Martinelli's Apple Juice

I'm the type of person who is extremely susceptible to marketing, which is probably part of why I get compelled to try all of the flavors of {oreo, toaster strudel, dunkin...} unless something veers me off course. So, here I am to sample a non cider Martinell. It's fine. It tastes like apple juice tastes. The upshot is: the ingredients are very clean, the bottle is glass and stylin', and I have an affection for the company (I'm also the type of person who has affection for companies, which I recognize is a flaw, but nevertheless). Lasts for five days, makes a good mixer, a little too sweet for my taste but at the same time, good if there are no other sweet drink options!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Martinelli's Pear Cider

Must be pear drink season! Suddenly I went from never trying a single pear drink to trying two in one week (so far). But this guy also has apple mixed in (classic cider move). Pear is a much better apple juice complement than cherry was. And this is much less weird-smelling than the pear juice that didn't sparkle. I've been feeling a little manic lately, even though I am still abstaining from sweet sweet coffee, so I thought maybe it's because my health is (slightly, slowly) improving. But in retrospect, it's maybe just because I've increased my sugar intake substantially. But maybe I've done that because my health is improving! Or maybe those supplements have finally come home to roost? Or maybe the brain diet is real! Or maybe these are all totally unrelated factors and enough neurons finally melted? Listen, I'm not a doctor. I'm just a pear devotee (née strudel devotee). But I enjoyed this as a fun sweet drink. Not too overpoweringly sweet to taste, but extremely sweet compared to Plain Rice et al.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Martinelli's Sparkling Blush

I got this months ago for my dear studos (because it is engrained in me as the canonical non-alcoholic celebratory drink) but they did not drink it! Now their wisdom is clear to me, because it isn't very good. It is, however, citrus free, so in my hour of desperation to find things to review, I am celebrating my first day home alone in many months with some Sparkling Blush Cider. It's blush because of cherry juice, apparently, and spoiler alert: cherry juice sucks. Or maybe apple juice sucks. Or maybe the combo creates a unique suckitude (since I'm in my 90s throwback era). Basically, the taste is mildly unpleasant in a fermenty kind of way. But the sparkling is fun (it's extremely fizzy, but a soft fizz, not an aggro one), and the color is pretty, and wasn't I just yearning for a sweet drink? I guess it's true what they say: the best cure for yearning is to get the thing you're yearning for. 🙃

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Martinelli's Sparkling Cider

This is a super cute 8oz single serve cider with a twist top! No alcohol, so I can drink it while sick without feeling especially guilty. I usually only have sparkling cider at the holidays, usually with family, so it's very weird to be drinking in a sick solo May quarantine. But it's kind of nice to have that familiar taste too. A small, random joy. This is a perfect serving size for one person, and it had plenty of bubbles left. Apparently this is the "Northwest blend", so maybe the apple taste is slightly different for other varietals (lol) but I didn't notice it really. Maybe a little more sour and less sweet than normal, which is only a good thing. Very fun, would be better if I were sharing it with a loved one or something, but still a nice little treat. Would be good for a party too!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10