Butterbeer!

I am at universal studios and having lunch. The butterbeer is fantastic cream soda with a tasty whipped cream on top. Great flavor, no harsh aftertaste! totally going to try the frozen version later.

Hank's Gourmet Vanilla Cream Soda and Americana Honey Cream Soda

Hank's had a strange bite. The initial flavor was hard to place, and the vanilla felt hidden. I got a really bad headache after drinking it. Would not recommend. Americana Honey Cream was nice, but obviously not a cream soda. It had rather strong but not overpowering taste of honey throughout. I also picked up their vanilla cream, looking forward to trying it!

Strap Tank Brewery

They have locally made cream sodas, and they are wonderful, nice orange bite, soft aftertaste. I had the orange cream, and the wife had a raspberry lime cream soda. Normally places like this only have root beer, it was nice to see other options!

Reading Draft Strawberry Cream

Holy mackerel, this is really good! Both flavors, the strawberry and the cream are in balance, with the overall taste not being too sweet. The carbonation is "goldilocks", and the flavors seem to pop without being overpowering. Station 22, the local place here in Provo with a full wall of odd sodas had it in stock, and I can't wait to get another one. They should totally serve this as a beverage at Wimbledon. :)

Boylan's Creme Soda

So, this one seems to be pretty popular. The "soda fan" blog guy hated creme soda's but liked this one. Worse, he hated Virgil's, which I consider to be my favorite. But I gotta admit, Boylan makes a SOLID creme soda. The initial sip isn't too sweet, the rich creme taste is there, but it burns of quickly with little to no aftertaste. I'll buy it again, that's for sure (just took another sip). Wow, really quite good. After a couple sips, there is kind of a weird coating in my mouth, like a film, probably the sugar ;-) ... Oh, it's made with cane sugar, so that is super appreciated as well. So, this is a definite winner. If you see it in your local market, pick up a four pack, totally worth it.

Not exactly a cream soda (Vanilla Pepsi)

Vanilla Pepsi sounds like it should be a disaster. It sounds like it should be some massively over-sugary mess with flavors going all over the place. As you take your first sip, you prepare your mind and body for the shock you know is coming. Images of a sugar seizure haunt you as you tip the can back. The first flavors rush in. You realize you are just drinking a Pepsi. Perplexed, you begin to wonder where the vanilla is and then the mild aftertaste hits the right note. The vanilla was just muted, better than that, it was there along you think to yourself as you take your second sip. Not bad! (unless your name is Matt, and you have recently moved to NC, but who cares what your opinion is on this subject!! (hehe)). It's definitely still pepsi, just a pepsi with a different aftertaste and that same lack of a syrupy taste thanks to the lack of HCFS replaced by the sublime cane sugar. So, it's sort of hard to find. I've seen it in the "half size cans". I've also seen it in plastic bottles, and once just once I was able to get it in full size cans. I think it's better in a can, but wish I could try it in a glass bottle. Everything seems to taste better out of a glass bottle amirite?

Zero Calorie Virgil's Cream Soda?!?!

So, it's been a while since my last post, sorry about that! Here's some thoughts on Virgil's zero calorie cream soda (I'm drinking it now). 1. It has a slightly metallic aftertaste, but it does not last nearly as long as the sugar sweetened cream soda from Virgils. 2. The stevia sweetener is muted. 3. The vanilla flavor isn't as strong as the sugar sweetened cream soda either. 4. The carbonation overpowers the flavor until you let it settle in your mouth. 5. I plan on going on a diet until the holidays start. This is a good enough as a replacement for the real thing. Overall, it's a pretty big step down, but considering you can drink it basically guilt free, it's a nice replacement. I switched to Diet Mountain Dew some time ago, and I felt that was a rough transition, especially from the "throwback" that I enjoyed even more. The delta between sugar and zero calorie cream soda doesn't feel as vast. But, I do tend to think of a glass bottle of cream soda as a dessert replacement. The zero calorie version only really works if I'm actively counting calories. I don't think I would choose this over the real thing. A lot of people dislike Virgil because of the after taste, so I could see people liking this as much as say IBC or Stewarts.