After having run this blog for a while I realised that I had posted several posts on classic soft drinks and that this might be the start of a rather long lasting project. I began reading up on the subject and found that both on Wikipedia and on other pages there were a lot of information on classic sodas and soft drinks. Google also provided a lot of images that could illustrate the posts. Well, I’m not a man who thinks long and hard on anything so the list of sodas and soft drinks waiting to be presented in separate posts now features well over 60. The project is well on it’s way.
Soft Drinks – History, Origin And Timeline
And I need your help here visitors, both in suggesting sodas and soft drinks from around the world and in giving your opinion on the ones presented already if you know the product. And you can start by giving your opinion on the ones posted already or reading what other visitors have written by clicking the links below – Ted
List of Soft drinks and sodas posted already
Visitors soft drinks and sodas suggestions and comments
This page has the following sub pages.
Retrorambling 
I saw your request for old fashioned sodas on the Fedora Lounge site while reading some old posts.
Bet you never heard of O’Keefe’s sodas. This was a Canadian brand, launched by O’Keefe’s breweries during Prohibition as an alternative to their beer and ale.
Their best known product was O’Keefe’s Stone Ginger Beer which originally came in a crockery, or stoneware bottle. They also made fruit flavor drinks and a cola.
Well known around the Toronto area, they were never distributed nationally. In those days (up to the 1960s) there were plenty of local brands of sodas in addition to the well known American brands.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=o%27keefe%27s+stone+ginger+beer&id=8268153FE2FBE1E8E7B2665C4B638180247EF9E6&FORM=IQFRBA
I’m a longtime fan of Vernor’s, too—my mother grew up in Michigan with it, so her west-coast-born children were introduced to the elixir later in life when we visited the midwest with Mom. Delicious stuff! 🙂
How about Johnnie Ryan? Unless it’s listed here, and I’ve missed it!
Prudy’s comments after Johnnie Ryan was posted:
🙂 A very familiar beverage from a company that is less than 1/2 hour from my house!! I love the orange, the dark cherry, and the birch beer!! Wonderful write up Ted!! ❤
It’s pretty good. It’s an inexpensive pop (yes, we call it pop in Western NY).. one that usually satisfies the cravings for dark cherry and birch beer. I don’t care for their cola, but I’m not a fan of Pepsi either. I’m a Coke girl all the way. 🙂
No, Johnnie Ryan is a new one to me. Added to list of sodas to come. Thanks a lot Prudy ❤
There’s a soft drink that I remember from my childhood called Lift Golden Citrus Cola. It was made by the Royal Crown Cola Company in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and sold in NC, VA, and SC (at least). It was similar to Mountain Dew, but it did not contain caffeine. If I remember correctly, the RC Cola Company phased it out in favor of the caffeine-containing soft drink, Kick.
You are missing Vernor’s Ginger Ale, a Detroit Michigan product since 1866 that is still in production today and is considered by some sources as the oldest surviving soft drink in the U.S.
Vernor’s was created by James Vernor, a Detroit pharmacist who was looking for a new, non alcoholic beverage based upon the ginger beers that were popular in Britain.
The story goes that Vernor came up with his own version in1862, but as the Civil War was raging, he left the formula inside an oak barrel and left his pharmacy to join the Michigan Cavalry.
During the war, Vernor served with distinction and returned to Detroit, where he remember his creation, opened the barrel and found that the ginger ale was not only well preserved, but had picked up a highly unique scent and flavor. He started marking it at his shop shortly after and continued the practice of maturing the drink in oak barrels,
Vernor’s was primarily a “Michigan thing” for over a century, though it had some popularity throughout the Midwest and parts of Canada. It has in more recent times become available throughout most of the United States (I even found it in Texas while visiting San Antonio).
Sadly, Vernor’s original formula has changed dramatically over the years and is just a watered down version of the drink I enjoyed just twenty years ago as is contains less natural ingredients, less carbon and now uses high fructose corn syrup.
Another local popular drink that has seen increased sales outside the Midwest is Faygo (founded in 1907), which is famous for it’s many flavors, including “Rock and Rye” and “Red Pop.” Recently, Faygo reintroduced their product in specialty glass bottles and made with real cane sugar, which is enough to make any Michigander over the age of 35 relive their childhood with a single sip.
There is also a highly memorial Faygo commerical from the 1970s featuring “The Great Gildersleeve,” featuring locals on a boat ride to the once famous Boblo Island Amusement Park.
Thanks a lot for the suggestions Dan, they have been added to the list of suggestions and comments:
https://retrorambling.wordpress.com/articles/misc-articles/visitors-soft-drinks-and-sodas-suggestions-and-comments/