Review - I.B.C. Black Cherry Soda

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 15

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: I am a sucker for cherry flavored sodas, and I.B.C. Black Cherry soda is one of the most accessible, and one of the better available cherry sodas. On its own, the cherry flavor is very strong and heavy, but with ice the heaviness is cut and the cherry flavor is highlighted. The soda doesn't mix particularly well with ice cream. A float made with the black cherry soda is neither particularly good or particularly bad, as the flavor of vanilla doesn't really enhance or detract from the soda's natural flavor. This is a case in which a combination of two things doesn't result in something greater than the two individually. Instead, the result is pretty much the same as one would expect having the soda and the ice cream separately.

Review - I.B.C. Cherry Limeade Soda

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 14.2

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: I am generally a fan of cherry limeade. When made properly, the cherry flavor gives it a sweetness that is offset by the tartness of the lime. Both fruits give cherry limeade a dryness that is supposed to offset the sweetness. That, at least, is how well-made cherry limeade tastes. And that is, happily, how I.B.C. Cherry Limeade Soda tastes. With ice, the tart and dry elements are muted. When vanilla ice cream is added, the cherry flavor is tempered, and the tartness of the soda is overwhelmed, creating a surprisingly smooth and sweet ice cream float.

Review - I.B.C. Cream Soda

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 15

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Odd as it may sound, cream soda is not one of my favorite sodas. I love root beer, and most modern root beers use vanilla as their dominant flavoring. So one would think that cream soda, which is explicitly just a vanilla flavored soda, would be right up my alley. And yet so many cream sodas have such a weak flavor that they just remind me that I'm not drinking root beer. And I.B.C.'s cream soda isn't really an exception. It is sweet enough, and you can definitely taste the vanilla flavor, but it seems to be lacking something. With ice added, the vanilla flavor feels slightly more full-bodied, but the soda still seems like weak root beer. When used to make an ice cream float, the vanilla ice cream seems like it should overwhelm the flavor of the soda, but the soda holds up adequately, resulting in an decent, albeit somewhat thin feeling, ice cream float.

Review - Stewart's Key Lime Soda

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 15

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Stewart's seems to have a knack for taking things that are normally food and distil the essence of their flavor into liquid form. In this case, Stewart's has taken a slice of key lime pie and bottled it as a soda. And it is quite a good soda, with, as one would expect, a strong lime flavor. Serving the soda over ice has the effect of enhancing the lime flavor. As an ice cream float the lime flavor mixes well with the vanilla from the ice cream, resulting in an experience that is much like actually eating a key lime pie, albeit one made of ice cream and lime soda.

Review - Stewart's Orange 'n Cream Soda

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 15.8

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: If you somehow took a Dreamsicle and managed to transform it into a soda, it would taste like Stewart's Orange 'n Cream soda. For those of us that like Dreamsicles, this makes this orange and vanilla flavored soda an almost perfect drink. Served over ice, the vanilla flavor is muted and the orange flavor jumps forward. Oddly, when made into an ice cream float, the vanilla flavor fades away almost entirely, which surprised and somewhat disappointed me. Even so, this soda is fantastic straight, and that makes up for any other shortcomings.

Review - Stewart's Root Beer

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 13.3

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: Stewart's Root Beer is, thus far, my favorite root beer brand. Stewart's manages to combine the smooth up-front taste of vanilla with a decidedly spicy undercurrent of flavor that I can't quite place, but may be cinnamon. The only real drawback for the blend is that when it is consumed over ice, it loses much of its punch. As a root beer float, on the other hand, the spiciness is enhanced by the ice cream, creating a superior experience.

Review - IBC Root Beer

Bottler: Dr. Pepper

Calories per Ounce: 13.3

Caffeine: No

Aaron's Comments: IBC Root Beer markets itself as having a "creamy" flavor, reflecting its obviously heavy vanilla content and sweetness. Taken straight, it is heavy on carbonation, with a distinct carbonated bite. Over ice, the bite is mellowed and the promised creamy flavor dominates. IBC is one of my favorite brands of root beer for ice cream floats as the ice cream mellows the root beer, pushing forward the creamy vanilla flavor of the soda, which retains just enough of a hint of its normal bite to remain interesting. Overall, IBC is one of the best mass marketed root beers available.