A.J. Stephans' Raspberry Lime Rickey
12 fl. oz.
glass bottle
A.J. Stephans, Boston, MA
cold, no ice

There are some sodas that win your heart as much by what they remind you of as how they taste. For Kate, A.J. Stephans' Raspberry Lime Rickey is one of those sodas. To her, it conjures up memories of her Chicago girlhood, specifically a drink they used to serve at Marshall Field's department store called "raspberry juice."

I, on the other hand, am never one to let my own memories cloud my palate (Fitz's Root Beer). Yet I too was charmed by A.J. Stephans' Raspberry Lime Rickey. For one thing, it's very raspberry-ey. When you open a bottle, you feel as if somebody has jammed two raspberries up your nostrils (but in a good way). Drinking it is similarly satisfying. Pure cane sugar really does seem to make a difference. The lime is there, too, but it's subtle--it sneaks up on you, during the carbonated back-kick. Kate, never one for the clumsy or cloying when it comes to food, declared without shame, "I wish it were even more flavored than it is."

Final verdict: Very good. Until Marshall Field's brings back their "raspberry juice," this'll do.

KP: 7 of 10
MG: 6 of 10