REVIEW: Canada Dry Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale

Canada Dry Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale bottle (also available in cans and a zero sugar version)

Ginger ale and I go way back—my nickname as a child was even “Jen-ger Ale”! So, combining my longstanding affinity for this particular beverage with my general love for all things flavored and novel means that Canada Dry’s new Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale was a no-brainer for me to pick up when I saw it peeking from the refrigerator of the corner store that somehow always gets the new releases before anywhere else in my neighborhood.

You may be familiar with the Fruit Splash line from its initial Cherry flavor, and this new Strawberry offering makes a strong impression. It smells potently like the strawberry flavor it advertises—I thought I caught a whiff of kiwi as well, but perhaps I’m just conditioned to associate strawberry with kiwi because they’re so commonly paired with each other. Strawberry is the only fruit mentioned on the ingredients label, so I probably was just smelling things that weren’t there. In any case, I was excited about the prospect of some fruity sweetness to offset ginger ale’s typical fizziness and spice, and that’s exactly what I got.

Canada Dry Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale poured into a glass. Fancy.

In fact, this soda was so sweet and mild upon first sip that I wasn’t sure I would even have identified it as ginger ale until the aftertaste, where that familiar bite kicked in. It struck me as more fruity than gingery, but that’s not to say that the drink was overly sweet. While the mellowness did take me by surprise, especially compared to other flavored ginger ales I’ve had, I quite enjoyed it. The ginger flavor was still present, just in a slightly different way—the juiciness of the strawberry flavor meant that there wasn’t that spiky acidity that can sometimes prevent me from finishing my glass.

Canada Dry Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale looking down in to a glass.

There was a slight tartness as well, which makes sense given that the Fruit Splash line advertises that they’re “made with a splash of real juice”. Sure, the pale pinkish-gold color of the ginger ale didn’t scream “fruit juice”, but the taste sure did. And while the ginger ale fizzed up quite nicely when I first poured myself a glass, it quickly simmered down, so my drinking experience wasn’t overly bubbly. Overall, Strawberry Fruit Splash went down quite smoothly— crisp, refreshing, and very drinkable!

Canada Dry Strawberry Fruit Splash Ginger Ale label up close.

I think this flavor is a winner. Ginger ale has a reputation as a good mixer, and it certainly mixes well with strawberry flavoring, leading to a well-balanced drink that goes down easy. And best of all—unlike many of the unique flavors I’m used to loving and losing, this one is a permanent addition to Canada Dry’s lineup, so if you enjoy it as I did, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to drink your fill. If you’re in the market for some ginger ale that contains sugar and spice and all things nice, Strawberry Fruit Splash will indeed make a splash!

Purchased Price: $2.44
Size: 20 fl oz bottles
Purchased at: A local convenience store
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 240 calories, 0 grams of fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 63 grams of carbohydrates, 62 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Liquid Death Sparkling Energy Drinks

Liquid Death Sparkling Energy Drinks all flavors

It’s hard to know whether Liquid Death is killing it in the sparkling water world. Everywhere I shop, its cans and multipacks are buried within the hordes of LaCroix, bubly, Waterloo, and store brands. While the company is concerned with murdering our thirst, I wonder if the others are slaughtering its market share. Well, to get a little market share elsewhere, Liquid Death is taking a stab at the energy drink market with a line of Sparkling Energy Drinks.

Available in four flavors—Scary Strawberry, Tropical Terror, Orange Horror, and Murder Mystery—Liquid Death’s energy drinks have zero sugar, no sucralose or aspartame, no artificial colors or dyes, B and C vitamins, and 100 milligrams of caffeine naturally sourced from coffee beans.

Yup. Just 100 milligrams of sweet caffeine. A nice round number that Liquid Death calls “unextreme.” I’m a bit flabbergasted by that amount because for a company that wants to murder our thirst and bring death to drowsy (the can’s words, not mine), I’m disappointed these don’t have 187 milligrams of caffeine. But I guess 100 isn’t so bad since a 12-ounce can of Red Bull has 114 milligrams.

If you’re familiar with Liquid Death’s other products, you won’t be surprised by the mild, watered-down flavors these have. If you’re not familiar, they have a taste that’s between the other sparkling water brands I mentioned in the opening paragraph and any other energy drink, but leans more towards water.

Liquid Death Murder Mystery Sparkling Energy Drink

Liquid Death Tropical Terror Sparkling Energy Drink

Among the four varieties, the two that stand out are Murder Mystery and Tropical Terror. I initially thought the former would be a mystery flavor, but it turns out it has the same flavor as Liquid Death’s Doctor Death, which has a Dr Pepper-like taste. As a fan of Doctor Death, I approve of it. I also endorse Tropical Terror, which tastes terrific. It has a noticeable, tasty pineapple flavor with a hint of coconut, which makes me wonder if this is similar to Liquid Death’s Pina Killada, which I have never tried.

Liquid Death Scary Strawberry Sparkling Energy Drink

Liquid Death Orange Horror Sparkling Energy Drink

Scary Strawberry and Orange Horror were also great tasting and reminded me of strawberry and orange sodas, but, you know, watered down like the others. I believe there have been strawberry and orange Liquid Death options, but I haven’t tried them, so I can’t compare. But all four are worthy of a rebuy.

While there’s a lot to like about these, not coming in 16-ounce cans from the get-go is disappointing. Most new energy drinks seem to come in 12-ounce slim cans, which I don’t mind. But if I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of milligrams of caffeine, and they’re all roughly the same price, my hands are more likely to pull off the shelf something with 16 ounces. If these are someday available in 16-ounce cans, maybe they could have 187 milligrams of caffeine?

Overall, I think Liquid Death’s foray into energy drinks is a successful one. A negative I’ve had about its sparkling water is the lack of caffeine, but these have erased that issue. If you’re a fan of the company’s previous beverages, the way these taste won’t be unfamiliar to you. However, if you’re used to sweet energy drinks with a ton of flavor, these might not appeal to you.

Purchased Price: $2.50 each (sale)
Size: 12 fl oz cans
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Murder Mystery and Tropical Terror), 7 out of 10 (Scary Strawberry and Orange Horror)
Nutrition Facts: (1 can – all flavors) 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 5 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Monster Ultra Wild Passion Energy Drink

Monster Ultra Wild Passion Energy Drink can

To make my five-year-old son feel like he has some control in my life, I let him pick which Monster Ultra Energy Drink flavor I’ll drink to give me the energy to play with him for the rest of the day.

He can’t read most of the names yet, but he can easily point out colors, so he tells me which Monster Ultra to choose by pointing to the color. Take that, Cocomelon! If you’re unfamiliar with the Monster Ultra lineup, they come in different cans that span the color spectrum in a Kindergarten class. But now there are two purple cans: Ultra Violet and the new Ultra Wild Passion Energy Drink.

Granted, Ultra Violet is a dark purple can, while Ultra Wild Passion is a light purple can, and my son knows the difference between light and dark. When daddy doesn’t have caffeine, he’s Dark Tired Daddy, and when he does, he’s Light Awake Daddy.

Monster Ultra Wild Passion Energy Drink in measuring cup

While there’s a flavor difference between the two purple Monster Ultra Energy Drinks, after drinking Ultra Wild Passion, I can’t help but think it tastes oddly similar to another in the Monster Ultra Rainbow — the Monster Ultra in the white can. The energy drink company describes Wild Passion’s flavor profile as “passionfruit with citrus,” while the white one is “light refreshing citrus.”

I’m very familiar with Ultra White because my kid has chosen it for me many times, and it’s a default when my body goes into decision paralysis and can’t make up my mind between the gazillion flavors. The two energy drinks aren’t identical taste twins; I think Wild Passion is slightly more tart and fruitier, while the White one is a bit sweeter. But from the moment I took a sip, I realized the newest flavor might be just a slight tweak of one of the oldest.

Does it bother me that they taste similar? Not anywhere as close as it bothers my son that he absolutely can’t have any of the energy drink he picked. Since Ultra White is one of my most consumed flavors, I don’t mind a slightly tweaked tasting version. Besides, since there are now two purple Monster Ultra flavors, I can teach my son the difference between violet and lilac the next time we play Choose the Caffeine.

Who’s the teacher now, Cocomelon!

Purchased Price: $2.69
Size: 16 fl oz can
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 400 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 2 grams of erythritol, 0 grams of protein, and 150 milligrams of caffeine.

4 Other Things I Consumed This Week: 11/7/2025

Huel Peach & Hibiscus Daily Greens

Never again. I don’t care that it has 42 vitamins, minerals, and superfoods. Even if I got it for free, I would not drink another Huel Daily Greens. The can says, “Powerful greens in every sip,” but it was a bit unpleasant to power through every sip for me. I couldn’t even get through one-fourth of the can. Let me tell you my horror story.

For the most part, this is one of those rare products that smells worse than it tastes, and that might be the nicest thing I’m going to say about this. A savory mushroom smell came out of the can the instant I opened it. While not at all pleasant, I thought it made sense since Lion’s Mane mushroom powder is one of the highlighted ingredients. However, that aroma later became an issue, which I’ll get to in a moment.

The number of juice concentrates in this drink would make you think they could overcome the mushrooms, and they do to some extent. Let’s see now, there’s strawberry, sour cherry, red raspberry, apple, carrot, cranberry, and blueberry.

But despite all that, the sip is like a roller coaster over a landfill. It starts with that savory mushroom flavor dropping onto your tongue, then the fruitiness rises above the less pleasant flavors, making things taste like a tolerable fruity and peachy mushroom soup, and then the aftertaste drops your taste buds back to Earth(y). Also, any burps will have you reliving the aftertaste. Better hope you don’t get hiccups at this time. Oh, here’s another nice thing I’m going to say about this drink: It’s still mostly unpleasant and I needed something to get rid of the taste in my mouth, but I didn’t gag.

But back to that aroma. I thought maybe things would be better after I let it sit in the fridge. Do not let it sit in your fridge! Better yet, do not buy this! That mushroom odor will spread throughout the air-tight box and make any open baking soda box in your fridge tap out, wishing it had been used for baking fruitcakes that will go uneaten instead. Even as I typed this, the open can was next to me, and its aroma silently assaulted my nostrils. So I dumped the rest of the can down the drain, and left the empty can in the sink. I thought that was the last I’ll have to deal with it.

However, minutes later, I could smell it again from the can, which was 15 feet away. Squirting some dish soap and filling it with water seemed to have corralled the odor problem for now. Not sure if I want to recycle the can or throw it in with the other trash so it’ll be burned.

Huel Daily Greens come in other flavors, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they have the same blech-ness. If you’re a Lion’s Mane mushroom fanatic, you should try this. And if you like it, you should wait until they’re on Target Clearance for 99 cents to buy them all. But please open them in the privacy of your own home. But for the rest of you, don’t even think about it. Just hurl your cart past these Huel drinks.

Nestle Tokyo Banana Kit Kat

This Japanese Kit Kat flavor has been around for several years, and I feel like I’ve had it before, but I didn’t document it on this site or in my camera roll. Bad food blogger! Not taking pictures of everything you eat!

My older brother gave me a variety of Kit Kat flavors he collected on a recent trip to Japan, and this was the one that stood out because I LOVE banana-flavored stuff, and it’s the only one I instantly recognized without having to read Japanese writing. Anyhoo, these are delicious, and I’m EXTREMELY sad my brother gave me only one.

If you’re not familiar with Tokyo Banana, you can read more about it here. Basically, think of it as an elegant Twinkie with a sponge cake-like coating and banana creme within it. This Kit Kat, though, has banana-flavored creme between the wafers with a chocolate coating. So I guess think of it as eating a chocolate-covered banana-flavored Kit Kat.

McDonald’s The New Buffalo Ranch

Tiffany recently reviewed the sauce and one of the McCrispy Sandwiches, but I finally got to taste it with the Chicken McNuggets in my $5 Meal Deal. (Pro tip: The Meal Deals come with small drinks, but when you go to the checkout page and edit your Meal Deal, you can change it to a large without an up-charge. Well, at least, I’ve been doing that.)

Anyhoo, back to the sauce. I’m having a hard time believing this is different from other Buffalo sauces I’ve had from McDonald’s. It might be creamier or something, but it still has a familiar vinegary and buttery flavor. Although, if my memory is correct, the previous Buffalo sauces were spicier. If there are notes of ranch, my taste buds didn’t notice them. With that said, it’s a tasty McNuggets sauce, but it’s not quite good enough to surpass my beloved Hot Mustard.

Clear Simple Eats Peach Mango Creme Clear Protein Water

It seems like I’m trying a protein drink every week. Well, what can I say? I’m like a moth to a light when it comes to protein drinks. Or maybe it’s all the influencers in my Instagram feed that tell me I need to consume more protein. This clear protein water from Clear Simple Eats comes in a variety of flavors, like Blackberry Vanilla, Raspberries & Cream, and this Peach Mango Creme. Why does Raspberries & Cream use “Cream,” while Peach Mango Creme uses “Creme”? Well, that’s not clear to me. You walked yourself into that one, those of you who thought that question.

The drink is clear and colorless, but there’s some stuff floating on the surface, which I assume is the grass-fed whey protein that provides 20 grams of protein and gives it a slightly grainy texture you’d expect from a whey protein drink. It has no sugar; its sweetness comes from stevia leaf extract. There’s no juice, but it has a lovely peach mango flavor, with the peach standing out just a tad more. However, I’m not sure about the “creme” part.

Click/Tap here for our previous Other Things I Consumed posts.

REVIEW: Bang Any Means Orange Energy Drink

Bang Any Means Orange is my first experience with a Bang Energy Drink, and ever since I’ve consumed it, my heart has been racing. However, I don’t know if that’s because I’ve fallen in love with this energy drink flavor or because of the 300 milligrams of caffeine the beverage has.

Any Means Orange is probably the most random-sounding energy drink flavor name ever, but I assure you that there is meaning behind it. The flavor is a collaboration between Bang and Any Means Possible, or AMP for short. They’re a collective of online streamers.

I know some of you wordsmiths are thinking, “If their group is called Any Means Possible, why wasn’t this Any Means Pomegranate?” Well, I’m going to be honest, probably because pomegranate is so (insert whatever the kids say instead of “uncool” here), and there’s something Weird Al Yankovic-ish about that name.

However, I am extremely thankful that it ended up being orange-flavored because my fondness for how Any Means Orange tastes is as high as this energy drink’s caffeine content.

First off, this isn’t just straight-up orange. While the brand says it’s “Refreshing orange with a zesty kick,” I swear it’s orange creamsicle-flavored. So it really should’ve been, “Refreshing orange with a creamy kick.” That is as clear as the beverage when poured into a Pyrex cup. It hits the citrus and cream flavors so well that I’m surprised this isn’t liquid from an ice cream truck with broken freezers that’s sitting in the middle of the desert. It’s so delicious.

Much like I’ve experienced with Monster Energy’s Ultra line, this zero sugar energy drink doesn’t taste like there’s no sugar in it. (Oh, for those who don’t follow energy drink companies like sports teams, Bang’s parent company, Vital Pharmaceuticals, was purchased by Monster in 2023.)

If you’re a fan of orange creamsicle-flavored energy drinks and want 300 milligrams of caffeine, pick this up by any means necessary.

DISCLOSURE: I received complimentary product samples from Bang. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 16 fl oz can
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 0 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 300 milligrams of caffeine.

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