One of the most memorable scenes in the Anne books is when Anne Shirley is allowed to play hostess to her best friend Diana Barry while her guardian, Marilla, is at a meeting. Anne is thrilled to play hostess and be trusted to do this by herself. And best of all, Marilla has given Anne permission to serve raspberry cordial during this tea. Unfortunately, as often happens to Anne, the best of intentions goes wrong, and Anne accidentally serves her best friend red currant wine, causing Diana to become extremely drunk and Diana’s mother to announce that the two girls must not be friends anymore.
No worries, though. Things do have a way of working out in the story.
To my pure delight, we discovered that this famous cordial is now available for purchase at a smattering of stores around PEI. Sure, it’s a great marketing ploy and another way to make some money off the many tourists who visit the island purely because of the Anne stories.
But, hey, I’m proof that their marketing works!
We discovered this delectable drink one night early on in our vacation and purchased a couple of bottles for our family to try.
We were thirsty, really!
For me, I was hooked from that first sip.It was yummy deliciousness wrapped up in a cute little soda bottle with a drawing of Anne Shirley on the label.
It is a bit fizzy like a seltzer or a soda, but with a raspberry juice flavor. I described the taste to friends as being like a raspberry spritzer. I’ve tried other raspberry spritzers since then, though, and it just wasn’t the same.
Maybe you have to add a bit of PEI sunshine?
The fresh sea air floating in off the water?
A little bit of red dirt?
Whatever it was, it was so yummy that I was purchasing a bottle whenever we passed a cooler in a store. And before we left, both My Chandler and I purchased a case each to take home!
Next time we go....I think we may bring back some. Enjoyed the one you gave me. Hugs
Posted by: MaryBeth Hibbert | 07/11/2013 at 01:11 PM