Area-specific soft drinks

[mcdonaat]

I'm sitting here typing this topic while drinking a Dr Pepper. The only difference is, this Dr Pepper is sweetened with Imperial cane sugar, in a very heavy 8oz glass bottle... the Dr Pepper tastes like it's sweetened with cane syrup or caramel!

I know that the Acadiana area (Opelousas, Lafayette, Ville Platte) is the only place in Louisiana that I can find the Dr Pepper in six packs of glass bottles, sweetened with the Imperial sugar. I can also find it in modern bottles, sweetened with cane sugar, but part of the fun is the retro styling. Dr Pepper is bottled by PepsiCo (as Acadiana Bottling), so not only do you find tangerine and white grape Diet Rite, but Pibb Xtra/Zero is abundant, as is every single kind of Minute Maid beverage. I also found Barq's French Vanilla crème soda, and A&W in glass bottles. The best news? Sunkist, in peach and cherry limeade.

I'm curious as to what national brands are only available in your area, or an area you know of, and if you take it for granted or not! I'm used to seeing four different types of Fanta, but I went to a Cici's and found apple Fanta. Sam's Club also has Cherry Limeade Fanta. Fountain only, but those are sometimes the gems! Taco Bueno here (only location in the state!) has Big Red in fountain.

EDIT: I've also noticed that Mello Yello Zero is a hit-or-miss. MYZ, along with Fanta Orange Zero, are the only two "Zero" drinks that actually taste like the original.

[Sanctimoniously]

Cheerwine. Although I guess that might be a little broader than the OP envisioned.

[Jardine]

Cel-ray soda might be hard to find everywhere, or maybe it is regional, Idunno.

[KEVIN_224]

Is Moxie sold outside of Maine? I've never seen it here in Connecticut.

[Pete from Boston]

Is Moxie sold outside of Maine? I've never seen it here in Connecticut.

Yes in Eastern Mass.  Seen it here and there around the northeast.

[jeffandnicole]

Dr Pepper is bottled by PepsiCo...

This can be a bit confusing because in some regions, Dr Pepper is bottled by CocaCola, as I believe is in the case of the Philadelphia area.  When there are sales on Coke products in the grocery stores here, Dr Pepper is generally included with the Coke product sales.

[txstateends]

Dr Pepper bottles their own here in north TX.  It's not farmed out to Coke or Pepsi.  But here's a weird one--while I lived in Amarillo, I discovered that Sprite there wasn't bottled by the Coke maker/distributor.  It was bottled through a separate firm.  I'd never heard of Sprite being handled separate from Coke before anywhere.  I'm not sure if this is the case now, but it was while I was there.

As for the subject, I can't think of any current soft drinks that are unique or local to the north TX area.  All that are here are national brands other than any grocery store's house brands of soft drinks.

(If the subject included craft beers or wines, yes there are several locals in those columns.)

[TheStranger]

I strongly associate Ale-8-One with Kentucky.  Isn't Ski also bottled out there too?

[Jardine]

Is Teem out there anywhere ??

[Pete from Boston]

I strongly associate Ale-8-One with Kentucky.  Isn't Ski also bottled out there too?

Isn't Ale-8 specifically only eastern KY?  Ski is all over southern Indiana. I got looked at funny there when I didn't know what it was.

I haven't seen Teem since the early 80s.  It was available on fountain at Dunkin' Donuts, where I would sit at the counter and the waitress would bring me a bowl of chili.  I just like remembering that this setup existed once. 

[TheStranger]

I strongly associate Ale-8-One with Kentucky.  Isn't Ski also bottled out there too?

Isn't Ale-8 specifically only eastern KY?  Ski is all over southern Indiana. I got looked at funny there when I didn't know what it was.

I've gotten it in central Kentucky (Elizabethtown) in my one visit to that state in 2006.  Also, some specialty soda stores manage to have it shipped out of state (i.e. RocketFizz in California; I recently had Ale-8-One at their store in Camarillo).

[US71]

I'm sitting here typing this topic while drinking a Dr Pepper. The only difference is, this Dr Pepper is sweetened with Imperial cane sugar, in a very heavy 8oz glass bottle... the Dr Pepper tastes like it's sweetened with cane syrup or caramel!

That's what was once known as "Dublin Dr Pepper": it was bottled in Dublin, TX , until DP ordered them to stop.

I don't know how it compares, but some areas have "Heritage Dr Pepper" which is supposed to be the sugar formula, like Throwback Pepsi and Throwback Mountain Dew.

Some areas have "Mexican" Coke which has the sugar formula, but word on the street is they are about to swith to HFCS because it's cheaper.

[Brandon]

Some areas have "Mexican" Coke which has the sugar formula, but word on the street is they are about to swith to HFCS because it's cheaper.

To quote Darth Vader,

HFCS sucks.

[corco]

I'm sitting here typing this topic while drinking a Dr Pepper. The only difference is, this Dr Pepper is sweetened with Imperial cane sugar, in a very heavy 8oz glass bottle... the Dr Pepper tastes like it's sweetened with cane syrup or caramel!

That's what was once known as "Dublin Dr Pepper": it was bottled in Dublin, TX , until DP ordered them to stop.

I don't know how it compares, but some areas have "Heritage Dr Pepper" which is supposed to be the sugar formula, like Throwback Pepsi and Throwback Mountain Dew.

Some areas have "Mexican" Coke which has the sugar formula, but word on the street is they are about to swith to HFCS because it's cheaper.

Convolutedly, Mexicoke intended for export to the US will still have sugar, so that's good. Mexican market Mexicoke will have HFCS though

[briantroutman]

Eastern PA (particularly Allentown and its environs) has A-Treat sodas. An A-Treat birch beer and a Yocco's chili dog on your way to Dorney could be about as Allentown as you can get.

It's not regional per se, but my soda of choice, Tab, is hard to find. I understand its availability depends on whether the local Coca-Cola bottler makes it. The Bay Area bottler in Oakland does not, but it's available in LA. I can get it in Lake Tahoe, but not Sacramento. Back in PA, I was able to find it in the Lehigh Valley and Downingtown, but not from the 476/276 belt inward to Philadelphia.

[hbelkins]

I started to reply with Ale-8, but then went back and re-read the original post, which says this:

I'm curious as to what national brands are only available in your area...

He was talking about cane sugar-sweetened Dr Pepper. Ale-8 is definitely not a national brand, nor is Cheerwine, nor is Vernor's.

[TheStranger]

Ale-8 is definitely not a national brand, nor is Cheerwine, nor is Vernor's.

Vernor's availability has increased noticeably over the years - it is pretty easy to find in California, and has been sold in 33 states since the 1960s.  Not necessarily "national" like Dr Pepper, but not as regional as Ale-8-One.

Are Big Red and Big Blue national at this point?  (Both can be found in parts of NorCal)

[Brandon]

Ale-8 is definitely not a national brand, nor is Cheerwine, nor is Vernor's.

Vernor's availability has increased noticeably over the years - it is pretty easy to find in California, and has been sold in 33 states since the 1960s.  Not necessarily "national" like Dr Pepper, but not as regional as Ale-8-One.

Are Big Red and Big Blue national at this point?  (Both can be found in parts of NorCal)

I remember when one had to go back to Michigan for Vernor's.  As it is, I can find cane sugar sweetened Faygo in only Michigan since my local Meijer stopped carrying it.

[Pete from Boston]

Eastern PA (particularly Allentown and its environs) has A-Treat sodas. An A-Treat birch beer and a Yocco's chili dog on your way to Dorney could be about as Allentown as you can get.

It's not regional per se, but my soda of choice, Tab, is hard to find. I understand its availability depends on whether the local Coca-Cola bottler makes it. The Bay Area bottler in Oakland does not, but it's available in LA. I can get it in Lake Tahoe, but not Sacramento. Back in PA, I was able to find it in the Lehigh Valley and Downingtown, but not from the 476/276 belt inward to Philadelphia.

Oh, man.  I can practically taste the Yocco's just thinking about it. 

A-Treat bottles pop up all over out of market in the hardware-store display for some epoxy-type cement whose name eludes me.  The stand features an A-Treat bottle with various items glued to it.  The cement itself is a Lehigh Valley product.

Around here we've always had Polar from Worcester, Mass., but I have seen it as far south as New Jersey in recent years, particularly their extensive line of flavored seltzers.  I think they may actually bottle Adirondack, which seems to be all over the Northeast.   

Cott seems to still exist but I haven't seen it in years.  I guess Newark's Hoffman is gone now. 

[formulanone]

Sun Drop used to be an Alabama thing, but it's more common in some larger markets recently.

I see Big Red much more often in various places around the country.

Moxie...ugh, tastes like a blend of toothpaste and Diet Coke.

[6a]

I strongly associate Ale-8-One with Kentucky.  Isn't Ski also bottled out there too?

Isn't Ale-8 specifically only eastern KY?  Ski is all over southern Indiana. I got looked at funny there when I didn't know what it was.

I can get Ale-8-One here in Columbus. 

I know of at least one store that sells Cheerwine, too, thank goodness. I love that stuff.

[Pete from Boston]

Moxie...ugh, tastes like a blend of toothpaste and Diet Coke.

Liquid Necco wafers.

[NJRoadfan]

Sun Drop used to be an Alabama thing, but it's more common in some larger markets recently.

SunDrop was launched nationally, but it seems limited to just the original and diet varieties. The caffeine free and cherry lemon versions are not readily available here, but it is available in NC (original SunDrop territory).

Cheerwine has aspirations to expand nationwide in the next few years. Right now they have a small network of distributors. I can buy it in NJ, but only in glass bottles for $1.50 each. Its much cheaper for me to buy 12-packs of cans in bulk when in NC. 

NJ has a few local sodas. You can't get birch beer outside of NJ/PA normally. Boylans is a local brand that seems to have expanded nationwide.

[formulanone]

Cheerwine has aspirations to expand nationwide in the next few years. Right now they have a small network of distributors.

That's another one I've seen more and more; used to be limited to North and South Carolina, but I'm seeing it more frequently at my local Publixes, Wal-Marts, and other convenience stores. It was the only reason I'd go to Winn Dixie back in South Florida...Publix wouldn't carry it there.

Speaking of the Carolinas, a tricky one to find is Blenhiem Ginger Ale. It's tough to find in most places, even in its native South Carolina. Typically the larger C-stores have it, and I've been to two specialty soda shops that had it. The red cap is quite strong, but I like it! If I can't find that, Red Rock Ginger Ale (they're out of Atlanta) is a good substitute.

NJ has a few local sodas. You can't get birch beer outside of NJ/PA normally. Boylans is a local brand that seems to have expanded nationwide.

I've seen it in New York; they had black cherry (and another variety that escapes me), at a gas station across from where I was working. Not bad.

[mcdonaat]

But here's a weird one--while I lived in Amarillo, I discovered that Sprite there wasn't bottled by the Coke maker/distributor.  It was bottled through a separate firm.  I'd never heard of Sprite being handled separate from Coke before anywhere. 

In Eunice, there is an old service station with a Sprite sign, instead of Coke or Pepsi.

Nexus 7