Periodic beverage search
 

I'm on a bit of a roll lately, having secured a new source of Cheerwine in suburban Philly (something that even the Cheerwine people themselves couldn't help me with) and having some leads on how to find Coke made with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, but I'm growing increasingly frustrated with a different beverage company.

Fuze Beverage Co. makes a variety of fruit and tea drinks packed with vitamins and herbal additives. Several of their flavors are tastier than your typical healthy-hippie premium-drink fare. My favorite so far is Blackberry Grape... and I _cannot find_ the damn thing in my area code.

Supermarket chains all carry the same four or five flavors. Target has at least one that they don't, but not Blackberry Grape. C-stores have four or five flavors. Beverage stores have four or five if they have it at all. A local pizza joint carries three. The manager of one beverage store in Berwyn called his distributor, who said that _they_ couldn't order it. I called the Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co. (closest bottler according to fuzebev.com's Finder) and _their_ rep said they didn't carry it.

And yet if I go one exit to the west down the PA Turnpike, the Sheetz gas station there has it in large quantities (albeit at $1.69 a pop). SOMEONE is distributing this to the Sheetz chain, as I've seen it in several while traveling upstate, but I don't want to drive half-an-hour out of my way weekly just to pick up single bottles at retail prices.

If you've seen it outside of Sheetz, please speak up, kthxbye.

It's at every food lion I've seen here in Eastern NC.

Closest Food Lion: Elkton, MD, ~25 miles by air, ~35 miles and two state line crossings by MapQuest. I appreciate the info, but the Sheetz is closer.

On the plus side, I came home today with two cases of glass Cheerwine LONGNECKS. THAT'S not supposed to happen north of the Mason/Dixon Line.

And, of course, now Sheetz has dropped Blackberry Grape (three Sheetz in central PA all had the same drink lineup, sans that flavor). They've added Tangerine Grapefruit, which is good, but which isn't even on the Fuze website yet!

Weird, weird company.

Urrr? Where/how??
Please?
- Pie, hater of hfcs

I also need this.

We were talking about it at work and contacted a couple soda distributors in the area, but no luck as yet.

Someone had mentioned that Israeli coke might have real sugar ... I dont' know if this is true or not.

For what it's worth, I'm told that Kosher Coke and Pepsi are made with real sugar. It seems that Orthodox Jews are forbidden to consume grain during Passover, and corn syrup qualifies (that being-made-from-corn thing). Several sources have told me to check supermarkets as Passover approaches, though I haven't found it yet; it should have a differently-colored cap and some symbol or letters on it to signify its kosher nature. Only available at a certain time of the year, though, so stock up if you find it.

Failing that, check your local Mexican groceries (and by that I mean _real_ Mexican groceries, not the Ethnic Foods section at Wegmans or Acme) and look for Coke in glass bottles, which is often the pure-sugar variety that's all the rage in Mexico and Texas.

Failing THAT, go to Trader Joe's and get Boylan's Cane Cola as a substitute.

I vaguely recall hearing that Coke discontinued it's Kosher for Passover production run ...

Pepsi might still be doing it.

But damn, that would be Pepsi, not Coke.

It's all about the Coke. It's the real thing, baby.

All Coke is Kosher for Passover, the relevant rabbinical council having given up its objection to HFCS. So no special Kosher for Passover run. (boo!)

Mexican Coke is made with sugar, so you might be able to find it in some of those specialty stores in Norristown -- some places actually import the stuff.