Jelly Belly Very Cherry Soda

First and foremost, I had no idea Jelly Belly made soda. I knew they had a deal to make soda flavored jelly beans, even selling them in soda-shaped bottles, but actual soda? I was unaware.

So when my friend Heather brought me this 4-pack of Jelly Belly Very Cherry soda I was surprised and even more shocked to learn she found them at Marshalls. Who ever said you had to pay full price for fabulous...soda.

The packaging and bottles clearly show the Jelly Belly branding and color scheme: red jelly bean on a white backgound. Labels are nice but a little childish and cartoony but that can be expected of a candy flavored soda. The taste is cherry, not what I would call very cherry but slightly more on the maraschino cherry side of flavor. For me that is a good thing but there are many out there who do not love the sweet maraschino cherry. The soda is light and smooth with not too many bubbles and lacks the bite that some other cherry drinks have, especially the black cherry. Overall the soda has a great flavor and builds off the Jelly Belly brand recognition but is not the best cherry soda on the market. In fact, I would prefer a stronger black cherry from some other brands or even a strawberry soda instead. However, how does one compliment a bag full of Jelly Belly? With a Jelly Belly soda of course.

Overall Taste: 6.0 - Different sweet cherry taste but not the very cherry flavor

Fizz Factor: 5.0 - Less than a typical fruit soda but smooth and definitely not juice

Appearance: 6.5 - Jelly Belly bottle is nice but nothing new and innovative

Flavor: 6.5 - Regular cherry in a world of black cherry gives it a unique place in the soda cooler but other sodas are more enticing

From the company: 12 oz bottle has 170 calories, 45 mg of sodium, 42g of carbs, 42g of sugar, and 0g of protein.