{"id":14374,"date":"2013-02-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=14374"},"modified":"2023-02-13T16:44:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T02:44:11","slug":"review-7-up-ten-aw-root-beer-ten-sunkist-ten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2013\/02\/04\/review-7-up-ten-aw-root-beer-ten-sunkist-ten\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: 7 Up Ten, A&W Root Beer Ten, Sunkist Ten"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"7<\/a><\/p>\n

According to basic high school chemistry, which I managed to somehow retain despite frequent non-approved nap breaks during 10th grade, a single gram of carbohydrates contains exactly four calories*. <\/p>\n

*3.9 if you want to get all technical about it.<\/small><\/p>\n

According to even simpler preschool math, I have also managed to remember (although in this case, I credit school-sponsored naps) one plus one equals two and four plus four equals eight. So with two grams of total carbohydrates, it\u2019s perfectly reasonable to think the eight calories per can of the new 7 Up, and Sunkist low-calorie sodas would take on names like 7 Up Eight or Sunkist Eight. Likewise, you might think the folks at RootBeer.com would piggyback “Twelve” onto the end of the name for their new low calorie, three carbohydrate version of A&W Root Beer.<\/p>\n

Except they didn\u2019t, mostly on account of the FDA having this whole rounding thing going when it comes to calories, but also because saying you\u2019re an “eight” is like wearing a pin that sports how moderately above average but not spectacular you are. <\/p>\n

It makes sense when you think about it. I mean, when was the last time you bragged to your friends about scoring that “eight” at the bar or walked into an interview touting the fact that you earned the equivalent of a B- grade point average? Face it. An eight is like losing in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. It\u2019s not horrible, but nobody really cares or remembers. And 12? Don\u2019t even get me started on 12. Hyperbole might be all well and good for cartoons, but when it comes to superlatives in my food, I can see right through that marketing fallacy.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re left with rounding up on two new sodas and rounding down on one new soda to get us to the magic ten calories which give the new 7 Up Ten, Sunkist Ten, and A&W Ten sodas their names.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time a “Ten” soda has been released. Aside from their calorie (or lack thereof) content, the only thing the new flavors of “Ten” sodas have in common with the previously released Dr. Pepper Ten<\/a> is that they\u2019re owned by the same company. Otherwise, I would have pegged them as the last sodas to get an upgrade in flavor. Popular Coke or Pepsi products, or something otherwise legendary and iconic? I could see that. Who wouldn\u2019t kill for a Cheerwine 10? But 7 Up, A&W, and Sunkist? This is like the cast of characters that come back for reality shows like Rachel Vs. Guy Celebrity Cooks. But considering this is the most play 7 Up has gotten since Spot Goes to Hollywood<\/a><\/i> hit the Sega Saturn and the most love any flavor of orange soda has gotten since Kel Mitchell went all PG-13 on that bottle in All That<\/i><\/a>, well, I guess it was time for something<\/i> different.<\/p>\n

\"7<\/a><\/p>\n

I started with 7 Up Ten because that seemed like the soda that could be the least offensive of the three. Or as I like to say, boring. Go figure, boring is exactly how it tasted. It has your characteristic diet soda body in that it didn\u2019t leave any syrupy sensation going down, and it lacked the “bite” or harshness which something like Sprite Zero or Diet Sierra Mist has. The carbonation meter on 7 Up is still on the wimpy side, while the taste lacks any zing or pizzazz or other onomatopoeic word you would use to describe soda. It\u2019s terribly typical, and almost indiscernible from Diet 7 Up. I was not a fan.<\/p>\n

\"Sunkist<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, I moved on to Sunkist Ten because the taste of 7 Up Ten left me feeling pretty plain about my soda drinking and because I thought it would help my self-esteem to be kist by the orange sun of celestial citrus goodness. Of course, I\u2019ve had Diet Sunkist plenty of times in my life and have found it to be about as dull and exciting as getting kist by a grey sun peeking through the fog on a cloudy day. <\/p>\n

Sunkist Ten, for some reason completely unexplainable to me, has a much greater intensity and brighter orange flavor than Diet Sunkist, putting it closer to our image of an actual sun kisting you. The carbonation walks the line of being just enough to give you a few quiet burps but not enough to make embarrass you at the office lunch meeting, while the sharper flavor of the orange and citrus do a much better job at covering up the harsh aftertaste of aspartame. Quite frankly, it\u2019s about damn time we got low calorie orange soda that didn\u2019t suck, and would give me cause to consider why someone like Kel Mitchell would kist it back.<\/p>\n

\"A&W<\/a><\/p>\n

With two flavors of ten sodas down (that\u2019s 16 calories, for those keeping track) I moved on to A&W Ten, which prides itself on having aged vanilla flavor. \u00a0I\u2019m going to have to take their word for it because I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever had aged vanilla before, unless you count the pint of nine-month expired Ben and Jerry\u2019s I once bought at a thrift grocery store. <\/p>\n

I thought the taste was a moderate improvement over regular Diet A&W, with the actual liquid having a bit more body and the vanilla and sassafras flavor coming across as sharper and better defined. It\u2019s a good low calorie root beer, although it\u2019s still not nearly as good as Barq\u2019s Zero, which has a serious bite and no calories, but is only available through Coke Freestyle machines. I don\u2019t think they sell those in 12-packs though, so I consider A&W Ten an acceptable substitute for the time being.<\/p>\n

The cynic in me wants to back up the assertion that making sodas out of two of the most hated ingredients \u2013 high fructose corn syrup and aspartame \u2013 isn’t going to please anyone in the regular soda vs. diet soda debate, and if I was going off of 7 Up Ten alone, I\u2019d probably just tell you to buy regular Diet 7 Up or 7 Up depending on your preference. <\/p>\n

But as I lifelong diet soda drinker who occasionally dabbles in the empty sugar rush of HFCS-sweetened beverages, I can say there’s a real improvement of flavor and body in both Sunkist and A&W Ten that makes them highly preferable to their zero calorie predecessors.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts – 12 ounces – 7Up Ten<\/b> – 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 45 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbs, 2 grams of sugars, and 0 grams of protein. A&W Root Beer Ten<\/b> – 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 3 grams of carbs, 2 grams of sugars, and 0 grams of protein. Sunkist Ten<\/b> – 10 calories, 0 grams of fat, 130 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of carbs, 2 grams of sugars, and 0 grams of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Item:<\/b> 7 Up Ten, A&W Root Beer Ten, Sunkist Ten
\nPurchased Price:<\/b> 25 cents each
\nSize:<\/b> 12 ounce cans
\nPurchased at:<\/b> Safeway
\nRating:<\/b> 3 out of 10 (7 Up Ten)
\nRating:<\/b> 7 out of 10 (A&W Ten)
\nRating:<\/b> 8 out of 10 (Sunkist Ten)
\nPros:<\/b> Low calorie. Sunkist Ten is like being kist by the sun without the risk of skin cancer. Aged Vanilla in A&W Ten actually tastes more defined and sharper than in diet version. Busting out the Sega Saturn references. School sponsored naps.
\nCons:<\/b> None have heavy bite and carbonation that will get you through the first half of burping the alphabet. 7 Up Ten tastes just like Diet 7 Up. Contains a whole bunch of chemicals that the internet says will give me cancer. Still have Diet Soda body, and not the body you get from abstaining from regular soda, if you know what I mean. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to basic high school chemistry, which I managed to somehow retain despite frequent non-approved nap breaks during 10th grade, a single gram of carbohydrates contains exactly four calories*. *3.9 if you want to get all technical about it. According to even simpler preschool math, I have also managed to remember (although in this case, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1488],"class_list":["post-14374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-soda"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":606,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2008\/05\/11\/sunkist-float\/","url_meta":{"origin":14374,"position":0},"title":"Sunkist Float","author":"Ace","date":"May 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans love a lot of things: pornography, violence, and worshipping false idols. But most of all we love food. Not just good, classic food, but superfluous and extravagant treats that go far beyond the realm of reasonable. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the country that balked at Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attempt at a deep fried Mars\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6312,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2010\/05\/03\/review-sunkist-invincible-orange-slurpee\/","url_meta":{"origin":14374,"position":1},"title":"REVIEW: Sunkist Invincible Orange Slurpee","author":"Kayla","date":"May 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"To mark the beginning of the warmer days of spring, I get a Slurpee from 7-Eleven. Slurpees are like teen magazines; you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be caught with one, because people will think you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a tad bit weird if they see you tonguing and speaking in baby-talk to the latest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50891,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2022\/04\/18\/spotted-sunkist-mango-orange\/","url_meta":{"origin":14374,"position":2},"title":"SPOTTED: Sunkist Mango Orange","author":"Marvo","date":"April 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Just in time for the warmer months. I can't wait to run into this sun and feel all orange (and mango) inside. (Insert here attempts to shoehorn past Sunkist slogans.) 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