REVIEW: Red Bull Winter Edition Pear Cinnamon Energy Drink

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Winter is here! Oh, wait, I’m typing this in autumn. Fall is here! And that means Red Bull’s new Winter Edition is rolling out to stores to let you know the cold months are upon us. This year’s flavor is Pear Cinnamon, which sounds more fitting for autumn than winter. But this seasonal energy drink is so excellent that I want it to stay for every season from now on.

The pear flavor is the most distinct. It’s sweet, crisp, and slightly tart. A hint of cinnamon eventually makes itself known to your taste buds, but it’s hiding in the drink’s tartness. I was expecting a stronger cinnamon punch to let my mouth know that the season of cinnamon is upon us, but despite that, this is the best tasting Red Bull variety I’ve ever had.

While it initially has a pear flavor, I thought I tasted lychee in the aftertaste after taking a sip from an opened can that sat in my fridge overnight. Since then, I can’t get that out of my mind, and every sip I’ve taken since has a lychee aftertaste. You’ll hear no complaints from me about that because there’s a lychee-flavored Red Bull from Japan that I adore as much as this one and can no longer get my hands on. So if my taste buds get to relive that with this, I’m happy.

But what I’m not happy about, and the worst thing about this, is that once it’s gone, I’ll never be able to taste it again since Red Bull comes up with new flavors every year and rarely brings back old ones. But who knows, maybe there will be a Christmas miracle one year, and Red Bull decides to bring this back. Only the future knows.

Red Bull Winter Edition Pear Cinnamon is my favorite Red Bull flavor ever (that’s not from Japan). Find it, drink it, let its flavor wash over your taste buds, ask your taste buds if they also taste lychee, and then let the 114 milligrams of caffeine ride the red blood cells in your veins.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 12 oz cans
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 125 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 38 grams of sugar (including 38 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sonic Trick or Treat Blast (2023)

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For Halloween 2023, Sonic is offering revamped Trick or Treat Blasts, which include Mini M&M’s, Heath candy pieces, and Oreo cookie pieces, all mixed together in soft-serve ice cream. They are available in vanilla and chocolate.

If you don’t have a lot of time, I’ll sum it up quickly: This is basically an M&M’s shake. There, now you can go to the pumpkin patch (or the haunted house or the apple orchard or whatever else you’re doing this time of year).

Instead of eating it in my car in the stall at Sonic, I opted to get the chocolate version in the drive-through, then took it home and enjoyed it in the autumn afternoon.

The Mini M&M’s were by far the most noticeable element of the Blast. Since cold M&M’s are crunchy, I was crunching my way through the entire treat. There were M&M’s in almost every bite, even when I took a small bit of ice cream in my spoon. I liked them, and I’m glad they were there, but sometimes I just wanted a moment without them. (Is that what it’s like having kids?)

The Oreo pieces were slightly softened from the soft serve. If you’re a reader of this site, you probably know what it’s like to have Oreo cookies in ice cream, so I don’t need to elaborate on what they were like.

The Heath pieces were least noticeable to me. Since the M&M’s were already crunchy, it was hard to notice if I was crunching on toffee instead. I did have one bite where I thought, “Oh yeah, I can definitely taste the toffee here!”

As for the soft serve, it was enjoyable but unremarkable. The abundant M&M’s really overpowered the flavor. My Blast wasn’t very well mixed, and I didn’t notice much difference between the vanilla (before I mixed it) and the chocolate (after I mixed it).

I enjoyed the Trick or Treat Blast, but I just didn’t find it that interesting. It was too similar to other products. And as a sucker for anything holiday related, I wished it had a stronger seasonal connection. I don’t think I ever got a Heath bar or Oreo cookies in my trick-or-treat pillowcase. And if Sonic wasn’t going to add any flavors more interesting than chocolate, it at least could have added some spooky colors somewhere.

The Trick or Treat Blast is, well, not much of a blast. It’s tasty, but I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way for it.

Purchased Price: $5.43
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (small) 670 calories, 26 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 630 milligrams of sodium, 103 grams of carbohydrates, 85 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce and Mambo Sauce

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McDonald’s Hot Mustard is my default sauce. I’ve dipped my Chicken McNuggets in them for the past, um, I can’t remember how long. It’s extremely rare for me to deviate from that, although there was that brief dark moment when McDonald’s discontinued it and brought it back. My sauce swaying also happens when the Golden Arches offers new dips. The latest are Sweet & Spicy Jam and Mambo.

According to McDonald’s, the Sweet & Spicy Jam is a jammy red pepper sauce with a Szechuan peppercorn kick and extra heat from cayenne pepper, and finished with apple cider vinegar. It’s McDonald’s first-ever breakfast-inspired dipping sauce in the US. While the chain recommends trying it with various breakfast menu items, it’s available all day. Mambo is a tomato-based, sweet, spicy, and vinegary. It’s inspired by the popular condiment found at many Washington DC restaurants.

The first thought that came to mind after trying the Sweet & Spicy Jam was Panda Express, probably because of the Szechuan peppercorns. And at the same time, I thought it tasted like a spicier version of something else McDonald’s has offered. It’s sweet, peppery, spicy, and a little something else. It warmed the back of my mouth but didn’t become anything more than mild. After scraping whatever I could from the container with a rigid French fry, proving that I enjoyed it, I thought about it and realized it’s like a spicy sweet & sour sauce.

As for the Mambo Sauce, I should start with a full disclosure: This is my first experience with it (it’s also known as mumbo sauce) since I live on the opposite side of the country from where it’s famous. But Mambo is instantly the most fun Chicken McNuggets sauce name to say. It’s much spicier than the Sweet & Spicy Jam and has a slight fruitiness that I think might be pineapple. But it tastes like a sweet and peppery barbecue sauce that happens to make my head sweat a little.

I wanted to end this review by typing that the Sweet & Spicy Jam is my new jam, but I’d be lying because Hot Mustard is still my jam, er, mustard. Both new sauces are tasty takes on the pairing of sweet and spicy, and I enjoyed them equally. They’re definitely worth a try if you enjoy that flavor combo.

Purchased Price: Comes with 10-piece Chicken McNuggets
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Sweet & Spicy Jam – 80 calories. Mambo Sauce – 60 calories. No other information is available on McDonald’s website.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Angry Monster Tacos

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I’m angry that Jack in the Box’s new Angry Monster Tacos don’t have jalapeños. Okay, I’m not irate, but I’m confused by their exclusion because they would’ve made these truly angry. When monsters get angry, like Godzilla, they may burn things down, so why not attempt to burn my mouth with these.

An order of Angry Monster Tacos comes with two spicy seasoned tacos with shredded lettuce, American cheese, and taco sauce inside “angry” red shells that are in neat monster-themed sleeves. Looking through the Jack in the Box app, ordering just one is impossible. But if you want to feel the anger without committing to two, you can order a pair with one regular Monster Taco and an Angry one.

So how angry are these? They’re definitely spicier and more peppery than a regular Jack in the Box Taco, but they’re not hot enough to make me wish I’d ordered a cold Coke product to go along with them, even after eating both. If you’re a fan of Jack’s regular tacos and not spice-adverse, you’ll probably like these because they pretty much taste like them but spicier. Nothing about them makes me like them more than Jack’s regular offering, and they’re flavorful enough that you don’t even need the taco sauce packets that you’ll probably be given. Although I wonder what flavor they would have if dipped into a container of Good Good Sauce or Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce.

But now let’s end on that red shell. It’s all color, no calefaction or flavor. I’ll admit its dark red hue does look cool, and much like wearing dark colors makes one look slimmer, its color makes the obligatory oil-soaked center available with all Jack in the Box tacos look less noticeable. It’s neat enough that I wouldn’t be angry if Jack used the same shell for Angry Santa Tacos or something in a few weeks.

Purchased Price: $3.00 for 2
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 440 calories – other nutritional info is unavailable on Jack in the Box’s website.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Wild Strawberry Creme Delight Freeze

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I have been deep in the pumpkin spice trenches since mid-August and usually try to take a “fall flavors” break around the end of September. It’s easy to burn out quickly by Thanksgiving and want nothing to do with anything pumpkin spiced or cinnamon apple. When I got the push notification from Taco Bell about its new Wild Strawberry Creme Delight Freeze, it was serendipitous.

Over the years, I’ve had varying degrees of enjoyment with the different frozen offerings from Taco Bell. Some I’ve enjoyed (Baja Blast Freeze) and others reminded me of kids’ medications (Blue Raspberry Freeze). My first, unmixed, sip of this gave me a mouthful of Wild Strawberry that took me back to my ear infection days. The Wild Strawberry flavor had a strong artificialness that isn’t unpleasant, but certainly isn’t something found in nature. I decided to wait until I got home to try the drink again.

During the short three minute drive home, all of the vanilla creamer had sunk to the bottom of the cup. I took that as a chance to try it on its own and feel like the descriptor of “vanilla creamer” does it a grave injustice. I was expecting an International Delight-type product, but instead it was more akin to the sweet cream from Starbucks. After a hearty swirl to blend the two flavors, I took another sip.

With everything blended together, the drink was absolutely delicious. The sweet vanilla cream softened the strawberry flavor in a truly enjoyable way. The blending in of the cream also solved a problem I tend to have with slush drinks: it never got icy from uneven syrup sips. It did require me to keep swirling to keep it well blending, but thanks to an iced mocha habit I have a good swirl system.

The sweet, frosty blend of strawberry and cream felt like that random day in September when the weather shifts to summer one last time. It was a nice treat and break from the fall flavors.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: Regular (16 oz)
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 48 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

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