Flathead Lake Gourmet Sour Cherry

I found Montana's Legendary soda, bespectacled with the glasses-wearing Flathead Lake Monster at a convenience store in west Tennessee. Although the label suggests this is a premium beverage, its 99 cent in a glass bottle shows otherwise. The flavor was ok, I suppose, but the Cherry flavor wasn't all that strong, nor was it particularly sour.

Blue Raspberry Crush

From personal experience, blue sodas usually aren't very good. This one was ok. My wife got most of it and she liked it. It's a crush flavor I don't see all too often.

Vintage Groovy 7-UP sign

"82" Market is located on highway 82 just south of Shelbyville, TN.

Mountain Dew Dark Berry

This limited time only soda from 2012 was in conjunction with the latest Dark Knight Batman movie. The flavor seems to be a mixture of grape and the berry flavor of Mountain Dew Revolution. This bottle was made by one of the bottlers who embosses an MD logo into the side of the bottle.

Faygo Candy Apple

I'm not a huge fan of candy apple flavor, but I always like soda flavors I haven't tried before, and Faygo is usually good for something I haven't tried before. Today, I overheard a coworker say this was his favorite soda, but has trouble finding it around here. For whatever reason, I see Faygo much more often in West Tennessee.

Fentimans Dandelion & Burdock

Dandelion & Burdock is considered a fine beverage, but people in the US aren't accustomed to the taste. (I've never wanted to drink a dandelion and had previously never heard of Burdock.) The people who don't understand it thinks this taste somewhere between licorice and cough syrup. However, there are people that swear by it and think it's the best thing ever. It comes in a really neat glass bottle, but sadly was only 9.3 ozs.

In small letters on the label, they say this is "Botanically Brewed." The brewing process causes there to be a smidgen of alcohol in the beverage. As they describe it, it's less than 0.5%, so legally they don't have to mention in on the label. (As they say, 7-up also contains a teeny tiny bit of alcohol for the same reason, but it's so small that nobody cares.) Well, there was a city up north that banned the sale of this drink to minors, even if it was less than 1 proof. That's the kind of thing that would probably make minors want to drink it even more!

Soda Shaq Vanilla Cream and Strawberry Cream

Boy do these have a lot of Sugar! The Strawberry Cream is similar to Big Red but a little bit sweeter. They are made by the Arizona Tea people, and there are other flavors in the product line, but not on the day I saw this at my nearby store.

Roy Rogers Western Style Soda

Prairie Berry and Lasso Lemon Lime. The other flavors not pictured are Sasparilla and Orange Wrangler. Normally, I would have tried these flavors, but my mother-in-law is a huge Roy Rogers fan, so I let her have them, where she will probably keep them as a collectors item. These are produced by International Marketing Partners.

A motel advertising Mountain Dew

That's what I'm lookin' for in a hotel: Mountain Dew!
Along US 52/62/68 between Ripley, OH and Aberdeen, OH

Barq's Red Cream Soda

Barq's, best known for their root beer, is brewed in Biloxi, MS. In that area, I was also able to find their red cream soda which is not sold where I live. It has a flavor somewhat like strawberry and tastes very similar to Big Red.

Orange Crush in Tennessee - 2012

celebrating 75 years of Tennessee State Parks

Exstra-Sitro from Russia

It is my understanding that Exstra-Sitro is the transliteration from Cyrillic into our alphabet. I suppose the Russian Soda would be translated to Extra Citrus. This is the first Russian soda I have been able to try. It has an orange cream taste, although unfortunately not one that my American palate was able to enjoy.

Citrus Blast

Do you remember this. It came out four years ago but didn't last too long.

Pepsi's 2011 product was seen at the local grocery store today. I can't tell a difference between this and Squirt. At the same time, I can't tell a difference between this and another of their newest products, Mountain Dew White Out, but without the caffeine.

As far as the label goes, I'd say labels for the generic Kroger's house brand looked more exciting. It reminds me of Shimmer, a floor wax and a dessert topping!

Appalachian Brewing Co. Root Beer

Brewed with a delightful blend of Honey.

I'm not a fan of root beer, but my sis-in-law is. This is a prized beverage of hers, but she let me photograph it

Ed Hardy Celebrity Energy Drink

Ting - A Drop of Caribbean Sunshine

Ting is a Jamaican Soda dating back to 1976. On the front is a label that points out it is made from Real Caribbean Grapefruit. "A Drop of Caribbean Sunshine" must be a motto because it was on the back of the label. I liked it and it reminded me of Squirt but a little more sour.

Ole Doc Bell's Wizard Elixir

The other day I was touring a property with a historic cabin. As with most vintage cabins open to tours, there were several vintage utensils and household items on the shelves. This bottle caught my eye and I liked the natural light.

It certainly looks like the typical medicinal elixir from a hundred years ago, such as Wine of Cardui. It turns out it's a (relatively) new product made to look old, although by now this bottle was quite dusty.

I can only find very little about this product, as they don't have a website. It looks like they make a variety of flavors but are not sold in stores. Instead, they only appear to sell at fairs and festivals, particularly ones that have a throwback theme. It looks like you buy from them an empty bottle with the label affixed to it and then fill it with the soda flavor of your choice. I have had a chance in the past to try a couple of small-time soda makers that run by this business model, such as Bayou Billy's or Old Texas Soda Co.

Bayou Billy's Homemade Soda

www.bayoubilly.com/

I saw this at Smithville's Fiddler Jamboree, This mobile cart sells 10 different soda flavors. It comes in a 32oz. tin mug.
flavors shown here: Root Beer, Cherry Wine (like Cheerwine), Sassafras, Cream Soda, Orange Zip, Peach, Sour Grape, Strawberry Cream, Sugar Free Root Beer, Birch Beer. Never before have I seen a brand of soda sold only in a mobile cart like this.

Mountain Dew 65th Anniversary Bottle (from 2012)

Bawls Guarana Soda

Bawls was one of the first energy drinks on the market, and usually their target demographic is the hardcore gamer. The most distinct feature of the blue bottle are the grip control bumps. It is also available in cans where instead of 122 bumps, will feature 59 circles with color changing ink for when the contents are cold. When I drank this, i thought it tasted like pure donut glaze. I'll let you decide for yourself if that is a good thing.

Billboard Juxtaposition

Problems with Binge Drinking &
Illegal Drug Use in Your Community?
let it pour.

I suppose it depends if you have a coke problem, or a Coke problem.

Dang! That's Good Butterscotch Root Beer

Recently I had a couple of friends tell me this is among the best beverages they've ever had. Now, I'm not a fan of root beer, and I don't go out of my way for butterscotch. I did enjoy this.

Ski - by the makers of Double Cola

Ski is a citrus soda made by the people at Double Cola. It is my understanding that Ski predates Mountain Dew and Mellow Yellow and thus it doesn't taste like a copycat of either one, having its own flavor. I found this in the Cave City, KY area, where Double Cola products seem to be popular.

Lime Crush

2010 was the year I finally realized I really enjoy Lime flavored beverages. So, when I was on vacation, I stopped at a rural gas station in East Tennessee, and the people around there must really like Lime. They had lots of Lime Crush and Like Sunkist, neither of which I'd ever seen before, plus Mtn Dew Distortion, which was my favorite of the recent Dew flavors but had been out of production for 2-3 months.

Then, I make it home and see my grocery store now has Lime Crush, so Yay!

Kickapoo Joy Juice faded wall ad

This is painted on the side of a building that used to be Jenkins Food Market in the small commercial area of Trimble, TN which is a small city in Obion County. Kickapoo Joy Juice is a citrus-flavored soft drink brand owned by The Monarch Beverage Company. Perhaps more people are familiar with the name, which was taken from the Ll'l Abner comic strip (although in the cartoon, the beverage was alcoholic, but the drink you can buy is a soda.)

The real world drink was introduced in 1965 under NuGrape, a former brand of The Monarch Beverage Company. That year, Nugrape worked out a deal with Al Capp, the owner of the Kickapoo Joy Juice rights, to produce the beverage as a carbonated soft drink. Capp, however, would have the last word on all advertising and promotion. Kickapoo Joy Juice's early advertising campaign was very similar to Mountain Dew's of the time – using characters from Li'l Abner to create and market a hillbilly feeling. Although the product is currently distributed largely in Asian markets, the can still comes decorated with a vintage Li'l Abner drawing.
www.kickapoojoy.com.my/product.html

Vernors Ginger Ale

I don't know what took me so long in life to pick up a bottle of Vernors. I had always passed up on the 2 Liter bottles it in the grocery store, but decided this glass bottle would make a good addition to my soda collection.

I mean, all ginger ales taste the same, right? Of course not. I guess it never had registered that there's an obvious difference: Canada Dry is clear and this isn't. This Ale is flavored with caramel and the dry ginger ales aren't. Oh, it's also aged in barrels for a few years inside their Detroit bottler, which contributes to why the Michiganders I know will swear by it. It's also about the oldest soft drink around, which the bottle reminds me is 1866.

Goya Cola Champagne

This tastes like a cream soda, except more sugary if you can imagine that.

Jones Soda Mousse a.k.a. Cream Soda

When I first saw this soda on the shelf at the local store, I saw the name Soda Mousse. My initial reaction was to think how those Jones Soda people always come up with the most unusual flavors and my palette was already imagining mousse in soda form.

But then, I realized I was looking at the French Canadian side of the label and this is really a cream soda. There is still a difference: Every other cream soda I've seen is usually a caramel / brown color, and as you can see this one is as clear as water. That must mean it's going to taste different, too.

And it did! Not only that, I thought it tasted like a Mousse soda, just as I originally had envisioned it. While I like the flavor, it might be a little too sweet for me to drink much of it. I have since learned that cream sodas can quite often be clear in color, but the ones I see most often, A&W and IBC aren't.

Marriage of RC Cola bottles in Tennessee (with moon pies)

I saw several interesting cake designs shown at a state fair. This one shows a Tennessee tradition of two great things that go great together. And the RC Cola bottles are getting married while the groom is wearing a UT hat.

Mountain Dew 2008 retro hillbilly design

One of 5 designs with the GreenLabelArt limited edition Aluminum bottles. This was my favorite since it plays homage to the 1950's Hillbilly design. It'll tickle yore innards!

Vintage Pepsi Cola wall ad - Roanoke, VA

at the top is

Virginia Carriage Factory inc.
Manufacturers of
Carriages, Buggies, Etc.

and then...

Fountains also in Bottles
Drink Pepsi-Cola 5 Cents
Delicious - Delightful

Seen on the side of a building in downtown Roanoke, VA next to a Uneeda Biscuit sign

Cascal Crisp White

Cascal is an unusual soda. I found it at the local Whole Foods market. I took this photo a few months ago but thought about it again after seeing a billboard for it. I think the slogan was something along the lines of it's a soda that drinks like champagne.

Jarritos Jamaica Flavor

In an effort to find all of the Jarritos flavors, this one had escaped me for a while. I had no idea what to expect before trying this one. The flavor is Jamaica. Also, of course the English translation for the flavor which is written in a smaller font is also Jamaica.

I did some research before trying it, the flavor is actually hibiscus, which of course is a flower. (I've never seen a rose or a daffodil drink.) It didn't have too much of an aroma. the actual taste was as best as I can describe like cranberry, but slightly more bitter.

Whole Foods Blood Orange Italian Soda

This is only my second experience with a Blood Orange soda, and I'm not sure where that name comes from. Strike that, I just looked it up on Wikipedia. If you've never heard before, a Blood Orange is a type of Orange, more reddish in color. I would have guessed there was grapefruit mixed in.

The line at the bottom:
Deep and Luscious. Unforgettably distinct.

Nehi Peach Soda

It's been a long time since I had a peach soda, and the ones I had in the past were o.k.

The Nehi peach soda was very good. If you could take a ripe peach on a hot summer day, one that's so good that the peach juice dribbles down your arm, and you could turn it into a soda, you'd have this... except instead of being fuzzy, this is fizzy.

Drink Coca-Cola - Made in Knoxville 5¢

Along with a mural for Carpet Headquarters, this Mural is located along N. Broadway (US441) in Knowville

World of Coca-Cola bottle

Of course, it's the same Coke you can get anywhere but it has a special label that you can only get if you go to the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta

Dr. Wham from Alabama

I think their slogan ought to be "It Wakes You Up Before You Go-go"

Dr. Wham is a tastes-just-like-dr-pepper alternative made by Buffalo Rock, a Pepsi Bottler for much of Alabama.

When I first saw Dr. Wham about 4 years ago, they had a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde advertising thing going.

6-pack of Quinabeer

Soft drink made in Miami by Cuban Immigrants and manufactured by Cawy Bottling Co.

The product also features an illustrated guy on the can who's mysteriously either a bodybuilder, weightlifter, boxer, or normal yet very muscular person. "Champion" George Prince has been used for marketing. He's an obscure yet real person, famed and idealized.

The flavor is known as "Champagne Cola" which many might think is too sugary and sweet. Some say it tastes like liquid bubblegum, but I think it like a cram soda with a hint of Orange and Cherry. They also manufacture a similar looking but less sweet version called Champ's Cola.

Canada Dry sign, Roanoke, VA

I suppose it's not that exciting of a sign, but I can't recall seeing a Canada Dry sign anywhere before.

Chaser - a Lemon-Lime soda from the people at Double Cola

Chaser is a somewhat new competitor to Sprite and 7UP made by the people at Double Cola. This was found in 2011.

Old Texas Soda Co.

This microbrew was seen at the 2011 Wilson County Fair in Lebanon, TN. The price seems high at first - $12. But with that, you get a 32oz. stainless steel mug and free refills all day. On tap, they had seven flavors: Root Beer, Diet Root Beer, Birch Beer, Vanilla Cream, Orange Cream, Grape and Cherry. Each time you return, they'll scoop ice into your mug and you can get what you want. I've never been a fan of root beer or grape sodas, but I thought their Orange Cream was excellent and the Cherry was also really good.

Pepsi Cola: Ice Cold Delicious - Arresting Taste - at Beale St. in Memphis

This retro mural is seen along Beale Street in downtown Memphis. It was painted by Mark Davey of Davey Studios in 2004.

Would you like to see more photos from Beale street? Check out the Beale Street gallery

Red Rock Premium Orange Soda

I'd never heard of this before. I went home and googled this flavor and couldn't find anything on it that way either.

There is a Red Rock Cola out near Atlanta, but their website does not list any Orange soda.

I found this is a Dr. Enuf soda machine in Elizabethton, TN, so I suppose this is made by Tri-city Beverage Co. of Johnson City, TN, although they do not have a website apart from their Dr. Enuf website and it's not mentioned on there either.

Jolly Rancher Orange

When I bought this bottle, the cashier at the convenience store asked if I liked this flavor. It was actually the first time I'd ever bought it. The cashier said she had heard mixed reviews. Personally, I don't think it tastes like a jolly rancher or is in any way different than most other orange sodas.

Nehi Orange bottle

Making due with what was available, the background is an air hockey table.

Dr. Pepper 125th Cans: 10-2-4 from 2010

This year, Dr. Pepper celebrates its 125th anniversary with a set of 6 commemorative cans. This is one of those 6

Acworth GA restored Coke Mural: Couple shares a Coke

There are two vintage restored coke murals in Acworth, and this one is across the tracks from most of the businesses. Also on this wall is an ad for Mother's Self-Rising Flour, although the restored coke mural now covers a section of that wider ad.

Sidral Mundet

I'm not really a fan of apple flavored sodas, but my wife liked it. Sidral Mundet was first bottled in 1900 by Don Arturo Mundet, who produced the cider-flavored beverage. In 1988, Sidral Mundet was introduced to the US through Novamex and has since become a popular soft drink in the Hispanic American market.

Ski in a glass bottle

"Real Lemon Real Orange Real Good"
Ski is a citrus soda made by the people at Double Cola. It is my understanding that Ski predates Mountain Dew and Mellow Yellow and thus it doesn't taste like a copycat of either one, having its own flavor.