# Unusual soft drinks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [April 10, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885 "2011-04-10T18:54:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/41 "2011-04-11T13:46:56Z")
Unusual for the U.S., but not Spain, is horchata. Wish I could say I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/42 "2011-04-11T13:57:14Z")
I like the Blood Orange, Pomegranate, and Raspberry [soda](http://www.worldmarket.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3689399) that World Market carries. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/43 "2011-04-11T14:51:35Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > I want to know where you found Fentimans because they all look awesome. I have seen it at World Market. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/44 "2011-04-11T15:51:01Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > Unusual for the U.S., but not Spain, is horchata. Wish I could say I liked it. That’s on the shelf at every grocery store and at a lot of restaurants here. I wouldn’t have guessed it was Spanish. I assumed it was Mexican. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/45 "2011-04-11T15:54:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think it’s bergamot, which is the same flavoring used in Earl Grey tea. I don’t know about bergamot but, as mentioned, gentian is one of the main flavorings of Moxie. If you’ve never had gentian on its own, it’s a very bitter root, along the lines of something like wormwood or quinine. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/46 "2011-04-11T15:59:28Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > [Kinnie](http://www.kinnie.com/), which tastes like orange soda with a large part of the sweetness removed. I’ve only ever seen it in Malta, but it was delicious. I was going to mention that one too - it’s bitter orange and it’s… interesting. My mom and I split one after hearing that was THE drink the Maltese love. She only drank one sip - I kept forgetting I didn’t like it and trying it again. I suppose I could acquire the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Snowcarpet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowcarpet/32/257_2.png) [@Snowcarpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowcarpet)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/47 "2011-04-11T17:09:23Z")
I tried this local specialty in Chios Greece: [http://www.e-anemos.gr/contents/en-us/d6\_Mast\_soft\_mastiha\_drink.html](http://www.e-anemos.gr/contents/en-us/d6_Mast_soft_mastiha_drink.html) Mmm, mastic soda. Oh lords, it is most foul. Mastic is not meant to be fizzy, and despite it’s long standing as a traditional product, is clearly not meant to be eaten. It tastes faintly piney with undertones of dirt. It does make some great soap though! ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/48 "2011-04-11T17:23:40Z")
Jones Soda comes in a variety of quirky flavors, some of them quite tasty. Put your own picture on the labels too. They accept user submitted pictures for the labels, which are constantly being changed. And you can just order it over the interweb if you want. [http://www.jonessoda.com/files\_4/products-glass.php](http://www.jonessoda.com/files_4/products-glass.php) Green Apple, Blue Bubblegum, Berry Lemonade, Strawberry Lime, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/49 "2011-04-11T17:49:45Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Jones Soda comes in a variety of quirky flavors, some of them quite tasty. I wish the local grocers would carry them in multiples greater than 4. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/50 "2011-04-11T20:48:35Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > It’s not a very precise thing, but make simple syrup (1 part sugar plus 1 part water, heating just until the sugar is fully dissolved). Add a lot of nickel-wide slices of ginger; if you’d like to make candied ginger, peel it first, but if you just want ginger ale, don’t bother. Cook at a brisk simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the syrup has a very, very strong ginger flavor. Cool, strain out ginger pieces, and store in the fridge; to make ginger ale, put about two tablespoons (or to taste) of ginger syrup in the bottom of a glass, then top off with chilled seltzer. The syrup keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. If you’d like more precise measurements, there are plenty of recipes online. > > If you’re making candied ginger, lay the cooked ginger slices out on paper towels and blot dry, then coat with table sugar. I have never managed to get mine totally dry enough that they keep indefinitely, so store in the fridge and eat within a couple of weeks. Just whatever you do, stay away from “Homebrew” brand ginger ale extract as sold in home brewing stores. That stuff is heinous. Their rootbeer extract is ok though. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/51 "2011-04-11T20:49:55Z")
My brother’s a big fan of the Scottish Irn-Bru, while I thought it tasted like Big Red with some undefinable funky taste. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/52 "2011-04-11T21:12:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > See post #1. I wish they’d have sold some of those flavors in this country. haha, I guess I should have said “Have any of you BESIDES QtM ever been to the Coke Museum in Atlanta?” ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/53 "2011-04-11T22:07:33Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > haha, I guess I should have said “Have any of you BESIDES QtM ever been to the Coke Museum in Atlanta?” {assed by it many times… Also wanted to stop at The Varsity. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/54 "2011-04-11T22:58:42Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Where do you live? There’s a popular hibiscus soft drink here in the southwest called Jamaica (pronounced huh-MY-cuh). I am in the midwest, I’m sure I might be able to find Jamaica somewhere, but I haven’t been there yet. Did you know that “Jamaica” comes from “Jamaica Flores (Flowers)”. Jamaica is quite the western hemisphere producer of hibiscus… known as “sorrel” there. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/55 "2011-04-12T02:12:19Z")
I like Inca Cola. I assume Aztec cola is similar. A favorite of mine that can be hard to find is IBC’s Cherry Limeade. It’s a rare treat for me. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/56 "2011-04-12T03:48:37Z")
Locally, I’m a fan of [Green River](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28soft_drink%29). Sort of a liquid lime lollipop taste. My local hot dog joint carries it and I always select it as my drink of choice when I’m there. The local grocery store (Dominick’s aka Safeway) used to carry a honey flavored ginger ale that I loved but they discontinued it and only carry the Jones and IBC stuff these days. I’m not a huge fan of either and really miss that ginger ale. Forgot who made it but I wrote to them at the time and they didn’t have any distributors left in Illinois. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/57 "2011-04-12T08:48:52Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I just finished enjoying a bottle of [Fentimans](http://www.drinkfentimans.com/#pi) “Dandelion and Burdock” soda. Quite tasty, actually. It reminded me of clover, for some reason. Dandelion and burdock is not a particularly uncommon drink in Britain. It’s available in every supermarket and corner shop, and is also available in about half the London pubs I’ve been to. Fentiman’s a pretty common upmarket brand – common enough that it was moderately big news in pub circles here when it got banned in Maine a couple years back. The drink is occasionally used as a mixer – DB&G (dandelion and burdock and gin) is a not unheard-of thing to order. I like dandelion and burdock because it’s the closest thing you can get to root beer here outside of Chinatown. In my experience British people universally loathe root beer, saying it tastes like cough medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/58 "2011-04-12T09:20:35Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > In my experience British people universally loathe root beer, saying it tastes like cough medicine. Not this Brit - I love it. My girlfriend’s working on a site near a US air base, and every so often brings some root beer home from the shop nearby. I’m also a fan of Irn Bru, but in Britain it’s not that unusual a drink - most newsagents and supermarkets stock it. How popular it is, however, is debateable. I like it every so often, but it’s incredibly sweet so I try not to drink it too often. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/59 "2011-04-12T15:10:45Z")
> [@Double\_Foolscap](#): > > I’m also a fan of Irn Bru, but in Britain it’s not that unusual a drink - most newsagents and supermarkets stock it. How popular it is, however, is debateable. I like it every so often, but it’s incredibly sweet so I try not to drink it too often. In Scotland it usually gets more shelf space than Coke or Pepsi. I’m no fan though, it’s too sweet for me. I’m a huge fan of Fentiman’s Ginger Beer - just the right level of heat. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885/60 "2011-04-12T17:26:52Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Locally, I’m a fan of [Green River](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28soft_drink%29). Sort of a liquid lime lollipop taste. My local hot dog joint carries it and I always select it as my drink of choice when I’m there. Thanks for the walk down memory road - I remember Green River growing up as a kid in Illinois. It was fairly common and always listed among options for soft drinks. More of a “kids” drink as I remember - don’t think I had it much after I got into high school, but I believe it was still sold then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-soft-drinks/577885.md?page=4)