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Not sure if everyone out there in cyberland even knows about the joys that are grape sodas. They really are truly the nectar of the gods. Most do not contain caffeine, but are good none-the-less. Many of you realize that I am quite the supporter for Mt. Dew, but Mt. Dew is not my favorite drink ever. That would be grape soft drinks. At the moment I have a six pack of Grape Crush sitting on my desk at work. There will be significantly less than 6 of these bad boys on my desk by the end of the day. Grape crush is not my favorite grape soda ever, but it is up there. Let me take you through a guided tour of my grape soda loves.
Number 1: Grape Nehi - The first grape soda of my life. It was like coming home. After my first Grape Nehi I was hooked on grape sodas from then on. It is a fairly bitey soft drink with a bit of a salty aftertaste. It causes some fairly robust burps within my delicate gastro-intestinal tract. This soft drink was made popular by the teddy bear wielding radio operator, Radar, from the M*A*S*H movie and TV show.
Number 2: Welch's Grape Soda - Welch's is one of the more easily available grape soft drinks on the market. It is available in most regions, so feel free to give it a try. This a bit more bitey than Nehi, but it has a sweetness to it that Nehi's do not. It also has a strong salty aftertaste, and causes a good bit of burping as well. If there are no specialty grape drinks around, it is a good filler. It is good, but not even remotely the best.
Number 3: Grapico - This beverage was produced by the Buffalo Rock Bottling Company in Birmingham, Alabama. It is therefore the grape soda that I grew up with on the mean streets of Center Point. They were mean I tell you, mean. Anyway.... this grape soda was almost pure sugar. The flavor was almost over shadowed by the vast quantities of sugar. No bite to this drink at all. It was extremely smooth with no aftertaste, but the amounts of sugar associated with it made one's teeth hurt. I do not believe it is produced anymore for mass retail, but I think if one wished to order some, they can still get it from Buffalo Rock.
Number 4: Grape Crush - Crush is more known for their orange flavored soft drink than their grape, but their grape is a really good drink. Like I said, I have a 6-pack sitting on my desk just waiting for me to drink it. It is watching me.... taunting me... but its time will come, oh yes, its time will come.... errrm, uh anyway... This is a fairly smooth drink as well. It has a little bit of a bite to it (more of a nibble than anything else) and a slight salty aftertaste. All in all it is a good and serviceable grape drink. I usually buy this drink over my favorite just because it is priced a bit better than my favorite. The price versus quality makes it a better choice than my favorite. The favorite is meant for special occasions.
Number 5: Stewart's Grape Soda - This is by far my favorite grape soda yet. The picture on the 4-pack carrier illustrates it all. It does not have a grape as it's image, it has a grape popsicle. That's right, they are not even fooling themselves by saying it is grape-flavored. This drink is all about being artificially grape flavored and they are proud of it. You have to love that. I wish they sold them in 6-packs, but alas and alack, they only come in 4 packs or a wide mouthed 24 oz.-er. This drink is the perfect blend of smoothness with bite. The bite actually occurs during the slightly salty aftertaste. The aftertaste is actually is the correct amount of saltiness. It makes you want to drink more. That leaving you wanting more feeling is what makes this a special occasion drink only. I will go through the 4-pack in one sitting.
Anyway... you all have had a scary look deep into my soul and found out is grape flavored.
Number 1: Grape Nehi - The first grape soda of my life. It was like coming home. After my first Grape Nehi I was hooked on grape sodas from then on. It is a fairly bitey soft drink with a bit of a salty aftertaste. It causes some fairly robust burps within my delicate gastro-intestinal tract. This soft drink was made popular by the teddy bear wielding radio operator, Radar, from the M*A*S*H movie and TV show.
Number 2: Welch's Grape Soda - Welch's is one of the more easily available grape soft drinks on the market. It is available in most regions, so feel free to give it a try. This a bit more bitey than Nehi, but it has a sweetness to it that Nehi's do not. It also has a strong salty aftertaste, and causes a good bit of burping as well. If there are no specialty grape drinks around, it is a good filler. It is good, but not even remotely the best.
Number 3: Grapico - This beverage was produced by the Buffalo Rock Bottling Company in Birmingham, Alabama. It is therefore the grape soda that I grew up with on the mean streets of Center Point. They were mean I tell you, mean. Anyway.... this grape soda was almost pure sugar. The flavor was almost over shadowed by the vast quantities of sugar. No bite to this drink at all. It was extremely smooth with no aftertaste, but the amounts of sugar associated with it made one's teeth hurt. I do not believe it is produced anymore for mass retail, but I think if one wished to order some, they can still get it from Buffalo Rock.
Number 4: Grape Crush - Crush is more known for their orange flavored soft drink than their grape, but their grape is a really good drink. Like I said, I have a 6-pack sitting on my desk just waiting for me to drink it. It is watching me.... taunting me... but its time will come, oh yes, its time will come.... errrm, uh anyway... This is a fairly smooth drink as well. It has a little bit of a bite to it (more of a nibble than anything else) and a slight salty aftertaste. All in all it is a good and serviceable grape drink. I usually buy this drink over my favorite just because it is priced a bit better than my favorite. The price versus quality makes it a better choice than my favorite. The favorite is meant for special occasions.
Number 5: Stewart's Grape Soda - This is by far my favorite grape soda yet. The picture on the 4-pack carrier illustrates it all. It does not have a grape as it's image, it has a grape popsicle. That's right, they are not even fooling themselves by saying it is grape-flavored. This drink is all about being artificially grape flavored and they are proud of it. You have to love that. I wish they sold them in 6-packs, but alas and alack, they only come in 4 packs or a wide mouthed 24 oz.-er. This drink is the perfect blend of smoothness with bite. The bite actually occurs during the slightly salty aftertaste. The aftertaste is actually is the correct amount of saltiness. It makes you want to drink more. That leaving you wanting more feeling is what makes this a special occasion drink only. I will go through the 4-pack in one sitting.
Anyway... you all have had a scary look deep into my soul and found out is grape flavored.
8 Comments:
i truly appreciated this entry on grape soda. mostly because i have become a fan to stewarts grape as well. might i suggest the celray soda. it can be purchased at the lovely fresh market.
http://www.root-beer.info/others/celray.html
Guess what? Did you know that Welch's, Nehi, AND Stewart's all have something in common (besides manufacturing grape soda)? They are all owned BY THE SAME COMPANY, Cadbury Schweppes (of Cadbury chocolate & Schweppes drink mixers fame). Interesting, huh? Check it out at www.cadburyschweppes.com. This conglomerate ownes A TON. Like A&W, IBC, Pepsi, Canadian Dry, RC Cola, Snapple, Sunkist, etc. That's just some of their beverage brands. You should see what else they own!
Oh, and I forgot...
One of my absolute favorite grape pops was Grapette brand in the bottles. According to their website, I guess you can now get it in Wal-Marts under the brand "Sam's Choice Grapette" and "Sam's Choice Orangette" in 2-liters as well as six packs. I'm going to go look into that tomorrow. Happy drinking!
I would like to welcome all the Auburn Alumni. In high school I used to drink a couple of Grapico while taking down a dozen Krispey Kremes. Ah, those were the days. I coud handle sugar (and fat) much much better back then.
I'm turning 40 this year and I'm hooked on Grape Crush. I thought I was alone in my addiction, so you can imagine how happy I was to find your post ... I am not alone. To my great lament however, my local grocery has stopped carrying Grape Crush, my personal favorite. I can't imagine why, since I bought them out every week! A store employee thought that Crush may not be making the soda any longer!?! I've not tried Stewarts yet, but I will. The others you mention are not readily available, except for Welches, which is in my opinion, YUCKY! So, my quest for Grape Crush has become pure torture. I'm nearly ready to pay $100 in shipping costs to some guy on the Web for 3 cases of the fine nectar!
hi-I just purchased Grape Crush in a 6 pack at Super Wal-mart (2.50)!
GRAPICO !!!
i am 55 and now living in the desert of az but i grew up in rural alabama and i loved the old grapico, back then at the A&P in tarrant city near birmingham there was an old soda pop machine and the grape button was white paper and worn almost off and it was a NICKEL. when i was fortunate enough to go grocery shopping with my parents i would always get a grapico, they were slightly smaller than coke back then and the bottles had little glass bumps all over the top part. sooooo good. luckily i live in an area near route 66 and a few things still exsist from the old days. but thankfully i can still read posts like these. thank you to each.
You said in your blog: "I do not believe it is produced anymore for mass retail..."
I'm drinking a Diet Grapico right now as I am reading your blog! (no kidding!) You can still get Grapico and Diet Grapico almost anywhere in Alabama. It really is worth a try if you have never had a grape soda!
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