Cheribundi

I recently sampled Cheribundi, tart cherry juice, in two flavors: Cacao Cherry and Ginger Cherry. (Other available flavors include Tru Cherry, Skinny Cherry and Whey Cherry.)

"The growth of tart cherry juice in general has been massive in the last year (thanks to proponents like Dr. Oz, the support of athletes, runners, gluten-free, etc.) and we predict it hitting major stride in 2012," said a PR representative. "In fact, farms are even reporting shortages in tart cherries after years of not even growing them!"

"Cheribundi is the most widely distributed brand in fresh cherry juice (the other big brands are from concentrate). The number of retail stores carrying Cheribundi has grown from 200 to 4000 this year. It's available at 1500 Safeway stores as well as Hannaford, Price Chopper, Harris Teeter, Giant Eagle, H.E.B., Piggly Wiggly, AWG and Giant Carlisle to name a few."

Cheribundi is sweetened naturally with either apple juice or Stevia, yet remains primarily tart. Expect to pucker.

Bottom Line: Pleasantly tart. Ginger and cocoa flavors add strong aromas plus depth and character to the cherry juice. Each 8-oz. serving is 130 (ginger) and 160 (cocoa) calories.