Soda !

Emerkeith Davyjack January 28, 2011 at 4:04pm

...Earlier this late morning/12 noon-ish , I had 2 room-temperature cans of Coke ( " regular " Coke , whatever that means ) and Dr. Pepper , one each , purchased at a dollar store for ( w/the CRV and general sales tax ) $1.20 or so .

Frankly , this was at least in part an energizer , and I have some nose/allergy problems too now , which the two sodas are feeding back on me a little from...

Lee Houston, Junior January 28, 2011 at 4:10pm

Emerkeith:

Back in my "hey day", I drank soda like anyone else would coffee or water.

Unfortunately those days are long behind me now and the only soda I can have is Sprite Zero.

But when I could, it was Coke (long before the conversion to Coke Classic), Doctor Pepper, Mister Pibb, and Mountain Dew for me. When in a root beer mood, it was either A &W or Barq's, because sadly, they stopped making Triple X Root Beer before I graduated high school in 1980. Yet while only a Gulf Coast/regional brand, Triple X put EVERY root beer to shame in my humble opinion.

Those were the days... *sigh.

The Baron January 28, 2011 at 4:14pm

It's funny the meaning that a drink can have in your life. When I was a kid I would often go down and stay with my father's parents for the weekend. Sometimes, as a treat, my grandfather would take me down to the local A&W Restaurant and we'd each have a mug of root beer. Never had anything else, never said much to each other, just some quiet time together. The A&W is long gone, there's a car dealership there, now. (Do A&W Restaurants still exist, anywhere?) Grampa's long-gone, too. But I remember those trips to have mugs of root beer like they just happened yesterday.

Emerkeith Davyjack January 28, 2011 at 4:29pm

Lee Houston, Junior said:

Emerkeith:

Back in my "hey day", I drank soda like anyone else would coffee or water.

Unfortunately those days are long behind me now and the only soda I can have is Sprite Zero.

But when I could, it was Coke (long before the conversion to Coke Classic), Doctor Pepper, Mister Pibb, and Mountain Dew for me. When in a root beer mood, it was either A &W or Barq's, because sadly, they stopped making Triple X Root Beer before I graduated high school in 1980. Yet while only a Gulf Coast/regional brand, Triple X put EVERY root beer to shame in my humble opinion.

Those were the days... *sigh.

...Secondary question first:

I assume you are/were in the South at all?? times , in that you casually refer to Mister Pibb ?

I only , in California , basically , see that in fast-food places that carry the whole Coke line , since that is Coke's clone of Dr. Pepper ( Even down to the prefix...) , I basically never see it being sold retail .

Assuming that you stay away from sugary soft drinks , can't you find any other sugarfrees ?

Cearainly there's Coke , Pepsi and even RC's sf versions of their colas , and 7-Up sf , and even Canada Dry Ginger Ale sf ( Pretty hard to find , perhaps more likely to be found in " good " - wine , whiskey in bottles , " fancy " drinks -oriented places . ) , as far as name brands go .

Myself , I really " should " drink much less , if any , sugar'd soda than I do , but , I do ( Lack of ability to find more stable sources for more sf contributes to that . )...

Lee Houston, Junior January 28, 2011 at 4:51pm

Emerkeith:

Having been born in 1962 and raised/lived in Texas, I am quite familiar with the south until I moved up north a few years ago.

I graduated high school in 1980, and "New" Coke came out around 1984 to compete with Pepsi. It failed miserably, and then the original came back as the Coke "Classic" everyone knows today around 1986.

Triple X Root Beer was a regional drink around the Gulf Coast that was canceled before I graduated high school, although I do not remember the exact date. I do have an empty can of it with an UPC on it, so that would make it at least 1975/6.

I don't remember the exact starting date for Mister Pibb, but it's been on the market for decades.

As for my dietary situation, as a heart patient, I have to avoid sugar, salt, and caffine (among other things) as much as humanly possible; hence the Sprite Zero. Fresca interferes with some of my medications because of its grapefruit base, and S-Z is the best I have found (to date) based upon the nutritional labels. In any event, I certainly drink WAY less than I used to.

What I listed in my original post was my personal choices of taste back then. But if I only knew then what I know now...

Emerkeith Davyjack January 28, 2011 at 5:02pm

Lee Houston, Junior said:

Emerkeith:

Having been born in 1962 and raised/lived in Texas, I am quite familiar with the south until I moved up north a few years ago.

I graduated high school in 1980, and "New" Coke came out around 1984 to compete with Pepsi. It failed miserably, and then the original came back as the Coke "Classic" everyone knows today around 1986.

Triple X Root Beer was a regional drink around the Gulf Coast that was canceled before I graduated high school, although I do not remember the exact date. I do have an empty can of it with an UPC on it, so that would make it at least 1975/6.

I don't remember the exact starting date for Mister Pibb, but it's been on the market for decades.

As for my dietary situation, as a heart patient, I have to avoid sugar, salt, and caffine (among other things) as much as humanly possible; hence the Sprite Zero. Fresca interferes with some of my medications because of its grapefruit base, and S-Z is the best I have found (to date) based upon the nutritional labels. In any event, I certainly drink WAY less than I used to.

What I listed in my original post was my personal choices of taste back then. But if I only knew then what I know now...

...Oh , OK ,Thank you .

Dr. Pepper , as well , makes sf versions - which , frankly , to my tastes is REALLY prone to tasting rather chemical by the time you reach the bottom of the can/bottle !

I tend to get the more-economical - and just plumb more - and resealable , too !!!!!!!!! - 20 oz. plastic bottle versions of " single-serving " soda , a little wariness about the possible mental/physical effect upon one of the metal/trace elements in cans may have helped build that up too , tho' , obviously , I referred above to me " living the nitty gritty working-class/ghetto life " (!) and going to a dollar store and buying actual cans...

I was born in 1960 and grew up in a suburban area ( to the north ) of the New York City metropolitan area ( Westchester County ) , however , my parents both came from Texas and had moved up North only after their marriage and I visited my mother's folks a lot .

Dagwan January 29, 2011 at 11:15am

The Baron said:

(Do A&W Restaurants still exist, anywhere?)

I've seen one as recently as 2 years ago.

Oh! There's a website! http://www.awrestaurants.com/#/home It's got a store locater, to boot!

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx

Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! Comics and Games for Everyone!

I used to listen to WOXY.com; It was the future of rock-n-roll! RIP WOXY

Drjohnrock January 29, 2011 at 11:59am

Since I'm old enough to remember when returnable bottles where the norm, and when A&W restaurants (usually called "stands" back in the day) were more common, this thread brings back memories and makes me feel even older than I really am!

I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area where Double Cola Company products were sold. Double Cola itself is a fine drink that can hold its own with Coke/Pepsi/RC, and Ski is a citrus soda made with some real fruit juices that IMHO is 100 times better than Mountain Dew--and Mountain Dew ain't bad. DC Company products aren't in as many area as they were decades ago but lately they seem to be expanding again--hope that continues And thanks again to all those who responded when I started a thread on the old board about places to find these beverages.

Another regional soft drink that's quite good and whose market area is thankfully expanding is Ale-8-One, which I recommned, particularly to those who can't quite get the hang of ginger ale. Ale-8-One is similar to ginger ale but with a big, spicy twist that makes it stand out. The diet version is among the better sugar free pops you'll find as well.

Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod) January 29, 2011 at 3:59pm

Coca-Cola is my favorite soda. I also like Sprite. I sometimes like Dr. Pepper. I like most any kind of rootbeer. I try to limit myself to one a day because, let's face it, soda isn't that good for you. My teeth are ok but with grinding them while I sleep and having acid refulx drinking soda isn't helping them much. But I do love Coke. I don't think any other soda really compares. I dislike diet drinks but I will have a Sprite zero or a Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry. They are amazingly smooth.

When I was a very young child around 2 or 3, when I would hear a can of coke pop across the house and immediatly stop what I was doing and run to where ever the coke was. I didn't talk much all I would say was "AAAAHHHH". If I was in a car and saw a Coke billboard I had the same response.

Horn'd One January 30, 2011 at 2:58pm

Most of the time, Coca-Cola, Sprite or a generic cola will do for every-day consumption. I reserve Mountain Dew for "immediate need" such as staying awake past 2am long enough to get home), and Vault, if I can find it, for 'dire emergencies' (such as waking up during my long trip into Brooklyn for volunteering at the Prospect Park Haunted Walk).

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Soda !

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