Archer Farms Sugar-Free Cherry Citrus Energy Drink

The first thing that hit me about this energy drink when I tried it for the first time was that it tasted sugar-free. Neither the grapefruit flavor nor the pomegranate blueberry flavor tasted like "lite" options. But with this flavor, there's even a sort of fake sweetener aftertaste—this sour chemical tinge that lingers on the tongue, and it's pretty nasty.

It does taste slightly of cherry, but then that cherry-esque essence gives way to an unpleasant aspartame-like flavor. I checked the ingredients and there isn't any actual aspartame. Maybe it's the sucralose or one of the many unpronounceable chemicals that rounds out the list of additives.

I also couldn't taste the "citrus" flavor mentioned on the packaging. I guess maybe adding citric acid to a product justifies calling it "citrus" flavored, but it doesn't really work if you add another flavor like cherry, too. The cherry flavor will overshadow the "citrus" flavor of the citric acid every time.

But, on the plus side, the drink does have caffeine. It did wake me up. It has B vitamins, ginseng, taurine, vitamin C, and all that good stuff.

And with only 10 calories, I guess I can't complain. Although, I'd really prefer a diet soda, most of which have 0 calories, over this beverage. I'm really not sure why it has even 10 calories.

This is definitely something I won't buy in the future. If I want a low-calorie option, I'll take the grapefruit flavor over this one any day. If I want a mid-calorie option, I'll take the blueberry pomegranate flavor.


Bottom line: 5 out of 10.

Archer Farms Amaretto Cherry Gelato

In recent weeks, we've taken a look at crème brûlée and Bolognese pizza. Today, we're taking a look at another European favorite, imported all the way from Italy, according to the label.

It's gelato. Italian ice cream. Not to be confused with Italian ice, or Italian water ice. It's very similar to traditional ice cream, except it's made with skim milk instead of cream. But make no mistake, this isn't a low-calorie/low-fat option. They add plenty of butter and sugar to make up for the nonfat milk. It might have slightly less fat overall, but you can't really call it "light." It gives the ice cream a different texture. It's a bit more rich usually, and it's significantly more dense.

This is a tasty flavor. I love me some amaretto. It has plenty of cherry tang, and there's also a vanilla-esque taste to it. The majority of the product is a white/pink creamy substance with ribbons of deeper red, sticky-sweet syrup running through it.

Compared to other gelato's that I've tried, this one differs in a couple ways. I don't recall ever having a gelato with a "ribbon" of anything in it before. In my experience, that's more like something you'd find in a Ben & Jerry's flavor than in actual gelato. Portions of the product seemed to have crystallized mini-flakes of ice, particularly the syrupy ribbon. So there were minor instances of "crunchiness" interrupting the pure creaminess. Not enough that the experience was ruined, but enough to make me take notice.

Also, my wife and I agree that the candied cherries in this product were NASTY. They were beyond sour. And I love maraschino cherries. But these were...I don't know...something else. Virtually inedible. Thankfully, there were only 5 or 6 of them in the whole tub.

This product also left a bit of a weird aftertaste—similar to that of a cherry-flavored medicine. Not particularly pleasant, but the pleasure of actually eating the stuff outweighs the strangeness of the lingering flavor in my opinion. All things considered, this is a flavor worth checking out, especially if you're a cherry-ophile.

I give this gelato 7 out of 10 stars.