Soft Drinks Trivia: Interesting Facts on Your Favorite Soda Drinks
With a US market share of almost $270 billion in 2020 soda drinks have conquered our taste buds and have become an essential part of our drinking experiences.
Mixed in cocktails or drank on their own soda’s by far the ideal refreshment drink. Here are some interesting facts about the top 7 types of soda out there:
1. Club Soda is carbonated water infused with minerals that give it a healthy punch. The slightly salted beverage is usually enriched with potassium bicarbonate, sulfate, and citrate. Its zero-calorie content makes it ideal for keeping your body in good shape while well hydrated.
But did you know that club soda was sold in North America as far back as the 1700s? That’s when pharmacists managed to infuse plain water with carbon dioxide, which they believed made the water healthy and recommended it to patients.
Although club soda doesn’t have medical properties it’s very much a pleasant and hydrating drink that can even be mixed in more than a few excellent cocktails like Gin Rickey, Tim Collins, Caipirinha, and the tempting Mojito.
2. Tonic Water - did you know that in the beginning Tonic Water was used as a prophylactic against Malaria?
Nowadays Tonic water contains much smaller amounts of quinine as compared to its initial recipe, nevertheless, it still has a distinctive and exciting flavor.
Bitter and sweet tastes harmoniously blend together to deliver an authentic and refreshing experience. Tonic Water seems to be the perfect ingredient to signature classic cocktails like BLT, Cucumber Cooler, and the evergreen summer drink: Gin Tonic.
3. Ginger Ale is a soda drink with ginger flavor, again created as a medical remedy. And did you know there are two types of ginger ale? The golden style created by Irish doctor- Thomas Cantrell somewhere in the 1850s and the pale style made by the Canadian pharmacist John McLaughlin in 1904. Since it contains ginger (an ingredient famous for its health benefits) this soda is often recommended as a relief for indigestion and motion sickness. At the same time, ginger ale has a delicious pungent taste that anyone interested in a soda drink out of the ordinary will appreciate.
And if you’re looking to mix things up you can try stirring a few cocktails with ginger ale like the Ginger Snap, “The Grumpy Old Man”, and of course “The Ginger Rogers” cocktail - all delicious and fun to make.
4. Ginger Beer is the spicier cousin of ginger ale. If you’re a fan of the robust and mouthful beverages you won’t be disappointed by the pleasant taste of ginger beer. The carbonated, non-alcoholic drink is made through natural fermentation and usually contains three main ingredients - ginger, yeast, and sugar.
What’s interesting about ginger beer is that it was initially created as an alcoholic beverage in the 1700s in England. Later, in the 1920s during the Prohibition laws in the States, alcoholic drinks couldn’t be imported in the country, so the English created a non-alcoholic version of ginger beer.
Since then this soda drink has seen become a beloved beverage that is also an essential ingredient to many intriguing cocktails like the Moscow Mule, the Handsome Ginger, and the Nor’easter that we recommend you try.
5. Citrus Soda is the soda type ideal for those seeking a sweet and sour soda experience. This delightful beverage mixes the tart tastes of citrus fruits with gently sweet ingredients to deliver a refreshing soda drink that carries summertime memories.
Did you know that the first commercially available citrus soda was 7up soda?
It was created by Charles Gripp in 1929 and first contained a mood-stabilizing drug called lithium citrate. In its advertisements, the company claimed that the drink helped “take the ouch’ out of ‘grouch'”.
Fast-forward to today, citrus sodas are drug-free and totally delicious on their own but also add a nice touch to a regular Gin and Tonic cocktail or a Citrus Volley cocktail.
6. Cola is the classic soda drink flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus oils. But did you know that Its name comes from the kola nut? This exotic fruit, native to the rainforest of Africa was the original source of caffeine in this soda drink. Cola was invented by the pharmacist John Pemberton in 1886 and was since replicated by many manufacturers turning it into a staple soda drink today.
The dark, caramel color and sweet and inviting taste make this drink hard to resist temptation, which you should enjoy in moderation. The same advice goes for the delicious cocktails with cola we recommend you try - Cuba Libre, “The Dracula’s Kiss” or the simple classic- Whiskey Cola.
Looking for a gamechanger but used to your favorites? Try Pepsi in glass bottles today and find your new love.
7. Root Beer is a non-alcoholic, carbonated drink first recognized as a medicinal brew by American indigenous people. It became a popular drink after the pharmacists Charles Hires successfully debuted his brand of root beer at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876.
Interestingly, Hires first wanted to call his drink root tea but since he had to market the drink to Philadelphian coal miners he changed it to root beer.
A favorite recreational soda drink - the root beer recipe is not standardized but the modern version of the beverage usually includes filtered water, sugar, sassafras flavoring, sarsaparilla root, caramel, and wintergreen, among others. It’s caffeine-free and best-suited for soda fans of unconventional tastes.
And to add even more excitement to your root beer experience you can mix it up in cocktails like the Voot Beer, add sweetness with the Creamy Root Beer Rum cocktail, or bet on a classic like the Lynchburg Beer cocktail.
Experiment with your soda drinks and go on a taste journey that might open your mind to the great variety of soda drinks we get to experience today. From clear and refreshing to pungent and peculiar the world of soda drinks is yours to explore. Start by checking what Beverage Universe has in store for you!
