A&W Ice Cream Sundae

 

Product circa: 2025

This was one of the hardest products to find in my history of ephemeral noms; I searched for it specifically during a few weekends around town before I finally found it.

In short, it's cream soda with chocolate added.  There's also a distinct flavor of the the type of marshmallows you'll find in cereal.  It's genius, honestly... why wouldn't you add chocolate to cream soda?  I guess chocolate soda is a foreign enough concept to consumers that most people wouldn't try it?  And the cleverest part of this stuff is that just enough citric acid is added to make the flavors blossom.  Without the acid, I imagine this would be flat and boring.

Anyway, the biggest disappointment is that A&W didn't use their root beer base for this.  A long time ago, I seem to recall being able to order root beer with a chocolate flavor add-in at Sonic Drive-In.  Cuz why not??

Sprite Chill Mango Citrus

 

Product circa: spring 2026

Coca-Cola is expanding the Sprite Chill line, and I am here for it.

Mango almost always works in mass market sodas like these, and this is no exception.  It's hard to tell if any additional citrus was added to this mix... I might guess grapefruit if my life depended on it.  Overall, this tastes exceedingly tropical and is very satisfying.

Supposedly the Sprite Chill line uses a proprietary blend of "cooling agents" to make the liquid feel even colder in the mouth and throat, ala menthol, but I'm not even sure I can detect it.

Planters Ranch and Sweet Cayenne BBQ

 

Products circa: summer 2026

I'm late in the year to report on these semiquincentennial snacks from July.  As rare editions of Planters peanuts, these are essentially cocktail peanuts with potato chip-esque flavor powders added to them.  Not that I am complaining... flavored nut mixes are rare around these parts, for some reason.

Ranch: I'm not a ranch guy, but these are alright.  Any cool ranch Doritos fans would gobble these up.

Sweet Cayenne BBQ: These are more special; I've bought several of these since July.  Not only does the barbecue flavor work better on peanuts than ranch, the barbecue seasoning on these are a step above anything I've tasted on a chip.  You have the sweet molasses/tomato base like usual, but the smokiness here is something I haven't tasted since the old Lay's KC Masterpiece chips.  On top of that, there is a noticeable mustard component to these, which is reflected on the ingredients list.  A complex masterpiece for a peanut snack.  What a shame that these will probably never be produced again.

Cheetos The Flavor of Fear

 

Product circa: Halloween 2026

A very interesting Halloweeny take on the rare sweet-style Cheetos snack.  These are basically cinnamon-sugar Cheetos puffs with a hefty amount of chile powder on them.  I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon-sugar snacks, but the chile adds enough savoriness to make these interesting and hard to put down.  What will make you put them down, however, is the heat.  I'm very impressed with the heat level of these, and after a few puffs, you'll need to take a break to cool down.

Pringles Smoky Bacon & Smoky Cheddar

 

Products circa: 2026

Smoky Bacon: An MSG bomb with savory flavors, especially onion.  Interestingly, coffee powder is on the ingredient list.  There is a pleasant smoky flavor that manages to simulate bacon quite well, considering there is no meat product in the ingredients.

Smoky Cheddar: This was an instant pick-up, as Pringles always does with with cheese-related flavors.  In the end, there isn't a ton of smoke in these... probably to avoid disappointing your average normie customer.  But they're still delicious.  The light touch of smoke doesn't quite register as smoke, and instead just makes the cheese flavor more interesting.  Awesome!

Crush Electric Blue Razz

 

Product circa: 2024-2025

A nostalgic throwback... was blue raspberry really that popular in the 1980s?  Anyway...

I'm a big fan of blue raspberry, and it took a lot of effort on my part to find this product.  But in the end... it's not quite what I wanted.  They made this formula decidedly sour, whereas my fickle ass wanted something sweet, in this one instance.  I'm impossible to please.  But this is still a very fun product, and tasty, and one of the few blue raspberry sodas to have ever existed.

Fanta Crimson Sour Cherry

Product circa: spring 2026

A promotion with the 2026 video game Diablo IV.

I'm not a cherry soda fan, really, but the sourness here is perfectly balanced with the sweetness that would otherwise be overpowering.  This shit is good.  If I see any residual 12 packs of this, I'm going to buy one.

Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry

 

Product circa: 2024 and later winter seasons

Sprite's Cranberry version from many years ago was very good, and this product has proved successful enough to return at least one year so far for the winter season.

This stuff is really good, but I'm annoyed that I'm having such a hard time discerning its flavors.  Beyond the cranberry, I can't tell what "spices" exists in this formula.  It's possible that there are traditional baking spices in this, like clove or allspice, and they are simply toned down so much that they're barely recognizable.  But by my tongue, I think it's more likely a bit of ginger and juniper that are added, maybe.  Regardless, this is a real treat, and worth picking up a 12-pack each season.

CinnaGraham Toast Crunch

Product circa: 2026

Obviously a combination between Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Graham cereals, this seems to have great promise.

Maybe I haven't had these sorts of cereals in a while, but this tastes way too... healthy.  "Earthy" and even "woody" are the descriptors I'm getting here.  The cereal uses whole wheat and corn as its primary grain, but the mouth feels it more like whole wheat and oat bran.  I'm getting an overall very fibrous experience, like the product is ultra-high fiber (it's not) and like it could use some processed/bleached wheat to give it a bit more soft body.  It could be a lot sweeter too.  Even the cinnamon feels over-toasted and woody.  Maybe all this earthiness is from the adding of the graham cracker-like cereal, but I'm just getting earth, cinnamon, and not much else.  It's more hardy than hearty.  It's not unlike cinnamon mulch.  It's not horrible, but I think all of this is the result of cereal brands continuing to maximize nutritional value and fiber over sugar.  I'd rather have either of its constituent cereals, I think.

Doritos Ultimate Garlic Parmesan

 

Product circa: July 2026

Part of Doritos' semiquincentennial recognition.  Because garlic and parmigiano cheese are so American?

Anyway, LMAO - these taste shockingly like Doritos Cool Ranch, with perhaps a bit more garlic, and maybe the sour cream is a bit more "aged" to be cheese-like.  But the DNA is still Cool Ranch, through and through.  How disappointing and hilarious.

Oreo Firecracker Pop

 

Product circa: July 2026

While not specifically targeted as a semiquincentennial promotion, it is certainly a seasonal release for Independence Day 2026.

I respect the attempt here.  Three different flavors of creme in a vanilla cookie, and each creme flavor corresponds to the three flavors of a "firecracker pop", more likely known as a rocket pop.  Indeed, all three flavors of creme are completely discernible here, though I would say the lemon is least of all.  The problem is that while not unpleasant, this cookie is just way too busy, in terms of taste.  In addition, per my personal tastes, the 3 cremes make the balance more akin to a Double Stuf, which is not my preference.

Herr's Jalapeno Cream Cheese and Hickory Barbecue

 

Products circa: July 2026

Labeled "United" and "Liberty", these are semiquincentennial products, this time Philadelphia-coded as "Flavored 4 Philly".  I have no idea how these flavors relate to the city, but Herr's is known as a fantastic regional brand located not far from it.

Jalapeno Cream Cheese: Essentially a sour cream & onion flavor, with a greenery amped up a bit by green chile, and perhaps the sour cream powder goes a bit deeper in flavor so as to be "cheese".  The heat builds up just a bit after a couple bites.  Not bad, but I won't remember these.

Hickory Barbecue: It starts as your typical barbeque flavor, but it's clear that the hickory here as a much more deep and woody flavor than your average chip.  One of the best bbq chips I've had to date.

Ruffles Buffalo Wings

 

Product circa: July 2026

Another semiquincentennial, and this time a truly quintessential (there's a pun in there somewhere) American flavor.

I've had plenty of "hot sauce" chips before, but these are among the best.  It's because they cranked up the boldness of the flavor, and also the vinegar seasoning, such that it actually evokes proper Buffalo wings.  Bravo.

Pringles Italian Meatball

 

Product circa: summer 2026

While not expressly tied to the World Cup, these are a summer 2026 release that coincides with it.

These are very "pizza-chip"-coded, with tomato and oregano being the primary flavors, here.  These go further and have a heavier dose of aromatic vegetables, and also yeast extract to simulate the meat flavor.  In the end, I'd rather have Pringles Pizza flavored chips.

Birthday Cake Cheerios

 

Product circa: summer 2026

Birthday, get it?  Whether this product is meant to celebrate the USA's semiquincentennial or simply Independence Day in general, it is not called out anywhere on the box, except for the fireworks as part of the design.

I was excited, but I'm not sure why.  I don't think cereal was ever going to taste like cake.  Instead, you had a generalized vanilla frosting flavor added to the Cheerios, with perhaps the sprinkles also being notable.  Not bad at all, to be sure, but it's about as good as any sweetened Cheerios varietal.

Gatorade All-American Mashups

 

Product circa: July 2026

I bought this fully having no idea what it was.  It turns out that it's a mystery flavor in celebration of the semiquincentennial.

As the internet would suggest, this stuff is a dead ringer for guava.  It feels like it tastes less salty than your average Gatorade, as well.  A really nice change of pace, but nothing too special.

Orange Cream Coca-Cola

 

Product circa: 2025

It is my contention that every product should have an orange vanilla version, period.

Anyway, this stuff is good.  Orange, vanilla, and cola are flavors that have always gone well with each other in any combination.  The flavor is strong enough to be noticed here as well, and I would say they struck a good balance.  However, I might say that the older Orange Coca-Cola product would be my preference.

The zero sugar version is a pale comparison to the original; the flavor balance is off, somehow.  I think that vanilla flavoring might specifically struggle with calorie-free sweetener.

Dr. Pepper Creamy Coconut

 

Product circa: 2024 and 2026

On paper, this feels like an all-time varietal, but in practice, the coconut flavor is quite faint, and I would have preferred it stronger, almost like what you'd from Sonic Drive-In if you ordered a Dr. Pepper with a coconut add-in.  With that said, this stuff is still damn good, and I easily drank a whole 12 pack with time to spare.  And evidently, it was popular enough that it has returned in 2026.

Mountain Dew Frost Bite

 

Product circa: post-2020

I vaguely remember this tasting of melon, but it was mostly forgettable.  Label is cool AF, though.

Dump post: Oreos, Pop-Tarts, Lays, and Mountain Dew Baja Gold

 Just a post dumping old pics that I never posted.  I don't have individualized reviews of these, but I remember especially that the Oreos below were very good overall.