I’ve noticed a decrease in 7-Up. Mainly the demise of my beloved Pomegranate 7-Up 
I blame the soda wars! Surely it’s not because it was a taste that appealed to few people!
In my opinion, 7Up and Sierra Mist just don’t taste as good as Sprite, especially from the fountain. I’m not sure which one is better out of the first two though.
7-Up re-reformulated a couple of years ago, and tastes a lot more lemon & lime to me. The boat I work on keeps it stocked constantly. I agree in the past that 7-Up used to taste exactly like Sprite, but now they don’t taste anything alike. I could easily tell which one is which in a blind taste test. Sprite is sickeningly sweet.
7 Up used to be marketed more heavily. Their ‘uncola’ commercials drove the popularity. It was right in the midst of the counter-culture revolution where everybody was doing their own thing. Pepsi and Coke represented the traditional soft drinks while 7 Up was the alternative.
Very, very few people like Pibb. Even people who prefer Dr Pepper over any cola drink will drink a cola before they’ll drink Pibb, so it makes sense to stock what people will actually buy, even if it’s not in the product line. I have seen fountains with Pibb in them, but not lately.
I’ve always thought that Sprite tasted better, and had more of a citrus flavor than the other two. Since 7 Up reformulated, it tastes incredibly bland to me. I’ve never liked Sierra Mist at all.
I also miss Squirt and especially Fresca.
Regional preferences, probably.
7up used to be the best cocktail mixer. Sprite was too sweet for a good cocktail. But as others mentioned, 7up doesn’t taste as tart as it used to. Its still better than Sprite for making mixed drinks.
Do they not sell Fresca where you live? Grocery stores here (Alabama) sell the original as well as other flavors. Winn-Dixie even has their own version called Freshy.
Yeah, 7 Up tastes a bit more mellow to me than Sprite. I’ve always kind of thought of it like the difference between Coke and Pepsi. Pepsi seems a bit sweeter and more “in your face” to me (and also a bit more citrussy) while Coke is more “mellow” and “spicy.” 7 Up and Sprite don’t have the same range of flavors to work with, but Sprite always seemed more aggressive to me, flavor-wise.
Same here. We buy Fresca a good deal, and I’ve never found it difficult to find, either. Target has it. The local groceries carry it. It may be a bit difficult to spot sometimes, though, as it doesn’t take up giants swaths of shelf space like Coke & Pepsi. At the Mexican grocery, it is sometimes the only diet soda in 2L bottles available, for some reason.
Funny how we’re all so different but nowadays, 7-up has a very strong bold lemon-lime flavor, and Sprite is bland and sweet.
When I was a kid they were essentially interchangeable to me. But now I clearly prefer 7-up.
But, I really only drink diet sodas anyway, because the sugary sodas are all too sweet for me, so take my taste preferences with a grain of salt! 
It’s possible I’m remembering the taste from before this formula change you speak of. I only drink diet now, too.
Disclosure: when I worked in advertising, I had what was then known as Dr Pepper / 7 Up as a client for several years, about a decade ago.
As noted by several, Coke and Pepsi hold the lion’s share of shelf space in grocery stores, as well as controlling the vast majority of “fountain” outlets. 7 Up is still easy enough to find in most grocery stores (and probably in convenience stores, too), but has become vanishingly rare in restaurants and other fountain outlets, since Coke and Pepsi both now have strong lemon-lime brands. In general, the local Coke or Pepsi guys will only put their brands on a fountain; the exception will be if there’s a flavor which the restaurant really wants (such as Dr Pepper), and which the local Coke or Pepsi bottler can provide – in many cities, 7 Up, Dr Pepper, and the smaller brands owned by Dr Pepper Group are, in fact, bottled by the local Coke or Pepsi bottler.
Neither Coke nor Pepsi, OTOH, has ever managed to introduce a Dr Pepper-style drink which has ever gained any real traction, as the discussion about Mr. Pibb notes. If you go into a smaller “mom and pop” restaurant, you may find that their fountain drinks are all from Dr Pepper Group, which means you’ll get RC Cola and Diet Rite, as well as Dr Pepper and 7 Up, but, in most of the country, that’s pretty uncommon.
Since this is about a drink, let’s move it over to Cafe Society.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I find it funny that most of my friends think Sprite and 7UP taste the same! I could not disagree any more. Sprite is so sweet, almost syrup-like while 7UP is much less so and tastes “more crisp” which ironically is their motto (Crisp and Clean!)
And do not get me started on Mountain Dew, I have no idea how anyone can drink that crap… and this coming from someone who is absolutely and literally addicted to Sugar Free NOS
I asked the owner of my local deli a few months ago why he didn’t carry 7up. He said it had something to do with distribution, which was a shame, since he felt that Mountain Dew and Sprite (which he carries) don’t taste as good.
After the last thread we had about 7-Up, I tried one for the first time in maybe 20 years. I really enjoyed it. It tastes great and it was much better than Sprite, which I hate. I wish it was more widely available.
And the Uncola Man was ultra cool.
I believe the drink was reformulated because of the worldwide shortage of Uncola nuts.
I did have some of those upside down soda fountain glasses that 7 Up distributed. Without the level of marketing they used to do I’m surprised the drink is still available at all.
When you find one, can you give me a heads up?