Regional Sodas (or Pops)

Sorry if any of these are repeats, but I didn't read through the previous 12 pages either.

Daveritzdog, I recently bought a case of 355ml bottles of Mexican Coca Cola from the Soda Pop Shop (find it online). With s&h it cost an arm and a leg but was worth it. Still not the same as the original 6-7 ounce bottles of my youth but definitely better than anything made with HFCS. It even smells better. I had Coke & Pepsi in Iceland last year that was made with cane sugar and immediately tasted the difference. The "Kosher for Passover" Coke is made in small batches and disappears off grocery shelves before many people even get a chance to grab some. You're right about Boylen's, different, but I thought it had a strong taste of cloves that I didn't care for.

For people in the Connecticut area, there's Foxon Park in East Haven. I read that they were featured on the Food Network and had to try some. It's still made with cane sugar. You could pick up a case or two at the plant or order online. (I imagine the shipping costs would turn off many people).

I went and bought a couple of cases, (24)13 oz and (12)28 oz clear glass bottles with applied labels. It set me back about $22. Some are better than others, but all are better than the corn syrup stuff. Their Kola became my favorite, (even though nothing matches the true flavor of Coke), there's no undertaste of cinnamon or cloves and it doesn't have the "bloat factor" of HFCS. They have a regular cherry flavor, (not black cherry or wild cherry), that I hadn't tasted since the 70's. The dry ginger ale and cream are the Best of Any Brand. Something called Gassosa is like the 7-Up of 30 years ago, (better than today's, do a side-by side comparison). Everything else is as good or better as any national brand.

Definitely worth considering.

Sorry if any of these are repeats, but I didn't read through the previous 12 pages either.

Daveritzdog, I recently bought a case of 355ml bottles of Mexican Coca Cola from the Soda Pop Shop (find it online). With s&h it cost an arm and a leg but was worth it. Still not the same as the original 6-7 ounce bottles of my youth but definitely better than anything made with HFCS. It even smells better. I had Coke & Pepsi in Iceland last year that was made with cane sugar and immediately tasted the difference. The "Kosher for Passover" Coke is made in small batches and disappears off grocery shelves before many people even get a chance to grab some. You're right about Boylen's, different, but I thought it had a strong taste of cloves that I didn't care for.

For people in the Connecticut area, there's Foxon Park in East Haven. I read that they were featured on the Food Network and had to try some. It's still made with cane sugar. You could pick up a case or two at the plant or order online. (I imagine the shipping costs would turn off many people).

I went and bought a couple of cases, (24)13 oz and (12)28 oz clear glass bottles with applied labels. It set me back about $22. Some are better than others, but all are better than the corn syrup stuff. Their Kola became my favorite, (even though nothing matches the true flavor of Coke), there's no undertaste of cinnamon or cloves and it doesn't have the "bloat factor" of HFCS. They have a regular cherry flavor, (not black cherry or wild cherry), that I hadn't tasted since the 70's. The dry ginger ale and cream are the Best of Any Brand. Something called Gassosa is like the 7-Up of 30 years ago, (better than today's, do a side-by side comparison). Everything else is as good or better as any national brand.

Definitely worth considering.

Sorry for dual posting. I tried to refresh the homepage and this message was resent.

An earlier post mentioned Buffalo Rock: they are the Pepsi
bottler/distributor where I live, but....we are probably the only
region in the U.S. not to have Sierra Mist (only found in Pizza
Hut on the menu) because of their contract with 7-UP: it was the
same with Slice in the 80's and 90's; the only way I was able to
get that was on vacation, way out of Buffalo Rock's tentacles -
and they had a long contact with Sunkist, hence no Slice orange.

Anyone remember these long-gone sodas:
1. Like Cola - 7-UP's attempt to go after Pepsi and Coke
2. 7-UP Gold: the "natural spice flavored soda" that might
have been only in the Midwest (and I still have an
unopened 10-oz bottle from 1988)
3. 7-UP Orange - may have only been in Canada, but it
was excellent!

I'm looking for Kayo chocolate drink. Not the bottles - just FULL bottles. We are having a family reunion in October, and we are trying to recreate the reunions we had when we were kids. Kayo is a must!

Susan at Ceres & Co.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but checked Google and Ebay:
all that's left are advertising signs and empty bottles for sale

Anyone else remember these? Maybe only available in the Northeast:

Uptown: a 7-Up type of soda.

Diamond: flavored sodas in bottles shaped like a stack of three cones with a long neck.

Vita-Cola: With vitamin C. How long did this last? Late 60's or early 70's? Actor Robbie Benson did a tv commercial for it. Jingle: "Vita Cola with vitamin C, Make Cola Count!"

Whatever happened to Nehi soda? What I wouldn't give for a bottle of the grape or even the orange!! ooohhh! Has anyone ever heard of Ski soda? It is a citrus soda along the lines of Squirt. I know it can be found in the southern part of Illinois. Oh yeah what about A&W root beer and Barrelhead, are they still around?

Our WalMart in Corydon Indiana stocks both Stewarts and Nehi in a variety of Flavors. A&W is everywhere. Even the Draft 'frosty Mug' A&W is available at a nearby Long John Silver's store

I too,am a Michigander,I live in Kalamazoo&I looooooooooooove
Vernors&Faygo Peach,Orange&Cherry Cola.

Nehi is all over the Carolinas, especially central NC. It is in long neck bottles.

quote:

Originally posted by drpep

Nehi is all over the Carolinas, especially central NC. It is in long neck bottles.

But why would anybody buy it when "Cheerwine" is sitting beside it?

Hillbilly, I am sitting here at my desk drinking a Cheerwine at the moment. A wonderful drink. When my daughter went to Maine several summers ago, they had to take several cases of Cheerwine to one of the guys there because he had tasted Cheerwine while in the Carolinas and wanted more.

When I lived in the Carolinas, I enjoyed Cheerwine soda. Here is their link: http://www.cheerwine.com

Really enjoyed Cheerwine which was a cherry flavored soda. In the area that I grew up (Buffalo, New York area) in we had all kinds of regional pops and sodas. We had Queeno, Anderson's and Dad's Rootbeer. Also had Birchbeer on tap in most taverns and restaurants during the 1950's, 1960. and 1970's.

I have to say the Dad's Rootbeer was my favorite when I was growing up as a kid. Remember that a 12 ounce bottle was 10 cents plus 2 cents deposit.

quote:

Originally posted by steaklover

Anyone else remember these? Maybe only available in the Northeast:

Uptown: a 7-Up type of soda.

Diamond: flavored sodas in bottles shaped like a stack of three cones with a long neck.

Vita-Cola: With vitamin C. How long did this last? Late 60's or early 70's? Actor Robbie Benson did a tv commercial for it. Jingle: "Vita Cola with vitamin C, Make Cola Count!"

My husband actually sings that jingle! I don't remember it at all though. I do remember 7 up GOld and Cherry 7 Up.

We have Cherry 7-UP here...And CheerWine is now carried at a local supermarket chain (owned by Kroger's). Add that to the Stewarts, Nehi, and I B C. We can find them mixed in with all the others at the local WalMart. We have a pretty good selection of Nostalga brands. Now if I can just find some Faygo RedPop nearby.

An ice-cold bottle of Faygo Redpop (and others in the line) is
nearly in my backyard at the Handi-Mart (of course, may take time
depending on how long I have to wait for the traffic going across
77).

HELP!
HELP!
My boyfriend is trying to remember the name of a cola-flavored syrup from the early 70's. It could be mixed with either regular or carbonated water.
I don't remember this stuff myself, so it may have been regional to the mid-atlantic region.
Thanks in advance!

If you are handy to a foodservice distributor, you should b able to buy Coke syrup or Pepsi from their retail store.

quote:

Originally posted by Hillbilly

quote:

Originally posted by drpep

Nehi is all over the Carolinas, especially central NC. It is in long neck bottles.

But why would anybody buy it when "Cheerwine" is sitting beside it?

OMIGOSH does my son Ian love Cheerwine.

When we first arrive in the Outer Banks for our annual vacation, and I leave to do the "provisioning" of our rented house, the last thing Ian says to me is "Check on the Cheerwine!"

We had a rough time finding it this year; is the brand having trouble competing for shelf space with Pepsi/Coke?

We even bought a case of it over the internet for Christmas a couple of years ago; soda pop is a treat for him, so it lasted a while.

quote:

Originally posted by a noid

If you are handy to a foodservice distributor, you should b able to buy Coke syrup or Pepsi from their retail store.

No, this was something altogether different. It was sold in the early 70's, in grocery stores. It's not the type of syrup used for fountain sodas. It was just something sold in grocery stores, like chocolate or butterscotch, but to mix with tap/ carbonated water.

Was shopping yesterday and came across Mountain Dew's newest
twist: "Pitch Black", which is supposed to have a grape taste....
now, it's getting harder to keep up with them all: regular, diet,
Code Red, Livewire, Pitch Black, and Baja Blast (only at Taco Bell).
Someone bring back the original Mountain Dew ad campaign:
the ads for "Dew U." are not funny: "you can always get a college
education, but what is it compared to an X-Box?"

quote:

Originally posted by ccrfan

How interesting that a few people still remember the Pomac soda. If I may add my 2 cents worth: Pomac came to my little hometown (Encinal, Texas) sometime around 1965-66. I remember that the color resembled champagne or beer. It took a few weeks for me to taste one because, being brand new, every kid in town wanted to drink one.
As I remember, it tasted sort of like "creme" soda but not quite as "yucky" sweet. The closest I've come to nowadays is the Chinese ginseng soda sold in some health food stores.
In any event, it probably had a taste uniquely its own. (Hey, memory may fail me; it's been a long time, you know!)
I also recall that it was yanked from the market very, very quickly. I always wondered why because it was a darn good tasting soda.
Here's a bit of trivia/urban myth: Somebody once told me that it was discontinued because since it looked so much like beer, underage kids were using the bottles to drink real beer out of. If someone out there has a different version, please let me know.

I remember Pomac very well, it was my favorite as a kid. My dad was driving a soda route for the bottling company that distributed it when it was pulled from the shelves. The reason for pulling it was the ban on cyclamates, they could no longer produce it after that.

I Waukesha WI. we had a brand called Bon Ton. They had a flavor called White Soda that was similar to 7up but not as sweet. My Mom made us drink it when we were sick. Also, Grampa Grafs is still in Milwaukee. Thier Lemon Lime was called 50/50. Thier grape soda is excellent.

quote:

Originally posted by Mayhaw Man

I need some memory jogging. When I was growing up we used to bering home sodas from a local bottler in AUstin Texas. I think we bought them because the plant used to sell dry ice (used to pack up venison from trips to family ranch). They had a million colorful flavors. I don't remember anything remarkable about them, but the colors were cool for little kids (we're talking circa 1965 here)
I just thought maybe this giant pool of knowledge could help out an inquiring mind. I could call my Mom, but it would take her two hours to tell me

We had a place like that in Arizona called "Pleasure Time Beverages". You picked up an empty soda case at the door and filled up with 24 bottles in whatever variety you wanted. They must have had at least 20 different flavors/colors. I remember them being 10 cents a bottle if you bought an individual one.

San Miguel in the Philippines back in the 70s, besides the beer made a good soda. They also sold Coke and Pepsi giving a whole new meaning to the term, "lack of competition"

quote:

Originally posted by tmiles

San Miguel in the Philippines back in the 70s, besides the beer made a good soda. They also sold Coke and Pepsi giving a whole new meaning to the term, "lack of competition"

I never tried their soda, but I singlehandedly kept their brewery in business from January, 1960 through August, 1961. But then we could buy a CARTON of king size "Chesterfield" cigarets for $1.10 on Clark Air Base and sell it in Angeles, Pampanga for enough pesos to buy 30 bottles of San Miguel at "Soldier's Paradise" or "Mamacita's Kiosk".

Grew up in Pittsburgh with two regional brands that may be gone - Regent and Tom Tucker Mint Ginger Ale. Regent made all of the long gone flavors like lemon soda and lime soda as well as red cherry, which I can't seem to find anywhere anymore. (Cheerwine is so-so substitute).
Fun brand here in South is Dr. Enuf, which is like 7-up with caffeine punch and lots of A and B vitamins. Tastes a bit medicine-like but gives good jolt in the morning for us non-coffee drinkers. This product comes out of Johnson City, TN.

i've just noticed this stuff called "cheerwine"
it has recently hit shelves here through rc

but, we we have two good native sodas here in ky
ale-8-1 -a strong ginger ale also known as swamp water
has been big in central and eastern ky where available for many decades, and is on the move
coca-cola is distributing it farther out into the state and who knows where it'll end up
the important thing is that it has made it to louisville, and when the cats beat pitino this year i know one louisville fan who will be buying me an ale 8
SKI -immortalized a decade or so ago by the ky headhunters in the smash hit "DOWN AT DUMAS WALKER'S" i like bottle of ski fer sure
itz a western ky thing tho

In North Jersey there is something of a "Birch beer belt", running roughly from Northeast NJ southwestward to Eastern Pa, with a few regional brands still going strong. Boylan's is about the most well known. A-treat is another one. There's even variations like Red birch, white birch, golden birch, (although I'll be dammed if I can tell them apart by blind taste). Quite a few local (i.e not chain) bars in the region carry at least on brand of Birch Beer on tap.--Ken