# Other Soft Drink Flavors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 21, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505 "2010-07-21T19:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/1 "2010-07-21T19:22:32Z")
In the article [_Whatever happened to the soft drink sarsaparilla?_](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/319/whatever-happened-to-the-soft-drink-sarsaparilla), Cecil made a comment that it, like its closest kin, Root Beer, lost out to Cola flavored drinks. I remember A&W Root Beer and Stewart Root Beer drive through burger joints. I wonder if there are any left. Other flavors of sodas that are no longer popular: [ul] [li]Moxy: Apparently, one of the first sodas. I was on a trip to Maine and bought back a case for work since one of our coworkers was from Yankeeland. She refused to even look at them. A couple of people tried them, but they were far from popular.[/li][li]Squirt: This was a grapefruit flavored drink. There were several grapefruit flavored sodas. Never understood why this was a good idea.[/li][li]NeHi Grape Soda: Grape was once a popular flavor, but another loss to Colas[/li][li] Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda: Celery Flavored. Use to be my father’s favorite.[/li][li] Canfield’s Diet Chocolate Fudge: For a short while back in the 1970s, this soda was a big hit. Of course, we were all on drugs back then.[/li][li]Delaware Punch: Actually has been banned by most states. (Due to red food coloring used and not due to taste). One sip, and you could feel your teeth rot.[/li][li] Big Red: Oh God. Please, die. This stuff is like liquid bubblegum, but sweeter. It is like Delaware Punch on acid. Or at least lots of caffeine which is the only reason people use to drink the stuff. Now, with highly caffeinated things like Red Bull, you’d think this stuff would be on its death bed. But, for some strange reason it is having a resurgence.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Lestrade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Lestrade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lestrade)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/2 "2010-07-21T20:13:54Z")
Ah, Moxie. The trick with Moxie, you see, is that the first sip tastes horrible. So does the second. This is where the magic happens, the third sip tastes pretty good and wholly unlike the first two sips. From there, enjoy the rest of your delicious soda; just don’t stop for too long or you’ll have to start from the beginning again. A-yup, it’s a Maine thing and it’ll stay that way. That’s fine; it has a museum, an annual festival and plentiful supply where it is enjoyed. That’s good enough for me. > **[Moxie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxie)** > > Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massachusetts. The sweet soda is similar to root beer, with a bitter aftertaste. It is flavored with gentian root extract, an extremely bitter substance commonly used in herbal medicine. > Moxie was designated the official soft drink of Maine on May 10, 2005. It ... ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/3 "2010-07-21T20:30:17Z")
We’ve got sarsaparilla alongside root beer. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/4 "2010-07-21T20:30:26Z")
Stewarts Root Beer drive-in still exists – there is one in the town I live in. The Cel-Ray soda still exists, too. For some reason my husband likes it, although I cannot understand why. We are sometimes able to get it for him at Wegmans. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/5 "2010-07-21T20:35:46Z")
I’ve got an A&W/KFC near me. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/6 "2010-07-21T21:43:44Z")
There was a Kick-a-Poo joy juice sometime in the 60’s. I also drank a canadian drink with grapfruit called Pomaide or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/7 "2010-07-21T23:22:43Z")
Sarsaparilla (Or usually shortened to ‘Sars’) is still reasonably popular in Australia. Not at the Cola levels of course, but well and truely a stable second tier flavour. It’s readily available in all grocery stores and corner shops. ---
**Author:** ![Louie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Louie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Louie)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/8 "2010-07-22T02:09:23Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > I remember A&W Root Beer and Stewart Root Beer drive through burger joints. I wonder if there are any left. A&W restaurants still exist and they are all over California over here. They are owned by Yum, parent company of Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silver. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/9 "2010-07-22T03:41:43Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > I remember A&W Root Beer … drive through burger joints. I wonder if there are any left. A&W has a [website](http://www.awrestaurants.com/#/home) with a locator feature. I entered a few metropolitan ZIP codes at random and in every case found several restaurants in the surrounding area. Obviously they’re not nearly as dense as McDonald’s and the like, but they are around. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/10 "2010-07-22T03:52:17Z")
There used to be chocolate pop. It was in a small bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/11 "2010-07-22T06:39:26Z")
[QUOTE=Unca Cec] It was originally made (artificial flavors have taken over now, of course) from a blend of birch oil and sassafras, the dried root bark of the sassafras **tea**. [/QUOTE] Loath though I am to dare to correct a typo from lo, these 33 years, but I assume that should be the sassafras **tree**? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/12 "2010-07-22T07:10:41Z")
Any other Brits remember **Cresta** “It’s frothy man!” (Not so much a flavour as as an, er, texture. I kind of liked it though.) And do they still male **Tizer**? What the hell flavour was that? ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/13 "2010-07-22T07:40:04Z")
I really really wish that the states thought lemon was a viable flavor for stuff. In Japan, there’s delicious lemon gum and lemon soda and such that’s widely available. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/14 "2010-07-22T12:06:33Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > I really really wish that the states thought lemon was a viable flavor for stuff. In Japan, there’s delicious lemon gum and lemon soda and such that’s widely available. What gives? 😕 Is this an attempted whoosh? There’s tons of lemon flavored stuff in the States. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/15 "2010-07-22T12:24:52Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > 😕 Is this an attempted whoosh? There’s tons of lemon flavored stuff in the States. I usually find that most lemon flavored stuff tastes nothing like lemon. And, as far as I know, there is no Lemon soda or gum here. But, even if there were, they’d taste more like lemonade–not the kind made from real lemons, but the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/16 "2010-07-22T12:53:56Z")
Fresca is still widely available here in the States and the original is grapefruit flavored. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/17 "2010-07-22T13:21:02Z")
Squirt is still around, or at least it was as little as 5 years ago. I used to have a co-worker who drank it like water. It might be hard to find though. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/18 "2010-07-22T14:12:58Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There used to be chocolate pop. It was in a small bottle. You could try [Canfield](http://www.amazon.com/Canfield-Diet-Chocolate-Fudge-72-Ounce/dp/B001SAU4MU). ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/19 "2010-07-22T15:12:20Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There used to be chocolate pop. It was in a small bottle. > [@Lanzy](#): > > You could try [Canfield](http://www.amazon.com/Canfield-Diet-Chocolate-Fudge-72-Ounce/dp/B001SAU4MU). Gonzomax, I think that maybe you were thinking of [del]Yahoo.[/del] – I mean, [Yoohoo!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoohoo) At the bottom is a link to their official site. Although the origianal chocolate flavor (and a few others, including strawberry) have never been discontinued, it has been relatively unsuccessful. Or, at least, it has never really caught on in my area, Rochester, New York. Nor, most likely, [Western New York](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_new_york). I can’t recall when I last saw in on a shelf here. * * * - Jack\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![osme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/df788c/32.png) [@osme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/osme)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505/20 "2010-07-22T18:15:47Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There used to be chocolate pop. It was in a small bottle. Could it be Chocolate Soldier? I used to love them as a kid. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-soft-drink-flavors/547505.md?page=2)