Review: Dad's Blue Cream Soda

Dad's Blue Cream Soda is the first Dad's product I've tried that was made with (inverted) sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and I can honestly say that I am not completely impressed or disappointed. Anything blue automatically tastes better then if it were any other color-which makes me grateful Dad's didn't make a clear cream soda...

This soda has blue in spades. If I left a puddle of it on the sidewalk next to windshield wiper fluid, my toddler wouldn't know the difference until the vomiting started. Moving on, however, I will say that this iteration of cream soda isn't bad-it's just completely mediocre. When I was a kid growing up on the wooly streets of the East Side of Toledo, we had a discount grocery story known as Aldi that was frequented by the denizens of my neighborhood. In this particular grocer's stock was a bevvy of generic-brand sodas(some of which I would love to revisit and review), and Dad's Blue Cream Soda tastes exactly like their version of cream soda-which I believe was called Swiss Creme and featured a blue can with white mountains and red writing-which is a strikingly similar design style that you see above. 

Taste- 3/7

It's exactly what you expect to find in a cream soda. It's funny that a national brand(that used to be second only to A&W for root beer) seems to have taken a generic formula and added blue food coloring to market a different version of cream soda.

Aroma- 5/5

It smells exactly like fizzy vanilla ice cream.

Packaging- 2/5

Dad's has always had this dated look(it's packaging hasn't changed much since it's inception), and the stark comparisons to be drawn with it's virtual clone leave a bit to be desired. It's exactly like how all Dr. Pepper imitators use the same brick reddish-brown color on their packaging.

Overall- 10/17

I'm surprised at how disappointing Dad's brands have been for me in my adulthood, but maybe that's why it's called Dad's-because it sounds like a special treat from the male parent to his expecting children-Mom's Apple Pie and Dad's Root Beer. Children love it, adults-not so much.

Review: Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer (Father's Day Special!)

In honor of father's day, I thought I'd review an old childhood favorite of mine-Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer.
Growing up I knew there was something that separated Dad's from all of the rest, and I could never quite put my finger on it-there was a very distinct, earthy kind of flavor that reminded me vaguely of something else from my little pocket of the universe.
After having tried dozens of different sodas with various flavoring agents over the years, I've narrowed it down-Dad's is an Old Fashioned style(meaning it uses an artificial Sassafras flavor) root beer-which puts it in the same category as A&W, IBC, and Hires. The distinguishing feature, however, is birch. The first drink immediately calls to mind that other childhood treat-the stick of gum in a pack of baseball cards. I only realized that birch was  the source of that "bleacher" taste behind the baseball card gum after purchasing and imbibing my first birch beer.
So, in short, if you equate baseball card gum with dirt or the underside of the bench/bleachers at a baseball game, I'd stay steer clear of Dad's Root Beer or any other Birch Beer. However, if you're like me, there's few better carbonated beverages to crack open and poor into a cool, frosted mug on a hot summer's day.
To all the fathers out there on our special day-I tip my metaphorically frosty mug to you!

Packaging- 3/5
Bright blue label, a yellow square and red-lined block writing. Looks old fashioned, grabs attention, but still incredibly hideous. Much more appealing to the child in me.

Aroma- 3.5/5
Unfortunately, I had a HFCS version of this wonderful soda, so it really just smells like sweetness, only a slight hint of the tasty, delicious root-beery goodness that lie beneath. Maybe I'll have to track down some real sugar Dad's.

Taste- 5.5/7
It's not perfect, but it damn near is. The biggest mark against it is the almost immediate flatness that accompanies the second sip and beyond. The first crack gives a moderate amount of fizz-it's as though they only carbonated enough that it pours with a slight head(as any good root beer needs), but nothing else.

Overall- 12/17
So, how did one of childhood favorites get one of the lowest ratings in my site's history? Well, it loses carbonation too quickly, and a flat root beer is not a great root beer. The flavor is amazing, but not everyone is going to enjoy the birch-sassafras combo when the birch is the overwhelming factor. I still love Dad's, but until I find a sugar version it will remain lowly related. Could also be that the 1 liter Big Daddy Size is horrible on carbonation. We'll see.