Tag: A&W

REVIEW: Blue Bell A&W Root Beer Float Ice Cream

Denis 2 Comments

There’s a saying that if at first you succeed, then do something very similar so you can succeed again. OK, I might not have that exactly right, but the folks at Blue Bell know what I’m talking about. Last year, they introduced the Dr Pepper Float flavor, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and apparently, many others did as well because it’s now a permanent member of the Blue Bell lineup. For this summer, they have introduced the A&W Root Beer Float Ice Cream, which, despite its name, is only partly ice cream, namely vanilla, and the rest is root beer-flavored sherbet. Just like its Dr Pepper sibling, the A&W version is an instant classic in my book.

Through some kind of magic, which is vaguely explained in the ingredient list as “natural and artificial flavors,” the sherbet perfectly duplicates the taste of root beer. Plus, the consistency of the sherbet, which has a slightly more granular texture compared to the creamier ice cream, delivers a taste experience that almost made me think it was carbonated.

And here’s a tip: if you let this sit out for a few minutes instead of digging in right out of the freezer, the ice cream starts to melt a little faster than the sherbet, and it adds a bit more of the rich and creamy vanilla flavor to the mixture. Whatever Blue Bell did to make the Dr Pepper Float flavor so good, it did it again with this one.

Of course, I did have to try making a float with this ice cream and some actual A&W Root Beer, and the results were quite good, though perhaps not as mind-blowing as I was expecting, especially considering my choice of drinking vessel.

It turned out to just be a root beer float with a little extra root beer punch. So, if you have a busy schedule and don’t have the time for the two minutes of preparation that goes into making an actual root beer float, the Blue Bell version serves as a fine—perhaps even superior—substitute. You don’t have to worry about getting the right ice cream-to-root beer ratio; there’s no danger of the foam spilling over the top of the glass, and you’ll have tons more free time on your hands if you don’t have to do the mixing yourself. I just hope this version joins the Dr Pepper Float as a year-round product.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: H-E-B
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 170 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

A&W Sparkling Vanilla Cream Soda

Marvo 25 Comments

Recently, I’ve been sucking down many of these A&W Sparkling Vanilla Cream Sodas.

I’ve been doing so much sucking that I feel like I’m either a baby sucking on a tit, a crack addict sucking on a crack pipe, or Paris Hilton making another sex tape.

I just have this “thing” for vanilla cream sodas, much like I have a thing for Rachael Ray, old school hip-hop, saying the word “incestuous,” and words that don’t start with “qu,” like Qatar, qanat, and qintar.

The A&W Sparkling Vanilla Cream Soda was very good, but it tasted just like their regular cream soda. Now I thought the “sparkling” would add something sparkling, much like how bubbles help champaign sparkle and glitter helps Sparkling Barbie look more like a stripper, but it didn’t.

The only thing different about this soda than the previous A&W Cream soda is the “Vintage Bottle,” which if you take off the label or stick in a small brown paper bag, looks like a beer bottle.

This means that with the amber-colored A&W Sparkling Vanilla Cream Soda and the “Vintage Bottle,” I can be a total poser at a party and pretend I’m cool with a “beer” in hand.

It’s much like when I was growing up and pretended apple juice was beer, bubble gum cigarettes were actual cigarettes, and my switchblade comb was an actual switchblade knife, which I used to try and recreate the fight/dance off scene from the Michael Jackson video for Beat It.

Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it
No one wants to be defeated
Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight
It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right
Just beat it, beat it
Beat it, beat it, beat it

Maybe it’s better that I be a poser with my fake beer, because if I drank as many bottles of beer as I have with the delicious A&W Sparkling Vanilla Cream Soda, I might end up passed out on my bathroom floor, lying in my own vomit, with a Sharpie mustache drawn on my face, and two arrows pointing to my mouth also drawn on my face with the words, “Stick it in the hole for a prize,” written on my chin.

Plus, someone would probably take pictures of me in this position and post it all over the internet with the word “0wn3d!” on it.

Item: A&W Sparkling Vanilla Cream Soda
Purchase Price: 99 cents
Rating: 4 out of 5
Pros: Damn good. Refreshing. Kind of addictive. If I take off the label or stick the bottle in a brown paper bag, it looks like I’m drinking beer, which in turn, makes me looking cool. My switchblade comb. Michael Jackson before the sleepovers and plastic surgery.
Cons: Not different in taste than the previous A&W Cream soda. Possible passed out drunk pictures posted on the internet.