Faygo. Everyone in the world has an opinion on Faygo. Juggalos are big fans, Michiganders hold some vague affinity for it, and soda-lovers… Who knows how they feel. Certainly it’s hard to deny the unique appeal that sodas like Redpop have, but is Faygo actually *good*?
I have a distinct Faygo-related memory from my childhood. A couple of friends and their mom came to my tiny town, the plan was to go to the playground at the school and be children (ie: run around and scream). Beforehand, we stopped at the local grocers to pick up snacks. Their mom said we could get whatever. Did young Ken branch out and purchase a higher-end soda instead of the cheap, room-temperature 20oz bottles of Faygo? No, he did not. I got a Faygo Orange and said “it’s cheap, but it’s good” aloud. One of my friends laughed at that in a sort of “yeah, right” manner, but I still stand behind that statement. Will I still stand behind it after this review?
Place of Acquirement: Kroger, Gahanna, OH
Drinking Vessel/Portion: 12oz glass bottle, clear
AROMATICS: 8.5/10
Sweet and root beer-y! Very pleasant.
FIRST SIP: 7.5/10
Sweet definitely seems accurate so far. Not 100% sure about the depth? I was never expecting this to be a super depthful, ambitious soda; despite it being Faygo’s premium version.
TASTE: 7.5/10
It’s definitely a nice taste. Is there much to the soda? Hard to say for sure, but it’s still good. It’s your bog standard root beer, but better than average major brands.
AFTERTASTE: 7/10
Not a strong aftertaste, but nothing unpleasant that would affect the rating.
MOUTHFEEL: 6.5/10
A little more acidic than other sodas, in a slightly detrimental way. Doesn’t hurt the soda overall, though.
DEPTH OF FLAVOR: 6.5/10
The root beer isn’t quite anything extraordinary, but it’s still pleasant. Nothing to search for or grasp at as far as elevated flavor profiles, but hey, it’s Faygo.
SWEETNESS: 8.5/10
My initial suspicion was like the theory of evolution: accurate. Sweeter than most sodas, but not aggressively so. Definitely can tell it’s cane sugar, not HFCS.
FLAVOR(S) TASTED: “Root beer” taste.
LAST SIP: 8/10
Retains flavor and carbonation very well.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10
Faygo. It’ll never be the critical darling, it’ll never be served in Napa Valley wine glasses, it’ll never be sent in a care package to the Prime Minister or President of Uganda. That being said, do they still make a solid mainstream soda? Absolutely.
The other story from my youth that involves Faygo goes like this: For some period of time, perhaps to this day, Faygo made reasonably priced 3-liter bottles of soda. You read that right; 3-liters. We stocked them at the local grocery store I worked for. One day, I was in charge of restocking the Faygo 3-liters. I placed them gently on the shelf, one after the other, until there was little room left for more bottles. I delicately perched another bottle on the edge, halfway in the rounded space between two other bottles. Confident in my placement, I turned around to grab bottles of another flavor when the delicately perched bottle became unstuck, fell to the ground. It exploded, showering the surrounding area, myself included, in sugary liquid. I got to do some fun mopping that day.
