@LBACKUSNBH

NEW BRITAIN – Avery’s Beverages has created a green bitter-sweet concoction called “Shutdown Swill” to commemorate the historic Federal shutdown.

The part blue raspberry and part orange flavoring generated a deep green soda which represents the color of money, said General Manager Rob Metz. “We knew we wanted green because it’s the color of money,” Metz said. “It’s all about the money.”

Any federal employee who shows up will be given a free bottle “to say thanks for what they do,” Metz said, as long as supplies last. The bottles sell for $1 each and can also be bought by the case.

The bottles are capped with either red or blue representing Democrats and Republicans and have a cartoon likeness of President Donald Trump on the label. The company added citric acid to the mix giving the soda a bitter flavor that is paired well with the sweet of the orange flavor, Metz said.

TSA agents at Bradley International Airport declined to receive the free soda, fearing it would be too political. The shutdown, over funding for a wall at the southern border of the country which Trump says is needed to control illegal immigration, is impacting several areas of the federal government including some employees who either have been working without pay or furloughed. The shutdown is at 25 days making it the longest in U.S. history.

The beverage company which has been on Corbin Avenue for more than a century has in the past 10 years created soda versions that mark significant periods in history from the death of Osama bin Laden and the presidential elections, Metz said.

“The response to the historic sodas has always been good,” Metz said. “They all have been in the news cycle for a while.”

So far Avery’s has made 2,500 bottles of “Shutdown Swill” which will be distributed at area stores and sold at their factory on Corbin Avenue.

Lisa Backus can be reached at 860-801-5066 or Lbackus@centralctcommunications.com.