Grapico

During my trip to Raleigh, I aimed to hit southern specialties that I’d not yet had.  Before this, I’d never traveled farther south along the East Coast than Maryland and DC, which isn’t very south at all, and I was eager to sample all the things that come with the south that aren’t available in the north. 

Brilliantly, when my friend realized this, he shoved this at me.  Though it isn’t widely available in the south – this was shipped from good ol’ Alabama – Grapico is a sugary, high calorie grape soda.  210 calories for a regular sized can of soda seems excessive to me; while I don’t drink much regular soda anymore, I’m pretty sure it’s in the 140 range for a can of soda. 

I decided to pour some into a cup to see what it looked like and all that.  It poured happily without any head, and while bubbles did break the surface, they quickly dissipated, leaving me with a not-very-carbonated drink.  So if you like super fizzy drinks, this is not for you.  It smelled super grapey – maybe the grapiest of all grape sodas? – basically, like a grape lollipop melted into my cup.  A sip confirmed that it tasted just like drinking a grape lollipop – the kind I grew up with, the kind that back in those days, your doctor might give to you because you didn’t cry when he stuck a needle in your arm.  You know? 

I enjoyed my can of Grapico – many thanks to my friend for sharing a childhood delight with me! – though I wouldn’t go out of my way to acquire it.  But I’m also not a huge grape soda person – I enjoy it, but it isn’t my favorite fruit soda (I think that goes to elderflower with lemon and then European Fanta [orange]… I like citrus), but if you love grape soda, I definitely recommend looking this up just to try!