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Category Archives: Food & Drink
[Drink Review] Sierra Mist Natural
August 2010 saw the latest change to an existing product by PepsiCo. Sierra Mist became Sierra Mist Natural.
Along with a name change, the product got a new recipe, new logo and bottle color.
Let’s see what’s different now.
The sweetener change is the most significant. Mist has dropped high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and switched to natural sugar.
The amount of ingredients in Mist Natural has been lessened to only five. Carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, natural flavor and potassium citrate. Not seen in the receipe are potassium benzoate, ascorbic acid, and calcium disodium EDTA. The missing ingredients are all forms of preservatives. Mist left citric acid in both products, which is a natural preservative and helps create a sour taste.
With the new name, the logo has changed. This is where I have a small irk. Sierra Mist has traded logos three times in the last two years! This could make it hard for the brand to find it’s own signature look. From the classic mountain logo, to the weird foresty/fog logo, to the lemon/lime with text and finally to the plain, clean Sierra Mist logo it now holds. I like this logo and I hope they have made up their mind on this one.
The bottle has changed from a deep green, like their sister brand Mountain Dew, to a lightly colored and more transparent green. I like this change as well. It almost seems like it looks more healthy and bright in this new bottle. They do say people associate clear or lightly colored drinks to being better for you.
Now that we’ve covered cosmetic and formula-related differences, let’s talk about taste!
After trying an ice cold Sierra Mist Natural for the first time, I really enjoyed it. The change in sweetener makes the biggest impact. I notice that the taste and consistency are more crisp and isn’t syrupy. With the drink being less syrupy, the flavor seems to pop when it hits your taste buds. The natural lemon and lime flavors come alive and are more pronounced than before. The carbonation was fine and the soda was easy to drink.
All in all, I think this change was the best they’ve made yet. People want sodas that are better for them. With HFCS being a heavy target of obesity arguments, natural sugar is appealing. I think that Sierra Mist has found their new and best identity in its Natural form.
[Note] Since finishing up this review of Sierra Mist, I’ll be darned if Mist didn’t have ANOTHER cosmetic makeover! They recently added a light neon green to the label instead of being plain and clear. Not a biggie!
[Energy Drink Review] Rumba Energy Juice
Here’s a portion of a review posted on Caffeine Critic:
Popping the tab, I am met with a refreshing and invigorating orange aroma that instantly floods your mouth with anticipatory saliva. It has a nice balance of tangy and sweet, though is a bit heavy on the sour side, and smells like it would be the perfect drink to accompany my breakfast.
Rumba isn’t really as enjoyable to drink as I had hoped, but most of that is attributed to the slightly-too-thick texture. The flavor is just fine, with appropriate levels of tanginess, sour, and sweet balanced in the unique blend of juices. The most prominent flavor is orange, but there are also Rumbalings (get it? Rumba…lings? Rumblings? Get it?) of peach and apple in there as well, making for a very pleasant cocktail of fruit flavors.
Read the full review on CaffeineCritic.com!
[Restaurant Review] King Gyro’s of Terre Haute, IN
Here’s a portion of a review on Does It Hit The Spot:
The most important aspect of any restaurant is its food, and in that aspect King Gyro’s performs phenomenally. The first thing you’ll notice while looking at the menu is the great amount of selection and diversity, ranging from burgers to fish to Italian beef to BBQ chicken to poor boy to chicken nuggets to tenderloins to sausage to gyros, and the list goes on. If you’re a human being with a stomach, there is something on this menu for you.
Aside from having great selection, King Gyro’s food is absolutely delicious. I’ve been numerous times in the past couple of weeks, sampling something different each time I go, and everything I’ve tasted is just plain awesome. Easily the most delectable menu item is their gyro, which is such a fantastically amazing sandwich that I’m having trouble putting into words how phenomenally delicious it is. Inside of a gyro, you’ll find a very generous portion of their fantastic gyro meat, which is tender and flavorful, topped with fresh tomatoes, onions, and a cool sour cream cucumber sauce, and it’s all wrapped in a delicious piece of pita bread. Everything about it is just to die for. I went there with my girlfriend Kim, who is a vegetarian, and they even went out of their way to make her a vegetarian-style gyro that she says was delicious.
Read the full review on DIHTS.com!
[Food Review] Subway’s Buffalo Chicken Fiery Footlong
Here’s a portion of a review on Does It Hit The Spot:
First I want to complain about the guy who made my sandwich. His name was Tony. Tony was new. Tony was very nice. Way too nice. Tony was so nice, he was completely obnoxious. Everything Tony said made me want to punch him in the balls with a knife. Tony had a loose bandage on the back of his neck, one that swayed and flapped in the breeze of the building’s air conditioning unit, spreading a wave of HIV with every flutter. At least Tony smiled, but Tony also had a habit of spitting when he attempted to pronounce certain words. Words like sorry, spit, and sandwich. I forgive you, Tony, for spitting on my sandwich.
Anyway, I got my Buffalo Chicken with Italian Herbs and Cheese bread, provolone cheese, heated instead of toasted, and topped with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onions, and ranch dressing. As is usually the case, the toppings were all fresh, the lettuce and cucumber were crispy, and the onions were crunchy.
Read the full review on DIHTS.com!
[Energy Drink Review] Xyience Xenergy: Lemon Blast
Here’s a portion of a review on Caffeine Critic:
I’m sure that a lot of you who don’t know me assume that I’m an exceptionally fat, lazy sonofabitch that sits on his ass all day and does very little with the chemical energy I put into my body, instead letting it sit and be absorbed into my growing collection of pounds and thigh dimples. If you ask anyone who’s met me, they’ll tell you that, for the most part, you are right.
But that’s not true. I put my energy drinks towards great use to accomplish many amazing feats. No, not contracting diabetes. Jerks. I like to ride my bike a lot. I enjoy adventuring outdoors. I go to the gym every once and a while for strength training. But more important than any of those, I’m currently playing through Metroid Prime: Trilogy. The whole thing. All three games. From start to finish. I need the energy more than any physically active person out there.
So I figured since Xenergy is the official energy drink of the UFC, it would probably be up to the task of helping me collect all twelve artifacts in the first Metroid Prime.
Read the full review on CaffeineCritic.com!
[Food Review] Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Caramel
Here’s a portion of a DoesItHitTheSpot.com review:
The problems started right off the bat for me, as there is an unpleasant, soggy quality to both the taste and texture of the bar. The result is a creation that, quite frankly, doesn’t taste good. It’s almost like something you picked up out of a swimming pool. Not quite that bad, mind you, but much closer than I would have hoped for.
Also, the aftertaste is much too strong. Granted I didn’t care for it the first go around, but a nearby beverage is an absolute must if you are going to attempt to eat this thing, because you will be tasting it hard for a long time after you’ve finished.
Lastly, it made my mouth very phlegmy. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Caramel gave me unfortunate flashbacks to the gross soups my mom used to force-feed me when I was battling strep throat as a kid. It didn’t make me feel sick, but there is an odd sort of illness recreation quality to the bar which is just another reason not to buy it.
Read the full review on Does It Hit The Spot by clicking here!
[Energy Drink Review] Free Sin Vitality Drink: Greed (Lemon)
Here’s a portion of a review posted on CaffeineCritic.com:
Sins you can commit without consequence are awesome. Things like becoming a Catholic Priest and swearing celibacy for The Lord only to turn around and molest small boys are usually fair game for all God-loving individuals. It’s also great to claim to love God and all of His children only to turn around and tell racist jokes about how worthless blacks and Mexicans are. Not to mention gay bashing. All of those sins are quite delightful, and there’s no way God would ever get mad at you for doing any of that!
This stuff isn’t a “Get Out of Hell Free” card, but instead a sugar free version of the Sin Vitality Drink I reviewed last week. Drinking Free Sin isn’t going to help you get away with murder in the eyes of our Father, unless you’re killing any man or woman of Middle-Easter descent, especially those bastards that built that Mosque by Ground Zero, but it does give diabetics that chance to Drink in Sin without losing their left foot a week later.
Be sure to read the full Caffeine Critic review by clicking here!
[Energy Drink Review] Sin Vitality Drink: Greed
Here’s a portion of a review from Caffeine Critic:
Sinning is bad. Sinning is deliberate disregard for the rules and regulations for human behavior set forth by the Holy Bible. And that is bad. If you don’t believe in the bible, sinning could be defined as disregard for the rules and regulations for human behavior set forth by society. You know, your peers, your friends, your social groups, cops. Especially cops.
Drinking Sin is nowhere near as bad as committing sin. Killing babies, drowning babies, punching babies, suffocating babies, burning babies, choking babies, dropping babies, spilling babies, throwing babies, bashing babies, tripping babies, pushing babies, mocking babies, eating babies, drinking babies, stealing babies, shooting babies, buying babies, selling babies, puking babies, cooking babies, losing babies, hiding babies, and mowing babies. Babies, babies, babies! What am I, some kind of Baby Rights Activist?
Come to think of it, no. No I’m not.
Don’t forget to read the full review!
[Energy Drink Review] Monster: Absolutely Zero
Here’s a portion of a review on Caffeine Critic
People have been blowin’ up our inbox for years asking for a zero calorie Monster. We got it, but this ain’t soda pop, dude!
Making a zero calorie, zero sugar drink that’s good enough to earn the Monster M ain’t that easy.
Finally with a re-tooled energy blend, new sweetener system and hundres of failed flavors, we absolutely got it right!
Monster Absolutely Zero helps fight fatigue, improves mental performance and focus, motivates you to work (I mean play) harder, so generally you feel pretty damn good.
Zero calories, zero sugar, killer buzz… Absolutely Guaranteed!
Be sure to read the full review on CaffeineCritic.com!