Soda vs. Pop

[Brandon]

It is soda, you get a can of sprite it says Lemon-Lime Soda on the side, that is what i used to prove it is called soda

And Faygo has a flavor called "Red Pop".  Your point?

[agentsteel53]

And Faygo has a flavor called "Red Pop".  Your point?

I'll bet if we enumerated the number of drinks marked "soda" and the number of drinks marked "pop", soda would win by about a 10:1 margin at least.

[english si]

Exception: bourbon. They bottle it high-proof on purpose so when you put a couple of ice cubes in it, it doesn't get too watery. Plus you get to see how the flavors change as the ice melts.

Most bourbon is bottled at the standard 80 proof/40% abv (watered down slightly anyway). High proof whiskey can take a bit more than a few drops of water, but it's less the watering down that's the problem with ice in Whiskey, but the cold (see, for instance, here, where they recommend a cube of ice in high-proof whiskey, but to leave it to warm up). This has no problem with a bit of water and recommends it, but says a big no to ice. The flavours change by improving greatly as the drink warms up!

Same with other drinks - what's wrong with cellar cold? Even fridge cold is often too warm and you have to make it ice cold - dulling the flavour. And the way you do that is to add so much ice that when it melts, there's about 50% water and 50% soda/pop/coke!

[1995hoo]

I find that if I drink Booker's (generally bottled at around 126 proof) I usually need one ice cube to cut its rather severe bite. My brother once said that Booker's with no ice will make the hair on your balls stand on end. I think that's as good a description as any I've heard.

But otherwise, I drink them all neat.

[realjd]

Exception: bourbon. They bottle it high-proof on purpose so when you put a couple of ice cubes in it, it doesn't get too watery. Plus you get to see how the flavors change as the ice melts.

Most bourbon is bottled at the standard 80 proof/40% abv (watered down slightly anyway). High proof whiskey can take a bit more than a few drops of water, but it's less the watering down that's the problem with ice in Whiskey, but the cold (see, for instance, here, where they recommend a cube of ice in high-proof whiskey, but to leave it to warm up). This has no problem with a bit of water and recommends it, but says a big no to ice. The flavours change by improving greatly as the drink warms up!

Same with other drinks - what's wrong with cellar cold? Even fridge cold is often too warm and you have to make it ice cold - dulling the flavour. And the way you do that is to add so much ice that when it melts, there's about 50% water and 50% soda/pop/coke!

I've admittedly never purchased bourbon in the UK market, but here in the states, any bourbon that isn't Jim Beam is at least 90 proof (and Jack Daniels isn't bourbon). And don't add enough ice to make it 50% water; just add enough to take the bite off of the high proof alcohol. Usually it only takes a couple of ice cubes. And a slight chill lends itself to bourbon since it's less refines than scotch.

[Scott5114]

It is soda, you get a can of sprite it says Lemon-Lime Soda on the side, that is what i used to prove it is called soda

And Faygo has a flavor called "Red Pop".  Your point?

Faygo Redpop is not fit for human consumption, so...

[Sykotyk]

As I posted in the cola wars thread, I grew up "pop" but have been converted to "soda" by my wife.

When we lived in southern Illinois, some people called it "sodie" or "sodie pop".  But, then, they also said "terlet paper", so there goes any credibility.

I had a classmate in college who, upon moving from "soda" country to Chicago, was once asked if he would like a pop.  He answered:  No thanks, I don't do drugs.  He honestly had no idea that "pop" referred to soda.

On a tangent.....
Do you call it a soda machine, a pop machine, or a coke machine? Pop Machine
Do you call it a soda fountain, a pop fountain, or a coke fountain? Soda Fountain
Do you call it a soda distributor, a pop distributor, or a code distributor? Pop Distributor
Are any of your answers different than what you call soda/pop/coke? Yes, it's Pop. Soda Fountains are things at old Apothecary shops

[kphoger]

Faygo Redpop is not fit for human consumption, so...

Amen.  I remember liking Big Red.  What was I thinking!

[hbelkins]

Isn't Faygo Redpop strawberry soda? I thought Big Red was something else entirely.

[Mr_Northside]

Faygo Redpop is not fit for human consumption, so...

Amen.  I remember liking Big Red.  What was I thinking!

All this talk, and now I have a slight craving for some Cherokee Red, which I haven't had in years.

[Scott5114]

Isn't Faygo Redpop strawberry soda? I thought Big Red was something else entirely.

I am pretty sure they have a strawberry soda that isn't the Redpop. They have peach and orange, both labeled just that, so I don't know why they'd break convention for strawberry.

[exit322]

Faygo Redpop is not fit for human consumption, so...

Amen.  I remember liking Big Red.  What was I thinking!

All this talk, and now I have a slight craving for some Cherokee Red, which I haven't had in years.

Sorry for the bump for this...but it's actually "Cherikee Red."  Yep, they spell "Cherokee" wrong...makes it classier, I think.  It doesn't taste as good as I remember it, but it doesn't really matter now that I've taken the artificial food colorings (FD&C Red 40, in this case) out of my diet.

[bandit957]

Pop is what bubble gum does, so we usually call it something else to avoid confusion.

[slorydn1]

Its whatever flavor I'm in the mood for that day: Cream Soda, Root Beer, Orange Crush, Mountain Dew, Pepsi (coke is something that's added to the mixture to make steel and isn't fit for drinking).

[Brandon]

Pop is what bubble gum does, so we usually call it something else to avoid confusion.

Soda is a caustic substance.

[US71]

I'll have iced tea, please

SM-G930V

[slorydn1]

I'll have iced tea, please

SM-G930V

Make that a SWEET tea....

[jwolfer]

I'll have iced tea, please

SM-G930V

Down South no need to say Iced... Tea is sweet and iced and brewed..not instant... You have to qualify "Hot tea"

LGMS428

[Roadgeekteen]

I call it soda, I have never heard anyone call in anything else.

[texaskdog]

Pop, and I'm a Minnesotan who moved to Texas

[texaskdog]

I'll have iced tea, please

SM-G930V

Down South no need to say Iced... Tea is sweet and iced and brewed..not instant... You have to qualify "Hot tea"

LGMS428

Sweet or unsweet?

[jp the roadgeek]

Always called it soda, except there is a distributor in my area called Pop Shop, but we all know they distribute sodas.  I have heard tonic used in greater Boston.  Coastal people (including Californians) call it soda.  Midwesterners (Cleveland, Denver) call it pop.  My Texan friend said any carbonated beverage is called Coke.  Tea and coffee are served hot unless specified as iced and add ins are only added as requested.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I went to a pizza buffet in Denton in fall 2015. It was one of those buffets where the drink is an extra charge. I instinctively asked the guy at the counter for a cup for pop and he didn't know what pop was. Realizing this I rephrased to "fountain drink" and he understood. It should be noted that English wasn't his first language so it was understandable that he didn't know, but I still find it an amusing story.

[epzik8]

I'm from Maryland, if the Maryland flag to the left of this post didn't make it obvious enough, and it's pretty much universally "soda". I have been through "pop country", however. And apparently calling every soda Coke is a Texas thing?

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm from Maryland, if the Maryland flag to the left of this post didn't make it obvious enough, and it's pretty much universally "soda". I have been through "pop country", however. And apparently calling every soda Coke is a Texas thing?

It certainly is a thing....  I've lived so many places that I generally just found it either to call a particular carbonated beverage by the actual name; Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, ect.  The Mid-West was really big on "pop" while the east coast was big on "Soda."  Around places like Texas, New Mexico, and some of the surrounding states it would be "Coke."  Granted some of the regional slangs have started to fall apart in the last couple decades across some regions as people are migrating towards the Sun Belt.