REVIEW: Dr Pepper Dark Berry

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Dr Pepper Dark Berry

What is Dr Pepper Dark Berry?

Dr Pepper’s 23 flavors has added another – the ominous “Dark Berry,” which is inspired by the upcoming independent arthouse film, “Spider-man: Far From Home.”

WARNING – This review contains SPOILERS!

Relax, one guy who hasn’t seen Avengers: Endgame yet, I’m just reviewing a soda.

How is it?

To me, it smells like Dr Pepper with a drop of Robitussin – a mix of everyone’s two favorite syrups, corn and cough.

Dr Pepper Dark Berry in Glass

I had a hard time even deciding if it tasted more than just a sweeter regular Dr Pepper, but the linger of the “fruit” additive started to take over. It was definitely “berry,” but which?

The answer, while not in the ingredients, can be easily found online, I just wanted to guess first.

I locked in on possibly blueberry…and black cherry?

SPOILER ALERT – Spider-man kills Than…Relax, that one guy, I’m just messing with you.

The titular “dark berries” are blackberry, black currant, and black cherry.

I hate to be swayed, but it made perfect sense. I realized it tasted like three-parts Dr Pepper mixed with one-part Cherry Coke, or like one of those old-timey Boylan’s style Black Cherry sodas you always see in Jewish Delis and trendy bagel joints.

So, while it’s not really that “far from” regular Dr Pepper’s normal flavor, it’s still worth a few sips.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Dr Pepper Dark Berry Ticket Deal

While I’ve seen some Spidey characters (particularly Mysterio for obvious reasons) popping up on promotional cans, I managed to buy the lamest bottle ever. Although, there is a movie ticket deal on the label, so that’s kinda cool.

Conclusion:

Dark Berry is the Andrew Garfield of Dr Pepper flavor variants. It’s still pretty good, but probably too saccharine, and will ultimately be forgotten. There have been superior Spider-men and Dr Peppers.

I look forward to Mr. Pibb’s collaboration with DC.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 20 fl. oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Bottle) 260 calories, 0 grams of fat, 95 milligrams of sodium, 71 grams of carbohydrates, 70 grams of sugar, and less than 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Red, White & Blueberry and Ice Cream Sammie

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Ben Jerry s Red White Blueberry and Ice Cream Sammie

As spring winds down and electricity bills ramp up from air conditioning, grocery stores nationwide are busy curating their ice cream supplies to make room for this season’s newest releases.

Walmart is no exception, and it’s entirely appropriate that it, as the most distinctly “American” superstore, be the exclusive distributor of Ben & Jerry’s two newest pints celebrating summer in the USA.

Red, White & Blueberry

This Old Glory-themed pint blends pieces of shortbread cookies with raspberry, blueberry, and vanilla ice creams. Colorful name aside, this appears woefully pale under the lid, and its taste is similarly one-note.

Ben Jerry s Red White Blueberry

Rather than enhancing the more interesting blueberry and raspberry ice cream swirls, the intense vanilla base comprised roughly 70% of this pint’s volume, and almost entirely masked every unique component promised in this flavor’s description.

Granted, Ben & Jerry’s makes an excellent vanilla ice cream (so excellent, in fact, that Delish.com declared it to be the best vanilla ice cream you can buy in stores), but nobody is buying this Walmart-exclusive because they want something so…vanilla.

Blueberry is a woefully underrepresented flavor in the frozen dessert aisle, and I was hoping for this to be its moment to break out into the limelight. Sadly, the only blueberries I found were in the swirl’s light purple color. Somehow, the raspberry ice cream was even more indecipherable. I didn’t see a single trace of pink or red in my entire container.

Even the shortbread pieces seemed uninspired. Although not entirely terrible, they were soggy, lacked any notion of creativity, and didn’t seem up to par with Ben & Jerry’s usual “everything plus the kitchen sink” attitude.

Ice Cream Sammie

Supposedly a more expensive and less portable spin on the classic childhood treat, Ice Cream Sammie combines chocolate sandwich cookies and chocolate cookie swirls into a base of rich vanilla ice cream.

Ben Jerry s Ice Cream Sammie

Like Red, White & Blueberry, this flavor also failed to live up to my expectations. Unlike its sister pint, however, the issue here isn’t from lack of flavor. Rather, the true nature of this pint is misrepresented by its name. The cookies used here are basically Oreo-like, not true ice cream sandwich wafers. That difference may seem minor, but the impact it has on how this ice cream comes across is enormous.

Rather than reminding me of actual ice cream sandwiches, this is more like Cookies ‘N Cream on steroids. Is it a good version of Cookies ‘N Cream? Yes, absolutely! (And if you’re into Cookies ‘N Cream, then this is something for you to pick up on your next trip to Wally World). But is it like those unmeltable ice cream sandwiches I loved so much as a kid? Not even close.

Although those in search of the ultimate Cookies ‘N Cream may dig Ice Cream Sammie, both of these Walmart-exclusives were way off the mark for me. With so many other delicious options from Ben & Jerry’s, I’d recommend sticking to your usual favorites during your next ice cream run.

Purchased Price: $3.48 each
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10 (Red, White & Blueberry)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Ice Cream Sammie)
Nutrition Facts: (1/2 cup) Red, White & Blueberry – 220 calories, 120 calories from fat, 13 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein. Ice Cream Sammie – 290 calories, 150 calories from fat, 17 grams of total fat, 8 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 24 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Frosty Cookie Sundae

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Wendy s Frosty Cookie Sundae

What is Wendy’s Frosty Cookie Sundae?

Back in the day (Read: The first two or three years of the decade) Wendy’s toyed with numerous Frosty variations, including waffle cones, shakes, and parfaits.

But, after the past few years of relegating the Frosty to a value menu afterthought and French fry delivery system, the chain is giving it a decadent dessert spin by adding chocolate chunk cookie bites and Ghirardelli Chocolate Sauce. It’s available in vanilla and chocolate for a cool two bucks.

How is it?

It’s amazing, which is saying something given that it’s “just” a Frosty with the addition of cookie pieces and chocolate sauce. The thing is, this is a chocolate chip cookie lover’s kind of sundae, complete with thick, chewy, chocolate-chunk loaded cookies pieces that taste like they’ve been broken off a fresh cookie (even though they’re not).

Wendy s Frosty Cookie Sundae Chocolate Syrup

Slathered in the Ghirardelli Chocolate Sauce, each bite has both richness and sophistication, giving the familiar sweet cocoa taste of the Frosty an indulgent appeal. As far as deconstructed cookie sandwiches go, this is at the top of the list (oh, and there most definitely is a list).

Is there anything else you need to know?

Wendy s Frosty Cookie Sundae Cookie Closeup

Plan your bites carefully, making sure to dig below individual cookie pieces to envelop a healthy dose of Frosty with each spoonful. Make no mistake: The moist, buttery, cookie pieces and rich chocolate syrup are the main attractions here and eating them too quickly or on their own will leave you slightly disappointed as you slurp the remaining Frosty.

Also, slight bummer that the sundae can’t be ordered with the double chocolate chunk cookie.

Conclusion:

For a chain that’s put much of its recent effort into revamping its premium sandwiches, Wendy’s has created a surprisingly good dessert item that can definitely stand on its own.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 410 calories, 15 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 63 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 49 grams of total sugars, and 8 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Starbucks Dragon Drink

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Starbucks Dragon Drink

What is the Starbucks Dragon Drink?

Last year, Starbucks debuted a new Refresher, the Mango Dragonfruit. As part of the new summer menu, the chain has mixed the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher with coconutmilk for the beautifully colored Dragon Drink.

It’s a sister drink to the Pink and Violet drinks, which mix the Strawberry Acai and Very Berry Refreshers with coconutmilk, respectively. If you’ve never had actual dragonfruit before, it includes diced dragonfruit on top.

How is it?

While I typically go for coffee, coffee, and more coffee at Starbucks, I’ve been gravitating more toward the Refreshers these last few months for something sweet and caffeinated. So needless to say, I was thrilled to see this one go on the menu, as I’m a huge fan of the Mango Dragonfruit Refresher.

Starbucks Dragon Drink Closeup

The Dragon Drink did not disappoint. Not only does this drink look pretty, it also tastes pretty. (I have a feeling this will be the summer’s most Instagrammed drink.) It’s much sweeter than the Pink and Violet drinks – in a good way. I often feel the coconutmilk outweighs the taste of the Refresher flavors in the Pink and Violet, but this was not the case with Dragon Drink. The mango and dragonfruit flavors shined through, with the right hint of creaminess from the coconutmilk. It truly was refreshing and had me wishing I was sitting by the pool instead of at my desk.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Since it is pretty sweet, I think I’ll stick to a grande when I get this instead of upgrading to a venti. The grande was just enough.

Conclusion:

Try this! If you’re a Refresher fan, it will be a hit.

Purchased Price: $3.85
Size: Grande
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 130 calories, 3 grams of total fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 23 grams of total sugars, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Orange & Mango Oreo and Grape & Peach Oreo Cookies (China)

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Orange Mango Oreo Cookies and Grape Peach Oreo Cookies

What are Orange & Mango Oreo and Grape & Peach Oreo Cookies?

To reward myself for braving Chicken Wing and Wasabi Oreo cookies, I also ordered some of China’s Double-Fruit Oreo. These were the standard chocolate cookies with dual-flavored fruit creme fillings. The orange/yellow variety was orange/mango, and the green/pink filling was grape/peach.

Orange Mango Oreo Cookies and Grape Peach Oreo Cookies 2 Bags

How are they?

Orange dominated the aroma of the Orange & Mango cookies. The Grape & Peach smelled like a subdued grape Bubble Yum Gum.

Orange Mango Oreo Cookies and Grape Peach Oreo Cookies 3 Stacks

I’ll get right to the point, taste-wise. These are not authentic flavors in any way. They were fruit refracted through a prism of candy. If you find American Oreo flavors to be too artificial, these will not appeal to you – stop reading.

Hardcore sugarheads who are still with me: these fillings reminded me of SweeTarts – bright flavors in the neighborhood of the fruit they’re meant to be (orange was a little closer), although not quite as pucker-inducing as the candy. The chocolate cookies did some of the work of toning down the tartness.

Orange Mango Oreo Cookies and Grape Peach Oreo Cookies 4 Filling

Both cookies had a dominant flavor – orange won over mango and grape pushed peach out of the frame. I was hoping for the opposite in both cases. I tasted each colored half of the filling separately in search of the missing fruit, but found the color difference is purely cosmetic.

I enjoyed these on the whole – the chocolate and fruit worked together for me, but missed the peach and mango and wished they were a little more exciting in general.

Orange Mango Oreo Cookies and Grape Peach Oreo Cookies 6 Designs

Is there anything else you need to know?

The cookies had Chinese designs embossed on one side. They were cute and unexpected since the Hot Chicken Wing and Wasabi flavors were just the standard design. Google translate couldn’t recognize them, so if you know what they say, leave a comment – I’m curious.

Orange Mango Oreo Cookies and Grape Peach Oreo Cookies 5 Dunk

Conclusion:

If you like fake fruit, and these end up being released in America, give ‘em a go! Splurging on having them sent from China is probably not worth it, however.

Purchased Price: $9.36 (+ free shipping)
Size: 97g box (10 cookies)
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10 (both flavors)
Nutrition Facts: (per 100g) 486 calories, 21.5 grams of fat, 380 milligrams of sodium, 67.5 grams of carbohydrates, 4.5 grams of protein.

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