Stewart's Grape
12 fl. oz.
glass bottle
Stewart's Beverages, Rye Brook, NY
cold, no ice

Some sodas were bound to expose the faults in Kate's and my marriage. These next few have.

I liked Stewart's Grape. Keeping in mind that what we're calling "grape" tastes nothing whatsoever like that thing that grows on vines, is made into wine, et cetera, Stewart's Grape soda is a classic grape soda--it's a nice reddish purple, has a powerful grape odor, and a sweetness that fade into tart by the end of the swallow. My love for sodas like this is plainly genetic; when I was tasting this my Mom said, "When I was a kid, cheese popcorn, grape soda and a scary movie was my idea of a great Friday night." Mine too, Mom. Still is, in fact.

Kate, however, is no sentimentalist. She called the smell of Stewart's Grape "weapons grade" and compared it to "a fruity tear gas." She also didn't like the stickiness of it--"my lips felt gummy after just a few sips." The usual complaints were offered about the use of corn syrup and how it makes the flavor ephemeral.

Final verdict: Kate's correct to call Stewart's Grape "a thousand purple jelly beans boiled into every teaspoon." And that's just the way I liked it.

KP: 4 of 10
MG: 7 of 10