Pucker Up Baby! This quality product was inspired by the bucolic industrial splendor of Wilkes-Barre, PA.
--Printed on the label of One-Eyed Jack beverages.
"One-Eyed Jack" is also the
appellation of, despite what the label might indicate, an insidiously sweet line of ciders, put out by the "
Thick Head Beverage Company", in the late
1990s. Taking advantage of the "
alcopop" craze that swept across the
U.S. after having brewed (
no pun intended) in Europe for several years prior, One-Eyed Jack was at first a lemon "cider" with a sugary
palate and almost chemical (think "
Lemon Pledge") smell. "Brewed" in
Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, it was almost certainly marketed and priced to attract the less-discerning portions of the
Zima crowd -- assuming such a lowly
common denominator could even exist.
Indeed, such a crowd did exist. One-Eyed Jack was, strangely enough, quite bearable when consumed with
pizza, so it made for an excellent, occasional
change of pace for college students. Eventually, several variations of One-Eyed Jack came out, in addition to the Lemon brew, specifically the predictable orange, raspberry and apple flavours.
All things must pass, however, and the author of this writeup has not seen One-Eyed Jack on the shelves for several years now, so assumably, this line of beverages has thankfully
met its maker. If you know otherwise, please let
me know.