Monday, November 06, 2006

POP OF THE DAY: GuS Dry Valencia Orange

Category: Adult Contemporary Soda
Ratings (out of 5)
Taste: 4.5
Fizziness Factor: 5
Bottle/Can Design: 4
Availability: 3

Tasting Notes: How can you not love a soda called GuS? Gus is the name of that old friend of every family—the one who works in a garage, fixing cars and maybe building his own airplane. Gus always has fresh donuts for the kids and a dirty story the grown-ups. Speaking of which, "GuS" actually stands for Grown-up Soda, and it is one. The bottle is a marvel of cheerfully accurate advertising: it shows a juicy orange and a host of bubbles, and that's almost exactly what GuS tastes like. GuS is light, fresh, effervescent, and a little sweet. The only reason the flavor came a half-point short of Piehler perfection is that the finish tastes less like zest and more like pith—which, by the way, can be electrically charged using static eletricity. I suppose it's that pith-y edge of bitterness that makes GuS grown-up, but my ideal soda is just a little more adolescent. All in all, though, good old GuS is definitely worth a visit. (Total Score 16.5/20)

Suggested Food Pairings: AsparaGuS and prosciutto appetizer, pepper-encrusted AnGuS steak

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