Cheerwine

With the holidays approaching I thought there was no better way to spread some holday cheer than to do a short review of Cheerwine!  No, actually my mother-in-law was coming up for the week and asked before she left if we needed anything and I made sure to mention a time or two that I MUST have some Cheerwine.  I got lucky and she came through with TWO cases of Cheerwine!  If you're familiar with it, it's only available in a few states and it tastes like nothing else on this earth.  I've included the crappy picture below to give an example of the can and the color of the beverage itself.

Yeah, I know... shitty background, but the color is damn near burgundy.  Honest to God it is.  This is something I only noticed this week when I decided to pour this delicious beverage out into a clear glass.   The last time I had it I was somewhere in the middle of North Carolina and I decided.... 'when in Rome...' and I bought a 20 oz, Cheerwine and a bag of spicy pork rinds.  Anyway.... the way I first discovered this marvellous drink was by simple curiosity.  I noticed it in  South Carolina convenience store on my first-ever trip to Myrtle Beach and I've had a soft spot for it ever since.

This drink is not your average 'Red pop' or Cherry or Black Cherry Soda, even.  And it's most definitely not a Cherry Cola/Cherry Coke drink.  It's has a flavor all it's own.  The best way to describe it is... maybe... the Champagne of Cherry Drinks.  I dunno.... maybe not 'Champagne'.  But it's damn bubbly!  As the can says... 'Unique Sparkling Soft Drink'.  The sparkle means it's got a few extra bubbles.  The aroma of the beverage might betray you to think that you're about to drink a Cherry Coke ripoff but it's not at all true.  The taste, as I've tried to mention, is totally unique.  It doesn't have the ridiculous medicine-y flavor that many 'red sodas' do and it's not overly offensive as I find most 'cherry sodas' to be.  It's just Cheerwine.  To the small group of people who know this beverage and how special it is, the name Cheerwine says it all.

As for myself, I'l be keeping most of all the 24 cans to myself.  See if I can make a recipe or two provided by Cheerwine's website... and maybe share a can or two with a close friend.