tasting candy, just a super sweet candy. I don't think I've had any other creme soda before, so maybe that's just what it tastes like? I don't know. You all will have to enlighten me. I give it 2.5/5 stars, just because if someone offered it to me I would probably pass.
5. Orange, Boylan Bottling Co., boylanbottling.com
Per recent (and vintage) trends in soda, this one is sweeted with cane sugar instead of refined sugar. But the 'healthiness' doesn't stop there. The list of ingredients is pretty short and it has mandarin and tangerine oils. Are fruit oils healthy? Maybe not. I'm not really an expert. I just know that since they're something semi natural from an actual fruit it makes me feel better about it. I wish I could say that I prefer this one over the next orange soda, but I don't. As much as I wanted to like it, there was something sort of off about the taste. Maybe it's the healthiness. The odd taste isn't bad so I give it 3/5 stars.
6. Nesbitt's of California Orange, Orca Beverage Soda Works, orcabeverage.com
This one has cane sugar as well but also has more ingredients that I can't pronouce, less natural flavor, and more artificial color. And boy, does it taste pretty close to mass produced, commercial, bad for you orange soda (read: Sunkist, Fanta Orange, etc). Because of that, I prefer this orange soda over the above. If this were cheaper than or the same price as a 2 L of any other orange soda I would be tempted to pick this one. Accordingly, I give it 4/5 stars.
7. Americana Delicious Vintage Black Cherry, Orca Beverage Soda Works, orcabeverage.com
When I was reading the descriptions and ingredients of both of my black cherry sodas I wanted to like this one. It’s made with real cane sugar and is “healthier.” However, I just didn’t like it. Something about the taste just seemed off to me. I’m starting to think that I just don’t like cane sugar flavored sodas. Brian and I both tried this, and he preferred this one over the other one. So, if you like black cherry soda there’s a chance you’ll like this one. I’ll give it 3/5 stars, just like the cane sugar soda 2 reviews up.
8. Black Cherry, Boylan Bottling Co., boylanbottling.com
Like I said in the above review, I preferred this black cherry soda. The flavor was just more on the ball with what I thought a black cherry soda should taste like. Brian didn’t like it, but I’m going to give it 3.5/5 stars. It wasn’t the greatest soda, but it was definitely better than the one above it.
9. Pig Iron Cola, Orca Beverage Soda Works, pigironbbq.com
I love Cola. It’s my favorite soda hands down. I was really looking forward to trying this one and, let me tell you, it did not disappoint. In fact, it’s probably one of the best colas I’ve ever had. If it were cheaper, I would probably buy it over Coke/Pepsi. Given the price, it’s right up there with my love of RC Cola. As Brian says it “finishes really well,” and doesn’t leave you with the syrupy heaviness of most colas. Just great taste. I give it 5/5 stats.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and speaking of gobble gobble, I don't know how many of you have ever had fried turkey but if you haven't YOU ARE MISSING OUT. To quote my uncle it's, "the best damn turkey you ever ate." So when I learned that my uncle was not going to be coming to thanksgiving this year and thus was not frying a turkey I was really disappointed. I was so disappointed that I asked my step mom if my sister and I could fry a turkey ourselves if we bought the ingredients (mainly peanut oil and seasoning). She and my grammy reluctantly agreed. $30 & about 4 gallons of LouAnn's peanut oil + 2 partial cans of Tony Chachere's seasoning later we were ready to go! To the right is a picture of our turkey, post Tony's rub. My uncle usually uses a whole can. We didn't quite have that much, but I think it turned out alright in the end.
Now, there are about 6 steps to frying a turkey. 1) Make sure the turkey is FULLY thawed. This means you should start defrosting it the night before. 2) Do not over fill the pot with oil. To make sure of this we put the turkey in the pot, filled the pot with water so that it just covered the turkey, removed the turkey (making sure all of the water drained out), then marked the waterline by scratching the pot with a pocket knife. 3) Bring the oil to 375-400 degrees then keep the temperature steady at 350 degrees. 4) Slowly lower the turkey into the pot to avoid splashing. The picture to the right is my sister, and boyfriend putting the turkey into the pot. If you do not follow rules 1, 2 and 4 that's when things get dangerous and you run the risk of injury and/or house fire. 5) Cook the turkey for about 3-4 minutes per pound, or until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached. We had a 13lb turkey and cooked it for 39 minutes, at which point its internal temperature was around 175. 6) Let the turkey sit for about 5 minutes before you remove the turkey from the base and skewer, or begin carving. After 5 minutes carve, serve, and enjoy!
