15 Regional Sodas That Should Be Sold in Every State (2024)

You can't always get what you want, and that's the case for those Texans who can't find Big Red outside of state lines or Kentuckians who can never satisfy their Ale8 kick when they're away from home. Almost every state has its own unique taste of home in the form of a fizzy soft drink in a glass bottle. Some regional sodas have found popularity over the years in other parts of the country; even Coca-Cola started out as a regional favorite in the Southeast.

Other regional sodas have stayed pretty much in their home areas. For example, for folks in Louisiana and Alabama, local favorite Grapico is the grape soda of choice; outside of those two states, not many people are familiar with it.

Here are 15 regional sodas (or pop or co*ke, if you will) that we wish we could find in grocery stores everywhere all the time!

1. Big Red

A true Texas original, Big Red was born in Waco in 1937, created by Grover C. Thomsen and R.H. Roark. The original "red cream soda" was called Sun Tang Red Cream Soda, then Sun Tang Big Red Cream Soda; in 1969, the president of the San Antonio bottling plant overheard a golf caddy call itsimply "Big Red," and changed the name one final time.

While many mistake the flavor for bubblegum, Big Red gets its "Deliciously Different"taste from citrus oils blended with the vanilla of a traditional cream soda.

Until the 1970s, Big Red couldn't be found outside of Texas, Kentucky, and southern Indiana; today, it's distributed by Dr. Pepper, meaning those unlucky enough to live outside of Texas may not have to drive so far.

2. Cheerwine

"Born in the South. Raised in a glass." That's the motto for Cheerwine, born in 1917 in Salisbury, North Carolina, home to the Carolina Beverage Company.

Burgundy-red and lightly sweet with the taste of cherries, Cheerwine contains no alcohol, despite the name. In its home state, you can even find Cheerwine-flavored ice cream, sherbet and cream bars, and in 2010, Carolina Beverage Company partnered with another North Carolina company to introduce the Cheerwine Krispy Kreme donut.

In 2011, the company announced plans to take Cheerwine's carbonated goodness nationwide, so look for this regional soda in a store near you.

3. Squirt

There are quite a few lemon-lime drinks in the soda world, but Squirt has a refreshing taste hard to beat in other soda brands. This classic drink was brewed in 1938 with the classic Citrus Club drink as its inspiration. Herb Bishop, its creator, found the taste of the Citrus Club too sweet and overpowering, and crafted a drink with less fruit juice and sugar than other brands. He marketed it as more refreshing than its competitors, and a mascot was even coined. Now owned by Dr. Pepper, you can find this carbonated grapefruit drink all over the South.

4. Ale-8-One

Reigning from Kentucky, Ale-8-One was developed by soda bottler G. L. Wainscott in the 1920s. The recipe is a guarded family secret, so don't try to ask for it! Soda flavors include cherry, original (ginger and citrus), and orange creme.

You can find the soda across the nation at Cracker Barrel locations.

5. Lester Fixin's Bacon Soda

Born in Camarillo, California, Lester Fixin's Bacon Soda is just one of the unique but not-always-appetizing entries in the Lester Fixin's line. Other offerings include Buffalo wing, pumpkin pie, peanut butter and jelly, sweet corn and... ranch dressing.

Next time you're in Camarillo, crack open a tall, ice-cold bacon soda. Just to say you tried, at least.

6. Big Blue Soda

Big Blue is actually just another version of Big Red. At a time where soda popularity could often be judged by the weird colors added to the drink, Big Blue's parent company Big Red Inc. seized the opportunity to create something that would appeal to a market of blue-obsessed soda drinkers.

Big Blue has a classic cotton candy and bubblegum flavor according to consumers, but its official flavor is that of a classic cream soda. Big Blue was released alongside Big Orange in 2008, and can be found mostly in Walmarts all over the South.

7. Pop Shoppe Lime Rickey

The Pop Shoppe story begins in 1969 Ontario, Canada, selling its pop not through regular retail means, but rather in refillable, 24-count cartons available only at its own stores and franchises. By 1972, there were more than 500 Pop Shoppe stores in the province, and by 1975, it made the jump to the U.S., offering almost 30 flavors.

In the 1980s, business went sour and The Pop Shoppe closed up shop in 1983, until the brand was revived in 2004, offering several Pop Shoppe original flavors: cola, black cherry, root beer, grape, cream soda, pineapple and Lime Rickey, a non-alcoholic lemon-lime take on the classic Rickey co*cktail. Last year, the company was bought by Beverage World, so now this classic taste is available in specialty stores all over the country.

8. Nehi Orange

Nehi (pronounced "knee-high") sodas were created in 1924 by Georgia-based Chero-Cola/Union Bottle Works, later Royal Crown Company, makes of RC Cola. Following the success of its flagship flavors— grape, root beer, peach and, of course, orange— the company rebranded as the Nehi Corporation in 1928. Nehi's traditional logo was an image of a seated woman wearing a skirt high enough to see her "knee-high" stockings, an effort to get people to correctly pronounce "Nehi."

In fact, the infamous leg lamp of the holiday classicA Christmas Storywas inspired by the more-risque Midwestern Nehi logo - a single, disembodied leg, sans skirt. Next time you're in Alabama, stop off at The Bottle, a small community that once held a 64-foot wooden replica of a bottle of orange Nehi. Nowthat'sdedication.

9. Vernors

As someone born and raised in central Michigan, I'mfiercelycommitted to Vernors, the original ginger soda. Sweet and golden, it's lighter and has a more robust flavor, much like a ginger beer. Dating back to 1866 (making it the oldest ginger ale brand in the country), Vernors was born in a Detroit drugstore to Dr. James Vernor. Folklore has it, in an attempt to recreate the recipe for a Dublin-made ginger ale not available in the U.S., the good doctor began gathering ingredients and experimenting with flavors.

When he was called away to serve in the Civil War, he stored his syrupy base in an oak cask. Four years later, Vernor returned from war, opened the cask, and was amazed by the "Deliciously Different" flavor. City by city, Vernor expanded to soda fountains and bottling franchises, eventually establishing Vernors a regional favorite. Vernors isn't just for drinking— singer Aretha Franklin shared with the world a recipe from her church that uses the soda to make glaze for Christmas ham.

Today, Vernors is available nationwide (though it's tough to find outside of the Midwest), but Michiganders still account for upwards of 80 percent of Vernors sales.

10. Faygo

Another Michigan original, Faygo was established in the Motor City, Detroit, in 1907 by the Feigenson brothers, a duo of Russian bakers. The original Feigenson Brothers Bottling Works— changed to the easier-to-pronounce Faygo in 1922— made only three flavors: grape, fruit punch and strawberry, to match their own frosting recipes.

Today, Faygo offers more than 40 flavors, among them 60/40 (60 percent grapefruit, 40 percent lime), Jazzin' Blues Berry, Cotton Candy, Peach, Candy Apple and Rock N' Rye, a cream soda flavored with cherry.

The soda is also a favorite of Detroit horror-core rappers the Insane Clown Posse, who shower audiences with gallons of the stuff. Today, Faygo is readily available in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, as well as southern Canada— lucky Canucks— but if you're lucky, you can find it all over the U.S.

11. NuGrape

One of the oldest on our list, NuGrape Soda was invented in 1906 in Atlanta, Georgia, and first bottled due to popular demand in 1922. That same year, the company sold the rights to the Olla Bottling Works in Olla, Louisiana, which was acquired in 1968 by The Moxie Company, eventually purchased in 1999 by Big Red Ltd. of Waco, Texas.

NuGrape's popularity in the Southeastern United States makes a lot of sense—just feel sorry for those of us living anywhere west or north of Murfreesbro, Tennessee, where it's nigh-impossible to find, save for a few lucky folks in the Pacific Northwest.

12. Dr. Enuf

Johnson City, Tennessee, is the home of Dr. Enuf, a lemon-lime drink, but a far cry from Sprite and 7Up. Dr. Enuf first appeared in 1949, created by a Chicago businessman who set out to concoct a drink fortified with vitamins and minerals, an alternative to other sugary, calorie-rich sodas. It was first sold and marketed as an "energy booster" (it contains B vitamins, caffeine and cane sugar) for its "therapeutic" effects: relief of stomach pain, clearing of the mind and even eliminating hangovers.

Even today, each bottle of Dr. Enuf contains 80 percent of the RDV of Vitamin B1, Vitamin B3, potassium and iodine. This regional soda is also available in diet and cherry-flavored "herbal" varieties, with guarana and ginseng. It's not easy to find outside of Tennessee and parts of Virginia and North Carolina, but specialty stores and online sellers have started to carry Dr. Enuf.

13. Ski

Pride of Chattanooga, Tennessee's Double Cola Bottling Company, Ski was first introduced in 1956. Ski is a citrus soda made with sugar cane and real orange and lemon juices— plus a burst of caffeine— giving it a much more natural taste than its citrus soda kin.

In 1996, a cherry version was released, then rebranded in 2009 as Ski InfraRED. Today, this regional soda is available throughout the Southeast and Midwest, as well as in Utah, California and Alaska.

14. Boylan Bottling

This New Jersey favorite got its start in 1891 when pharmacist William Boylan created birch beer using a derivative from real birch trees and sold it by the cup out of the back of a wagon.

Today, Boylan makes a whole line of popular regional sodas, including Ginger Ale, Root Beer, Black Cherry and Creme Soda.

15. Sprecher Brewing Company

It's impossible to talk soft drinks with someone from Wisconsin without them mentioning Sprecher, and for good reason. The company was founded in 1985 by Randal Sprecher, who worked at Pabst Brewing Company. While they do brew craft beer, they also make an excellent root beer that's perfect for creating a root beer float with authentic Wisconsin frozen custard.

What regional sodas do you love and where can we find them? Let us know!

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