Introduced unknown | Discontinued 1988 (UK) | |
Manufacturer Pepsi-Cola Trinidad Bottling Company(part of PepsiAmericas Caribbean Operations) | ||
Whiteway's Peardrax is a pear-flavoured fizzy soft drink popular in Trinidad and Tobago. It originated in the United Kingdom, and was first manufactured by Whiteway's, a now-defunct cider company founded in Whimple, Devon during the 19th century. As of 2007 it is bottled and distributed only by Pepsi-Cola Trinidad Bottling Company, under license since 2004 from Gaymer Cider Company.
It was especially popular among some British children during the 1960s and 1970s, though not by all: Victor Lewis-Smith recalls it as "a foul, resinous, cloying, sweet beverage" without even the "saving grace" of inducing drunkenness. It vanished from UK shelves in 1988, together with the apple based Cydrax, suffering from plummeting sales.
Sales of the beverage continued in Trinidad and Tobago to the point that "Trinidadians and Tobagonians now see the drink as a defining part of the culture of their twin-island republic."