The legendary soft drink has never been available in the Hudson Valley, until now.

Like an In 'N Out burger or Chick Fil A, Faygo was something I came to accept would come to the Hudson Valley. The regional soft drink from Michigan is legendary. Over 100 years old, the Faygo company has been making soda for generations. The inexpensive alternative to other big-name soda companies has found a dedicated cult following and has even inspired pop culture. Insane Clown Posse is famous for its Faygo-drinking antics on stage and recently the rapper Lil Mosey had a hit song titled "Blueberry Faygo."

A search of the Faygo website for the closest retailer that sells the soda resulted in an Ohio location that's over 9 hours away. Apparently, they don't know that their bottles have actually made their way to the Hudson Valley and are for sale in Poughkeepsie.

This week I was walking through the Poughkeepsie Galleria when I did a double-take. Inside one of the stores, I noticed a drink cooler that was lined with bottles of Faygo. Like someone stranded in a desert for months without water, I rubbed my eyes thinking it was some sort of mirage. No, this was reality. Faygo was for sale in the Hudson Valley.

Upon entering the store I found a selection of several Faygo flavors, including Rasberry Blueberry and Arctic Sun. With over 100 flavors currently available, this was certainly not a huge selection, but I wasn't going to complain. I grabbed a bottle and happily ran to the register to pay.

It turns out that the store selling Faygo is actually famous for finding rare food items not usually available in the Hudson Valley. Hudson Valley Exotics specializes in snacks and drinks from all over the world. Shelves in the stores were lined with bags of Doritos and Lay's chips from around the world with little-known flavors like mac and cheese, avocado and sushi. Rare Oreo flavors and candies were also stocked on the day I was there as well as a cooler full of unfamiliar soft drinks.

But on this occasion, I was laser-focused on Faygo. After buying a bottle I shared some with my son who agreed that the sugary soda did live up to the hype. We opted for Rasberry Blueberry which had the exact same color as a bottle of Windex. The flavor wasn't quite as sugary as I expected and had a very pleasant aftertaste. Now I understand what all the fuss is about.

While I may not be a Juggalo, I can now happily count myself among the hordes of Faygo fans.

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