Best cola

[Road Hog]

I have preferred Mello Yello to Mountain Dew since I was a kid, but it's damned hard to find.

[Scott5114]

Snapple used to sell a clear root beer back in the 1980s when it was more true to making natural drinks.

There was apparently a trend around that time period where companies were all making clear versions of various edible things, ostensibly to show that it was more pure or whatever. I only found out about this because one time when I was a kid I was sick enough to be up late watching the late Saturday Night Live rerun and they had a fake ad for Crystal Gravy. Seeing that sure didn't make my stomach feel better.

[LilianaUwU]

Snapple used to sell a clear root beer back in the 1980s when it was more true to making natural drinks.

There was apparently a trend around that time period where companies were all making clear versions of various edible things, ostensibly to show that it was more pure or whatever.

I tried Crystal Pepsi when it got rereleased and I think I prefer it more than regular Pepsi.

[triplemultiplex]

Always been a Pepsi guy when it comes to cola. Rarely drink soda these days since that's a waste of calories.  But if I do, I go for regular.  All these fake sugars don't taste right to me.

Still have the beach towel I sent away for in the 90's during the inaugural "Drink Pepsi, Get Stuff" campaign.  Back before it turned into a code you had to punch in online.

You might recall when 7-Up used the slogan "the Uncola."

I had a toy truck with this slogan on it.

[1995hoo]

Minor thing that bothers me

A cola is a specific type of drink ....

You might recall when 7-Up used the slogan "the Uncola."

I do.  Was that before or after the "make 7 Up yours" campaign?

That I do not recall.

Way before.  The Uncola was in the 80's.  Make 7 Up Yours was circa 2000.

Thanks. I remembered the Uncola from when I was a kid, but the other slogan is just not one I remember at all.

[wxfree]

Minor thing that bothers me

A cola is a specific type of drink ....

You might recall when 7-Up used the slogan "the Uncola."

I do.  Was that before or after the "make 7 Up yours" campaign?

That I do not recall.

Way before.  The Uncola was in the 80's.  Make 7 Up Yours was circa 2000.

Thanks. I remembered the Uncola from when I was a kid, but the other slogan is just not one I remember at all.

I knew it was later than the other advertising campaign, but I asked about it as an excuse to mention it, due to its humor.  I remember the commercials pushing boundaries in a way I thought was strange.  It seemed to me like it would draw more gasping and clutching of pearls than the value of the humor.  I thought it was funny, but the more sensitive people I knew were appalled.

[signalman]

Snapple used to sell a clear root beer back in the 1980s when it was more true to making natural drinks.

There was apparently a trend around that time period where companies were all making clear versions of various edible things, ostensibly to show that it was more pure or whatever.

I tried Crystal Pepsi when it got rereleased and I think I prefer it more than regular Pepsi.

My thoughts on it were the same as the original...meh, I'd rather have a Coke if I'm gonna drink regular cola.

[Big John]

Minor thing that bothers me

A cola is a specific type of drink ....

You might recall when 7-Up used the slogan "the Uncola."

I do.  Was that before or after the "make 7 Up yours" campaign?

That I do not recall.

Way before.  The Uncola was in the 80's.  Make 7 Up Yours was circa 2000.

Uncola was in the 70s, they had a glass that looked like an upside-down Coke glass. The 80s had the slogan "Never had it, never will."

[kphoger]

Snapple used to sell a clear root beer back in the 1980s

Zevia is clear, and they offer a root beer.

[Road Hog]

Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry is better than Cherry Coke Zero. More-so before they changed the Pepsi Zero Sugar recipe to remove the ginseng and some of the caffeine. The bitterness was addictive.

For those looking for cherry soda, the regional favorite of the Carolinas, Cheerwine got you covered.

I haven't tried it, but a local brand called C&C Cola has a diet cola now. They also have all kinds of wacky other flavors like pineapple.

I had Cheerwine once, and I like it.

Used to be able to get Cheerwine in my local supermarket here in North Texas, but that ended probably around the time of Covid. I'd spring for a pack once a month.

[Dirt Roads]

I had Cheerwine once, and I like it.

Used to be able to get Cheerwine in my local supermarket here in North Texas, but that ended probably around the time of Covid. I'd spring for a pack once a month.

Worse, I am having trouble finding Diet Cheerwine here in Central Carolina (and pretty much all of the two northern tiers of counties across the Old North State).  They don't even sell it in the local IGA (which is not such a common grocery store down here).  We are only about 85 miles from Salisbury, headquarters of the Carolina Beverage Corporation (which doesn't even have its own website separate from Cheerwine).  Talk about old fashioned!

[CoreySamson]

Call me crazy, but I do like the taste of Buc-ee's Original Cola. They have a cherry limeade soda and pineapple cream one that slap as well.

In the poll I voted Diet Coke, but I also like Pepsi Zero.

[kphoger]

Call me crazy

Corey, you're crazy.

[ClassicHasClass]

Pepsi Zero Sugar Wild Cherry is better than Cherry Coke Zero. More-so before they changed the Pepsi Zero Sugar recipe to remove the ginseng and some of the caffeine. The bitterness was addictive.

For those looking for cherry soda, the regional favorite of the Carolinas, Cheerwine got you covered.

I haven't tried it, but a local brand called C&C Cola has a diet cola now. They also have all kinds of wacky other flavors like pineapple.

I had Cheerwine once, and I like it.

Used to be able to get Cheerwine in my local supermarket here in North Texas, but that ended probably around the time of Covid. I'd spring for a pack once a month.

BevMo seems to have it reasonably reliably out here in California.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I seldom drink soda pop anymore. Only when I'm eating out, and I rarely do that anymore since my heart attack.
That said, my favorite soda pops are Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Faygo Rock n' Rye, A&W Cream Soda, Barq Root Beer (which seems to have inherited the old Hires Root Beer recipe over the last decade or so)

[hbelkins]

I had Cheerwine once, and I like it.

Used to be able to get Cheerwine in my local supermarket here in North Texas, but that ended probably around the time of Covid. I'd spring for a pack once a month.

Worse, I am having trouble finding Diet Cheerwine here in Central Carolina (and pretty much all of the two northern tiers of counties across the Old North State).  They don't even sell it in the local IGA (which is not such a common grocery store down here).  We are only about 85 miles from Salisbury, headquarters of the Carolina Beverage Corporation (which doesn't even have its own website separate from Cheerwine).  Talk about old fashioned!

I have found Diet Cheerwine in 12-pack cans at larger Kroger stores in central Kentucky. The problem is, I prefer the half-liter bottles and the last place I saw them was during a trip a decade ago in Weaverville, NC, or somewhere nearby north of Asheville.

I have the same issue with Diet Vernors. 12-packs are easy to find, but not so much the half-liter bottles.

[NJRoadfan]

Its pretty difficult finding Cheerwine Zero in 2L bottles in the Raleigh area now. The bottles used to be everywhere, but the 12 packs are easy to find (I stock up when I'm in the area).

[ClassicHasClass]

Glass-bottle cane sugar Vernors is a wonderful thing and hardly anywhere in California carries it.

My late father loved it, so we still keep a bottle in the fridge, just in case he ever drops by again.

[Dirt Roads]

I had Cheerwine once, and I like it.

Used to be able to get Cheerwine in my local supermarket here in North Texas, but that ended probably around the time of Covid. I'd spring for a pack once a month.

Worse, I am having trouble finding Diet Cheerwine here in Central Carolina (and pretty much all of the two northern tiers of counties across the Old North State).  They don't even sell it in the local IGA (which is not such a common grocery store down here).  We are only about 85 miles from Salisbury, headquarters of the Carolina Beverage Corporation (which doesn't even have its own website separate from Cheerwine).  Talk about old fashioned!

I have found Diet Cheerwine in 12-pack cans at larger Kroger stores in central Kentucky. The problem is, I prefer the half-liter bottles and the last place I saw them was during a trip a decade ago in Weaverville, NC, or somewhere nearby north of Asheville.

Today, the hot find was Cheerwine Zero Sugar in 20 oz. six-packs on sale at Ingles Market in Avery County (which is not actually in the two northern tiers, but near the far northwest corner of the state).  (Didn't know that Cheerwine had changed its artificial sweetner, but I'm not so picky).  Lowes Food that is still in Avery but much closer to Boone also had them.  Neither store had two-liter bottles.  Indeed, these are in the distribution area northeast of Asheville.

I have the same issue with Diet Vernors. 12-packs are easy to find, but not so much the half-liter bottles.

Vernors also became a huge hit in West Virginia back in the 1970s, probably due to price (but it had limited distribution in more urban parts of the state).  I've had the same issue not being able to find Diet Vernors anywhere in North Carolina for the past two years.  Ingles doesn't carry Vernors whatsoever, but Lowes Foods carries the non-dietary version in the northwest corner of the state.  Can't find any in Central Carolina.

[1995hoo]

I've never had Cheerwine despite spending three years in North Carolina for law school. Wegmans carries it. To what other soda would you folks analogize the taste? I'd consider trying the diet version, but I'd like to know what to expect before I buy it because if your description makes me conclude I wouldn't care for it, I'd rather not waste the money.

[kphoger]

So how 'bout them colas?

Sitting down with a can of RC cola and some Cheez-Its before grocery shopping.

[GaryV]

Sitting down with ... before grocery shopping

Good idea, since you shouldn't shop on an empty stomach.

[ElishaGOtis]

Call me crazy, but I do like the taste of Buc-ee's Original Cola. They have a cherry limeade soda and pineapple cream one that slap as well.

Same! I actually voted other for this lol

Love their custom ICEE with their own cola as well 

[Max Rockatansky]

Call me crazy, but I do like the taste of Buc-ee's Original Cola. They have a cherry limeade soda and pineapple cream one that slap as well.

Same! I actually voted other for this lol

Love their custom ICEE with their own cola as well 

Mmmmm...litigation...

[kphoger]

you shouldn't shop on an empty stomach.

I've found that that's true not only because I'm more likely to impulse-buy something, but also because, if the shopping trip is long enough, I might start to feel light-headed.  That's especially true in the morning if I skip breakfast first.