Dublin Orange Creme Soda

Dublin Orange Cream Soda from Dublin Bottling Works. This soda has got to be the best orange cream soda I have ever tasted! It was super rich in flavor and a perfect balance of orange and cream. It had a nice amount of carbonation that tingled throughout my mouth while the flavor took over. The bottle also has a cute retro feel to it and it was a bright orange color with a wonderful tart aroma. And of course it is made with pure can sugar so it has a certain fresh, crisp taste to it because of it. Dublin hardly disappoints! I give this orange cream soda a 5 outta 5. -A

Dublin Bottling Works out of Dublin, Texas. Vanilla Cream Soda. This soda tasted great! One of the best cream soda’s I have ever tasted. This soda has a great vanilla tasted. I really like the pure can sugar flavor better than ones made with high fructose corn syrup. It had a nice light amber color to it. You could smell the vanilla as soon as you opened the bottle. This soda had the perfect amount of carbonation. Another great soda by this Texas legendary soda company. Rated 5 out of 5.-D

DL Jardine’s 7J Ranch Black Bean and Corn Salsa. This Texas based company makes great salsas. It had a low to medium heat to this salsa. What I liked was it was full of black beans, tomatoes, and nice amount of corn, all of which are all natural. It was thick in consistency and was great with tortilla chips. I think it would also be good on potatoes; nacho’s or mixed in with some other Tex-Mex style dishes. My one complaint would be it didn’t have enough heat to it. Reviewer A says that this is what a black bean and corn salsa should taste like, much better than our past review on Tommy’s BB&C salsa. All in all a good bean and corn style salsa. Rated 4 out of 5.-D

Lemon Bliss Blue Bell Ice Cream

Lemon Bliss Ice Cream from Blue Bell! This new ice cream just came out in March and will only be out for a limited time, unfortunately. This ice cream was extremely creamy and had a slight tart, but deliciously sweet lemon taste that was consistent throughout each bite. There was a copious amount of soft, sweet vanilla crème filled cookies in each and every bite. Heaven. I can honestly say this flavor did not last long in the house because of how great it tasted. Hurry and give it a try since it’s only out for a limited amount of time, it won’t disappoint! And please let us know if you have tried it and what you think! Rated 4.9 outta 5. A & D

Shipley's Donuts

Shipley’s Donuts on Park Row in Pantego, TX. Shipley’s Donuts originated in Houston, TX and has been making delicious treats since the 1940’s. This location is very small and may not look like much to the eye, but it is a small wonder. We had gotten four donuts to give a try (even going around 9am is a little late; there was a small selection due to the morning rush). First we had gotten the Cherry Glazed donut which had deliciously soft, sweet, airy dough with a bright red frosting that tasted of tart and sweet cherry icing. I loved that the cherry flavored icing didn’t overpower the sweet dough. Next up was the cherry jelly filled donut (I have a soft spot for anything cherry). The donut was lightly glazed and had the same dough consistency as the others, sweet and airy, and was filled generously with sweet cherry jam. By generously filled I mean oozing with sweet cherry jam, it was still delicious! Next up we had gotten the Bavarian crème. Delicious! A copious amount of crème inside that was so creamy and sweet! Definitely a must have for all Bavarian crème lovers! Lastly, we had gotten a basic chocolate glazed donut with sprinkles. This donut was lightly glazed and had a great taste with the sweet dough, though the chocolate on it was nothing spectacular, and somewhat lacking a chocolate taste. D is definitely not a fan of the sprinkles on this donut either. Overall with the wonderful customer service at this location, and the donuts taste, I rate Shipley’s a 4.85 outta 5! – A & D

Dickey’s bbq out of Dallas Texas. I tried the Hurst location. In 1941, Travis Dickey opened the first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Dallas, Texas. I had the westerner sandwich which came with your choice of two meats and cheese. I chose brisket and spicy cheddar sausage. I was hoping I’d really like this, but was disappointed. The brisket was really dry and lacked a lot of flavor. The sausages were just ok. They had an ok jalapeno flavor. The bread was kinda harder than I’d like. I did kinda like the bbq sauce, it had an ok taste. I hope this was just a one time bad experience, but I don’t think I’d try it again. Rated 2.5 out of 5-D

Deep Eddy Vodka

Deep Eddy Vodka out of Austin, Texas! This handcrafted vodka is distilled ten times in small batches and filtered with charcoal four times which ensures it’s a smooth, clean vodka. This vodka was light and crisp to the taste and went down well surprisingly. It also tasted great in cranberry juice and with BigTex orange juice for that early in the day drinking. I was really impressed with how well it stood with the juices and held its own flavor (or could it be I put too much in my drink!?) Either way it had a wonderful taste and I now considered this a staple now for vodka and recommend it for everyone who is a fan of a slightly sweet, crisp, overall delicious vodka made in the great state of Texas! Rated 5 outta 5. –A
Deep Eddy Vodka had a nice clean taste to it. What I liked was it didn’t have a chemical taste to it. Like A mentioned it was filtered with charcoal. It was smooth tasting and didn’t have an over powering burn at the end. It has a mild sweet tone to it. This vodka many say is a rival to Tito’s vodka. It tasted good on its own and in mixed drinks. I also liked the bottle design. It has the Deep Eddy logo pin up girl imprinted in the glass bottle. All in all a great tasting vodka using the purest Texas water and distilled in a temperature controlled environment. They use local natural Texas ingredients. Rated 4.9 out of 5-D

Ravensbark Gourmet Foods out of Houston Texas. Named after the families dog Raven and bark is a reference to toffee. This company started as a toffee candy maker, Then in 2009 they started making BBQ sauces. They have 4 to choose from. We reviewed the Hickory BBQ sauce. It tasted great. Made with fresh ingredients and no additives. They guarantee the freshness and quality of their products. It is made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. It had a nice medium hickory taste that didn’t over power the rest of the flavors of the sauce, It has a nice peppery flavor and smell. It wasn’t too runny in consistency. It also had a nice slight heat kick at the end from the cayenne pepper. It goes well with beef, pork, or chicken. Can’t wait to try the other sauces as well as the toffee. Rated 4.85 out of 5-D

Ravensbark Hickory BBQ Sauce. This sauce had great consistency, not too runny or too thick. There was a good amount of pepper flaking throughout the sauce which gave it a slight kick and a strong peppery fragrance. It also has a very slight sweet taste to it, but the sweetness quickly fades with the taste of the pepper. I wouldn’t call this sauce the best I have ever had, but what set it aside from the rest was how fresh tasting it was. All in all this sauce was great tasting with chicken, pork and beef. Rated 4.2 outta 5. -A

Earl Campbell meat products is located in Waelder Texas. We tried the hot links that came in a 12 pack. These sausages tasted great. They are made from chicken, beef, and pork. The quality of the meat was good and they had a nice casing. The sausages plumped up on the grill and were very tasty and juicy. An interesting part of how they are made is Campbell products are produced at J Bar B’s state of the art “QX” facility. This is a continuous system that stuffs, packages and cooks and chills the product in the package, thus eliminating any post package contamination. IN 1990 Earl Campbell Foods went from packaging 600 pounds of meat per month to over 600,000 pounds. Earl Campbell’s sausage and meat products are now produced at J Bar B Foods in Waelder, Texas. I would recommend these sausages. Rated 4.87 out of 5-D

Rahr Brewery out of Fort Worth Texas. Iron Thistle Scottish Ale. This Scottish Ale has a higher alcohol by volume than most beer. It is 8.0%. The reason is it takes more time to brew. This beer has a low, hoppy bitterness and smooth sweet malty taste to it. One of the better Scottish Ales I have tasted. It has a dark brown color and a low to medium head when poured. The only thing I can find wrong with Iron Thistle Scottish Ale is that it’s a seasonal beer. It is only available January-February. It can be found through out Texas. Rated 4.8 out of 5-D
Iron Thistle Scottish Ale from Rahr & Sons Brewery, Fort Worth, TX. This beer when poured has a dark amber color and has a sweet aroma. The beer is malty and had a strong taste with a touch of bitterness. I’m a fan of this beer and I really wish it was offered year round! 4.75 outta 5 -A

HEB Texas Heritage Jalapeno Cheddar Summer Sausage. This Texas based company has many great products. The jalapeno cheddar sausage tasted good. It had an ok jalapeno taste to it. The big chunks of cheddar cheese in the sausage cooled down the heat from the jalapenos. Maybe just a little too much cheese is added in my opinion. The beef tasted good and had a nice hardwood smoke flavor that wasn't over powering. All in all a good summer sausage. Rated 4.5 outta 5-D
HEB Texas Heritage Jalapeno Cheddar Summer Sausage. I love summer sausage and I was really impressed with this one. Had great taste and texture. The only flaw that I found was that there was a little too much cheddar cheese chunks in it and it sort of overpowered the spiciness of the jalapeno. Even though it has that set back, it was still a good buy and tasted great. 4.3 outta 5- A

Blue Bell Ice cream out of Brenham Texas. The Coffee ice cream tasted great. It had a nice strong coffee flavor. The nice creamy coffee ice cream will make your taste buds thank you. It has a nice sweet coffee flavor. Kind of a cross between an espresso and coffee taste. One of my top picks for coffee flavored ice cream. Blue Bell still hasn’t made a flavor of ice cream that I don’t love. I rated this 5 out of 5-D

Blue Bell Ice Cream Coffee Flavor. Oh my goodness! I’m a big fan of coffee and anything coffee flavor and this one is phenomenal! Smooth and creamy with a strong coffee flavor. It’s even great to put a spoonful in with a cup of coffee. One of my favorites from Blue Bell! 5 out of 5 -A

Dublin Cherry Limeade Soda. It’s made with pure cane sugar and it’s made by Dublin, you know it’s good! Bubbly, great carbonation and has a delightful, refreshing sweet cherry flavor with a hint of lime in each sip (or shall I say gulp?!) It wasn’t too sweet, which is what made it so refreshing. It would be a great addition to any occasion and adds fun and color. Cute retro design also. One of my new favorites in the soda world. What's your favorite Dublin soda?! Rated 4.9-5. -A