I want to talk soda.
Soda is great (Midwest Pop) and I was recently thinking about all the times growing up where we’d hit the stores and sit outside drinking soda in the summer, and we’d try and find new drinks no one else had
we’d use the bottle caps in slingshots, we’d crush the cans and walk on them like shoes lol
The Sodas you cant find anymore … figured I’d count down my favorites
My favorites that are NOT Pepsi or Coca Cola … that’s too easy, besides they have SO many different kinds of Pepsi and Coke that would be a whole post
(Besides, I’d just type about how great Crystal Pepsi is … it’s better than your entire life)
Anyway, wait. no, Pepsi and Coke basically make all the other sodas anyway (you’ll see)
blah blah blah, my top 25 Sodas that are NOT Coke or Pepsi
25. Mr. Pibb (Coke)
Mr. Pibb was fake out Dr. Pepper, it was fine but it wasn’t better than the original, didn’t really move anyone
24. Sprite (Coke)
Sprite was great, the alternative to 7-Up, when it first dropped it was great … they had some steam, had Hi-Five do a commercial and the whole thing, 7-Up came back with new flavors and blew Sprite out of the water though
The Sprite Remix and Sprite Zero couldn’t save it
23. Welch’s
Welch’s was only known for juices but in the 80s they dropped soda! Of course the Grape soda was a mainstay in the hood, they also came with strawberry, fruit punch and pineapple … for a while you just had to cop Welch’s because no one else knew about it and you looked cool on your bike
22. Dr. Pepper
Dr. Pepper has a love/hate flavor …. It doesn’t taste like anything else (Cept Mr. Pibb) The odd thing is, no one is clamoring to find out the recipe though lol. For a while they tried to come with some new flavors; they had Berries and Cream, Cherry, Red Fusion, and the original “Heritage Dr. Pepper” but people pretty much stuck with the regular or avoided it all together
When you’re in the mood for it, it’s great (Goes good with Absinthe as well lol)
21. Josta (Pepsi)
The first energy soda, Josta got you wired! Fruit, Spice, Caffeine and Guarana! … It was very popular for a minute, when it got pulled people started up campaigns to bring it back
20. RC (Dr. Pepper)
RC Cola got dissed, The Coke and Pepsi basically took over the Cola crown but RC was the first to come in a can, the first to do diet (Diet Rite), firs to go Caffeine free … but people just copied and did it better lol
19. Tropicana (Pepsi)
Tropicana Twister Soda was great when it came out, at the time a lot of the fruit flavored sodas had fallen off and they came through with the Tropicana name and some good Orange soda … of course they did the standard grape and strawberry as well, but the Orange was where it was at.
18. 7-Up (Dr. Pepper)
The UnCola! 7-Up was the direct opposite of Pepsi and coke, “Crisp and Clean with no Caffeine” no one disliked it, as a kid we’d take candy and put it in our glass of 7-up and let it take the flavor of the candy
The Cherry 7-up was incredible when it came out … everyone was on that … and never forget the upside down dnL 7-Up!
7-Up was clear, no caffeine and in the green bottle, and dnL was Green, full of caffeine and in a clear bottle lol
17. Nehi (Dr. Pepper)
Growing up we had glass bottles, cans, and then 2-liters of soda … I’ll never forget the day I went to the store and saw Nehi, not only were there a ton of flavors, it was the first soda I had ever seen in THREE LITERS!
I gravitated to the Peach, but nehi had almost every flavor available from Blue Ice Cream to Watermelon … even Nehi Chocolate!
16. Hubba Bubba
This is a nod to the 80s for real, EVERYONE was on the Hubba Bubba Soda, we drank it like it was going out of style (and it was) you’d eventually get tired of drinking bubble gum but in its day, the coolest of the cool downed that Hubba son!
15. Squirt (Dr. Pepper)
One of the best citrus flavored sodas ever, it had more of a grapefruit taste than lemon and lime like the others, they also came with Ruby Red Squirt for a minute too … good drinking there
14. Mountain Dew
The Dew was the best of both worlds when we found out about it, it had the not-cola taste and it was loaded with caffeine! Then the rumor about Dew causing your penis to shrink … we dropped it like a bad habit LOL
13. Crush
We use to argue which was the better one: Orange Crush or Sunkist … those two were the Hogan and Flair of Orange sodas … there was a time when Crush had pulp in the bottles!
In my day Crush only had two flavors Orange and Grape, later they’ve released nehi level flavors (Also including Chocolate) … but I only recognize the two, I’m OG lol
12. Ginger Ale
Ginger Ale is an acquired taste, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like it … when I was young it was my mother’s go-to when I was feeling bad (that and/or 7-Up) to this day, if I feel like I’m getting a cold, I cop the Ginger ale
I put it as its own categories here and just recognize Canada Dry and Seagram’s together here … and my personal favorite at the time Schweppes! Schweppes was GREAT back then
11. Root Beer
Same as Ginger Ale, we will put all the different types here together: Mug, Barqs, A &W, Stewarts, etc
One when you were a kid and were allowed to drink something called “Beer” you were down, and then the taste was like nothing else ever, the spice, the caramel flavor, just all around great … if only the popular brands had caffeine
Plus … you can’t beat a nice Root beer Float son!
10. Sunkist (Dr. Pepper)
As far as I was concerned Sunkist was THE Orange soda … it probably had the most sugar per bottle back in the day … we bounced off the walls after a Sunkist
… Plus it had the Good vibrations commercial!
9. Jolt
Speaking of bouncing off the walls … “All the sugar, and twice the caffeine” Jolt was everywhere in the neighborhood, then it was on TV, Gremlins 2, Deep impact … Jurassic Park LOL then they tried to ruin it with less caffeine and Jolt 25 but the original was the second best high caffeine content soda ever
8. Mello Yello
I remember Mello Yello in the vending machines … the glass bottle vending machines; you’d put your money in and open the door to pull out the soda
Mello Yello was Mountain Dew before we knew about Mountain Dew, it was yellow … it was full of caffeine … that’s all we needed
7. Original New York Seltzer
This pick is real high for something the majority of people reading this never heard of LOL
But growing up, we’d hit the stores looking for something new, and these little round bottles had flavors you couldn’t find anywhere else (at the time) they had Black Cherry and Raspberry … Vanilla Creme and Peach!
We lost our minds lol … plus New York, Seltzer, just sounded like we were grown LOL
6. Cream Soda
I LOVE Cream Soda, you can’t find it anymore! (Well I can when I go back home) Cream soda with that vanilla flavor … just incredible
We had 2 go -to Cream Sodas back in the day: A &W Vanilla cream soda and Barq’s Red Cream Soda … that Red Cream Soda ruled my childhood!
5. Surge (Coke)
THE soda! When this Ooze Green soda dropped everyone rushed to get it! They called it the Mountain Dew Killer LOL it had orange juice in it and a ton of caffeine … this was another soda that had people up in arms and campaigns to save it when it was discontinued #SaveSurge
4. Faygo
Bottom line Peach Faygo was the World Champion of the hood. No one drank any other flavor either LOL They had “Dr. Faygo” all the way to Coconut and Chocolate Creme Pie soda … but it was always about Peach … still is.
And shoutouts to the Faygo “Spinoffs” Ohana and Rip it
3. Tahitian Treat
Another soda that a lot of people don’t know about … and I have it top 3, but it’s my list so live with it.
Tahitian Treat was the drink it was like if Sprite, Cream soda and Hawaiian Punch had a manage LOL
If you haven’t had it, find it and drink it
2. Vernors
The Legend. The Original. The Soda.
Vernors Ginger soda is one of the greatest drinks on the planet … we don’t classify this as “Ginger Ale” because it’s Sooo much more
Can’t even put into words the taste, it’s ginger ale, ginger beer, sprite, 7-up, angle tears lol If you’re fortunate enough to find some, cherish it (Just hit the Midwest dun!)
1. Slice (Pepsi)
What? Slice?
Yes. Slice.
Look. We are talking back in the 80s when all these other flavors didn’t exist and sugar was still being used for soda
The thing about slice was it was WAY ahead of its time
It was originally billed as the Spite and 7-Up alternative … which was cool, a lemon lime soda…
but then.
They did something unheard of in the soda world, they made APPLE SLICE
An apple soda?! And it was delicious! No one was doing that!
They made Mandarin orange and Passion fruit … they had a passion fruit soda!!
Slice was all kinds of incredible.
Anyway, that’s my list, that’s the soda … don’t drink it, you’ll get acne lol
This is why I excluded Coke and Pepsi … pepsi alone had THESE Flavors …
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