Americans gobble up turkey and gravy soda

A soda drink with turkey and gravy flavour that is described as undrinkable by its manufacturer has become a surprise bestseller in the United States, where families celebrate Thanksgiving today.

A company in Seattle called Jones Soda, which specialises in off-the-wall flavours, put 6,000 bottles on sale last week at 99 cents (60p). They sold out within hours. Yesterday, bidding on the eBay online auction site reached more than $60 for a bottle.

The nastiness of Turkey & Gravy Soda seems to be its biggest selling point - the perfect joke gift to bring home to mum or an uppity younger sibling. At Thanksgiving, families traditionally spend a long weekend together.

One newspaper reporter who tried the drink, which is suitable for vegetarians, said the first sip tasted of sweet caramel and savoury lard - and it got worse from there. Mary Turner, a radio DJ in Michigan who is auctioning a bottle for charity, described it this way: "If you roasted a turkey and mashed potatoes, put it in a blender, left it out for three days and then poured it into a Jones bottle, you'd know exactly what this drink tastes like." Peter Van Stolk, who runs Jones Soda, described his product as "gross".