Yer local Soda Pop

[Sherlin]

Aside from Craft Brew, one thing that I enjoy is rare soda pop. Here in TN if it has carbonation in it then we just all it coke. My favorite kind of coke is Mountain Dew, but we have some local drinks that far surpass it. When on the road, I like to look for other local varieties.

Northeast TN has a mighty good drink called Dr. Enuf. It's been around a long time and contains 100% cane sugar, 260% B1, 90% Niacin, and 80% of your daily Iodine intake.

Middle TN's cola of choice is Sun Drop. It's also popular in NC and TX, but it's a staple in Middle TN. A Mt Dew or Mello Yello tastes flat once you've had a swallow of this stuff.

Our neighbors up north in KY have a local cola called Ale 8. It's unique flavor stocks all the refrigerators of our coal mining neighbors, however, I prefer TN's libations.

For anyone wanting to find Dr Enuf, it is carried by Cracker Barrel (a TN based national chain). No where else outside of East TN carries it. But be warned, it isn't for the faint of heart.

 

[Kid Panda]

This is our local brew, real big in NC and SC...

Which in turned led to this...

Never tried them but heard it was good.

 

[Mugicha]

nice thread! I'm an NC transplant from out west, so Cheerwine is new to me, and it is fabulous. It's a red cherry flavored soda. Local bbq joint Cook Out has it on tap and make cheerwine floats as well that are phenomenal.

When I lived in the southwest we had something called Cactus Cooler, which was orange-pineapple flavored soda. also phenomenal

edit: panda scooped my post

 

[Marek]

Great thread Sherlin.

Because its you starting it, all my favorites are already represented.

I adore Dr. Enuff. I used to crush lots and lots of those living in Knox. They make a cherry version which isnt quite as good as the original.

Ale 8 is fucking awesome as well. I always look for it when I'm passing through Kentucky.

Cheerwine is nostalgic for me. I've heard it mixes well with booze, but I havent had much since childhood. It gets around TN some, but its mostly in the Carolinas as Pandar pointed out.

Cactus Cooler looks BOSS. Caffeine? If its got the goods I could see that supplanting Enuff for me.

 

[Mugicha]

sorry popcorn, pretty sure the cactus didn't have caffeine but it was damn tasty, I grew up with it in AZ, was very pleased to still find it in CA several years later.

 

[PleaseKillMeNow]

Big Shot's the only major New Orleans/Louisiana-only (?) soft drink I can think of and it's... Terrible. It's a lot like Faygo (same corporate overlord, in fact).


And although created in Biloxi, Barq's is New Orleans through and through.



EDIT: Holy fuck, somehow I forgot about Abita Root Beer. Quite embarrassing considering it's made right in my backyard, the only soda I can think of made by a beer company, and delicious.

 

[Mugicha]

actually forgot to mention, Pepsi is local to me also, created in New Bern, NC which also happens to be where Mitsurugi-w resides

 

[cdamm]

you havent done soda till you've done filberts.

Middle TN's cola of choice is Sun Drop. It's also popular in NC and TX, but it's a staple in Middle TN. A Mt Dew or Mello Yello tastes flat once you've had a swallow of this stuff.

the dr pepper company mainstreamed sundrop nationally last year as a direct competitor to mountain dew. it was originally from missouri.

 

[Moon Jump]

That's weird that you mention Dr. Enuf. I just got a four pack of it at Cracker Barrel in Jersey this weekend, even had one with my lunch. I liked it, nice a light. Not heavy tasting like Sprite and 7-Up have been. I got it because the store didn't have Double Cola which I also liked. New York has the Manhattan Special...a coffee soda. I tried a sip of it and almost threw up. It's really strong. Sucks on Long Island it's all Coke and Pepsi. Even still we can't get a lot of flavors. When I was in New Hampshire I saw a guy with a can of Pepsi Throwback and he told me they sell it up there but on Long Island it dried up long ago. I'm pretty much done drinking soda, only when I can't get nothing else I like to drink when I go out and a special occasion. I'm trying to loose weight so I switched to water and I'm going to make my own ice tea soon.

 

[cdamm]

where the hell is adderall and his sprecher brewery presentation?

 

[Mugicha]

cd, I wanna try a filbert's lime looks fantastic!

 

[T.A.P.]

We have Town Clubbe and Faygo.

I really want to try some Cheerwine, but it isn't available here.

 

[Fuzzytaco]

I think Jones soda is the only local soda brand in my area, some descent flavors, most are crap though in my opinion. They make bacon and turkey gravy flavored sodas for the holidays(gross!!!). There is a place on Orcas island that is remaking old brands like Bubble Up, Dad's, and Nesbitts, which are quite good.

 

[Mugicha]

I think Jones soda is the only local soda brand in my area, some descent flavors, most are crap though in my opinion. They make bacon and turkey gravy flavored sodas for the holidays(gross!!!). There is a place on Orcas island that is remaking old brands like Bubble Up, Dad's, and Nesbitts, which are quite good.

I like jones, never tried the holiday flavors, but I'm willing to guinea pig I've always dug the pictures on the labels, very cool imo.

 

[Andy Is A Bastard]

I don't know if it was purely local to Northern IL/Southern WI, but Green River was always a favorite. It tasted a lot like carbonated green Jell-o, but it was very refreshing. Hell, back in the day, you could go into any Beef-a-Roo in Rockford (local fastfood chain) and get Green River from the tap, I think it was the only non-Pepsi co. brand they had...

As for local in Southern WI, we've got Stewarts. Good stuff.

 

[Fuzzytaco]

I like jones, never tried the holiday flavors, but I'm willing to guinea pig I've always dug the pictures on the labels, very cool imo.

They sell a holiday pack of different flavors, not sure if they sell it everywhere. Out of all the weird holiday flavors I was surprised to find pumpkin pie to be the worst.

 

[cdamm]

I don't know if it was purely local to Northern IL/Southern WI, but Green River was always a favorite. It tasted a lot like carbonated green Jell-o, but it was very refreshing. Hell, back in the day, you could go into any Beef-a-Roo in Rockford (local fastfood chain) and get Green River from the tap, I think it was the only non-Pepsi co. brand they had...

As for local in Southern WI, we've got Stewarts. Good stuff.

green river is a chicago thing. it gets around to the great lakes states around st. paddys day. named after the chicago river which has been green with pollution for a very long time- it was originally a prohibition brew. green river is rad and tastes like nothing else- its made better by being only seasonal.

 

[Fuzzytaco]

Used to be able to get Green River out here in the PNW, delicious, I haven't seen it in a while though

 

[Sherlin]

Great thread Sherlin.

Because its you starting it, all my favorites are already represented.

Thanks Popcorn. I also like the Herbal Cherry Dr. Enuf, but not near as much as regular. Something else that I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that Sundrop uses real fruit pulp for flavoring. There's more of it in the glass bottles. Actually, the glass bottle version tastes like a completely different beverage.

And speaking of pulp, one of my favorite drinks (and a Kentucky drink at that) is Ski. Used to could get it in TN, but I haven't seen it in years. They put so much pulp in it that it scared customers and they had to take it back a little. Absolutely delicious drink and I wish they'd kept the amount of pulp it once had.

And to touch on Cheerwine....I remember having it in TN as a kid. It kinda went away and made a comeback recently. Always reminded me of a cherry flavored Dr. Pepper.

Anyone remember this stuff....

 

[FalcomAdol]

Moxie of course. Also Mercury Brewing soft drinks [ http://www.ipswichalebrewery.com/products/soda_pop ]

Also recommend Stone Cat Scotch Ale, though that's not exactly a soft drink (depends how you define it).

In Western PA where my mom grew up they had Cherikee Red, which was pretty awesome.

 

[Neo Alec]

Schells, the second oldest family-owned brewery in the US, has been selling these on and off in Minnesota since prohibition. Pretty good, and real sugar. They're being sold as kind of a high end gourmet product now. The root beer is only sold in kegs, or this cute mini keg.

 

[Kid Panda]

Sherlin, we still have Slice here in Charlotte, but only the lemon-lime Slice and orange :/

 

[Sherlin]

BTW Panda, those Cheerwine Krispy Kreme's look killer. Love me some Krispy Kreme Hot Sign!

Glad to know ol' Slice is still making the rounds somewhere.

Old Dominion is a brewery in VA that I really like. They also make a Root Beer. I had some in DE last year. Fine stuff.

 

[Marek]

RIP

 

[Domino-chan]

This is our local brew, real big in NC and SC...

Which in turned led to this...

Never tried them but heard it was good.

We carry Cheerwine at our store. Haven't tried it yet.

Two local/regional breweries also make root beer:

St. Arnold's Root Beer

Abita Root Beer

Both are good root beers, though Abita's is a touch sweeter. We also have Dublin Dr. Pepper, but that's getting pretty easy to find outside of Texas.