SODA BRAND MUSINGS (an observation)................

Growing up we would get egg creams and all the soda fountain favorites in a place like this.
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The green signs outside with yellow letters, the big red Coke buttons.
The store had canvas awnings that the owner would use a crank to extend and retract.
That store had seemingly every magazine made, stacks of newspapers, candy of many types and it would change all the time. He also had everything a grade school kind would ever want. Toys guns of every type, smoke bombs, magic snakes, snaps, party poppers with streamers in them.

A full soda fountain with metal cup holders and replaceable paper cups.

He was only a few steps away from the local grade school so he knew his market well ;)

I can still smell the store, musty cigar, newsprint, and candy-sweet all in one...

I know of nothing like it anymore, everything is clean cookie cutter, and boring.
 
As a kid growing up in Western Massachusetts the local soda was Sand Springs. They made just about the best tasting sodas available at that time.
Jim
 
I got a job at the local Owl Drug Store when I was 15 and had a newly minted driver license. When I wasn't delivering packages I worked the soda fountain. Although there were plenty of bottle drinks around we did it the old way. We would take about one to two ounces of syrup, add seltzer water from a seltzer bottle, stir, add ice, and the customer got an eight ounce Coke, orange, or Barq's Root beer for a nickel. We sold hundreds of these a day, many of them to folks waiting for a script to get ready.
 
If you want a ginger ale with bite, try Bundeberg.

If I was still drinking it would be my go-to bourbon mixer.
 
When I grew up, both my parents worked for Coca Cola, so you know what I drank.

For the past few years I've been drinking Kroger Brand "real sugar" cola. But it's now been discontinued according to my local Kroger, and they only carry the Mexican Coke in individual glass bottles at a high price. :mad:
 
Red Drink. This is what we called Barq's Red Creme Soda. Nectar of the gods
As was Barq's Root Beer. The ONLY root beer I will drink ot this day
Barq's rootbeer has the best slocan, on every bottle.
"Drink Barq's. It's good."

Barq's is my fave for making root beer floats. :cool:
 
I primarily drink iced tea, a lot of iced tea, but when I have a soda it’s a Pepsi. When I’m not feeling well I’ll have some Canada Dry ginger ale.

There used to be a soda brand in Philly called “Franks”. They made cola, ginger ale, orange soda, and others. My Dad loved their Black Cherry Wishniak. My Grandpop used to buy us a case of assorted Frank’s sodas every week when he went to the beer distributor for his Piels beer. The company went out of business about 20 years ago, and I still miss it. The old ad slogan was “Is it Franks? Thanks!”

Another soda I enjoyed was “Wink”. It was a citrus soda, and came in glass 1 liter bottles. It was really good, but I haven’t seen it in over 15 years.
 
There used to be a soda brand in Philly called “Franks”. They made cola, ginger ale, orange soda, and others. My Dad loved their Black Cherry Wishniak. My Grandpop used to buy us a case of assorted Frank’s sodas every week when he went to the beer distributor for his Piels beer. The company went out of business about 20 years ago, and I still miss it. The old ad slogan was “Is it Franks? Thanks!”

For quite a few years my favorite root beer and cream soda was Hanks, which I think is also out of Philly. First time I had it was in Boston. When I lived in the South I used to frequent a sub shop partially because they had Hanks (they also had good subs).
 
WhenI was a kid we had a brand of soft drink called Caravan, they had Strawberry, Peach and cream soda and a Spicy GingerAle. I loved the Ginger Ale. I think they were made in S. C. and then as someone else mentioned there was Blenhiems also from S.C. many years later we got a variety of spicy Ginger Ale called Steuarts. I think they originated in Colorado. I loved those too.

I was a dyed in the wool Coke guy until they screwed up the formula in the 70's now if I drink cola it's Pepsi. THese days however I stick to sweet Tea (my own) sweet tea bought out is just colored water and extremely sweet. I do get it when we eat out though.
 
It's mazing just how localized 'soda' is. There are brands some of you mentioned that I've never even heard of!

Potato chips too. There used to be a whole lot of different brands that either went away, or merged into oblivion over time. Locally, we loved Cain's, made on a street that we went up and down on almost daily, and the smell was so great. One day, they just closed up. Not so locally made, but not too far, at our house, we bought Ballreich's, and to this day, they are my all time favorite. A friend and I bought a ton of different brands of chips one time, and just did a taste test, and I don't know if it's because we've eaten them for so long, but Ballreich's ruled over all. How Potatoes, salt, and oil can vary so much is a total mystery to me.
 

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