Donald carries the punch in soda pop poll

By John Howell
Posted 11/9/16

What was your preferred elixir on Tuesday - Hillary's Liberal Limeade, Donald Populist Punch, or Gary's Sassy Sarsaparilla? Yes, there was a choice not only at the polls, but to drink. John Sgambato, president and brewmaster of Yacht Club

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Donald carries the punch in soda pop poll

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What was your preferred elixir on Tuesday – Hillary’s Liberal Limeade, Donald Populist Punch, or Gary’s Sassy Sarsaparilla?

Yes, there was a choice not only at the polls, but to drink.

John Sgambato, president and brewmaster of Yacht Club Bottling Works, made sure of that. Sgambato was at Pawtuxet Park election morning as Bill Rappleye of Channel 10 produced a segment for Facebook Live. Also there were U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, Gov. Gina Raimondo, and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian. The elected officials all talked about Rhode Island favorites, from coffee milk to quahogs and grinders.

Sgambato added a timely political twist with his Soda Pop Poll and the three sodas he concocted especially for this contentious campaign.

He’s added fizz to the campaigns and the show.

Sgambato said the thought of the idea watching one of the debates where Trump claimed he was winning all the polls. He wondered how Trump would do in a soda poll. After thinking he would produce a red soda for Trump and a blue one for Clinton, he reached out to cartoonist Frank Galasso to draw the labels. When he saw what Galasso had done, he knew he had to follow through with his idea.

As of Election Day, 48,048 bottles of Yacht Club Soda had been sold nationwide in the poll. The tally was in, and Trump’s fruit punch was preferred by a thin margin of 22,224 votes to Clinton’s raspberry and lime 21,360 votes. A total of 4,464, or 9.2, percent chose to swizzle Gary Johnson’s sarsaparilla.

This is Sgambato’s first stab at producing specialty label soda and it has him thinking he’ll do more of it.

Don’s punch has a strawberry base that is enhanced by lemon, lime, pineapple and peach. Sgambato said the peach gives the drink an “afterglow.”

The company debuted a blue soda in July that Sgambato picked as the perfect color for Hillary. He mixed in the lime for an added zing suitable for the candidate.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sgambato said the Donald punch was sold out, but there were still several cases of liberal limeade, perhaps proving Hillary’s staying power.

And while pictures of the soda have been shared on Facebook and picked up by the media, Sgambato said he never heard anything from the candidates.

Yacht Club Bottling Works, a family owned and operated local manufacturer, opened in 1915. Much has changed over the last 101 years, but Yacht Club, The Official Soda and Water Company of Rhode Island, is still dedicated to providing premium beverages to Rhode Island and surrounding areas. The company store is at 2239 Mineral Spring Ave., North Providence.

Sgambato didn’t share how he voted, but he prefers the punch. His wife likes the limeade.

And perhaps that’s true of many families. Alas, only if our differences could be so easily bottled.

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