Monday, July 8, 2013

Polar Classics Black Cherry

Polar Classics!! From New England!! Nice bear growl when you open the web page. Gimmicky but kinda fun. Started in 1882, and claims to be the "country's largest independent soft drink bottler" Began as the J.G. Bieberbach Company with seltzers, mineral water and ginger ale as its primary products. They also manufactured alcoholic beverages, primarily beer. Bieberbach was originally from Germany, and he assisted Shafer Brewing company to make the first pilsner brewery in the US. Meantime Dennis Crowley, a grandson, was a retail and distributor of alcoholic drinks. Crowley’s Ball Brook Straight Whiskey was the biggest seller. 1916, Crowley bought out the Bieberbach. 1918 Crowley bought Leicester Polar Spring Company.Cutting a few unimportant details out, in 1920's the 18th Amendment was adopted, and the sale of alcohol was prohibited. The company, as it Leicester Polar Spring began to concentrate on seltzer and ginger ale. Leicenter Polar Spring included land in Spencer, MA that had a pure spring on it. All mineral water now cane from this spring, and the spring water became the basis for all sodas. Even with the appeal of the 18th Amendment, Polar Beverages concentrated on seltzer water, mineral water and ginger ale.  After WWII the third generation of Crowley's took over the company and the company was officially renamed Polar Corp. The company remained committed to ginger ale and all that. Again, time passed, and a fourth generation of Crowley's took over. In 1996, Polar bought Adirondack Beverages in Scotia, New York. Polar Corp kept buying out smaller companies. In 1999, Venture Distributing, the leading new-age distributor in the Boston marketplace. Venture’s portfolio included brands such as Nantucket Nectars and AriZona. This acquisition was followed shortly in 2001 with the purchase of Snapple of Boston and then Snapple of Cape Cod in 2005. Polar absorbed 30 companies,  expanding into five divisions and now consisting of proprietary brands Polar, Adirondack, Waist Watcher and Clear ‘n’ Natural and National brands 7Up, A&W, Sunkist, Seagrams, Royal Crown and Diet Rite along with new-age brands Snapple, AriZona, Fiji Water, O Water, HyDrive and Nantucket Nectars. In 2001, Polar partnered with Cott Corp to form Northeast Retailer Brands, LLC, creating the largest distributor of soft drinks in the Northeast. 2005 was the 125th anniversary of the founding of Polar. They remain committed to ginger ale and other mixers, but make 15 different flavored sodas. 

Opening the bottle, what a strong scent. Cherry through and through. The first taste, this is pure delight. Perfect balance of sweet and tart, and a strong cherry flavor. No real strong after taste. I loved this soda. I will buy and drink again!


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