Results: Soda Pop History and Products Finale

In the late 1930s, Barney and Ally Harman, two brothers from Georgia, packed up and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. The Hartmans were apparently big whiskey drinkers, but can't get their hands on their favorite mixer, Natural Set Up, in their new city. Rather than have someone ship it down to them or travel to get it, they decided to make their own. Barney and Ally got into a lab and mixed up a carbonated lemon-lime drink. They decide to mix it with booze, as one does, and it tastes like homemade hooch. This is apparently what they were shooting for, so the mix is a keeper. When the time came to brand their new drink, Barney and Ally settled on the name Mountain Dew. Did you know it is actually old timey slang for moonshine?

The Tip Corporation, bought the struggling soda company in the hopes of bubbling up some business. All the Hartmans wanted out of the deal was to buy the owner dinner. So they shelled out $6.95 for a meal and the deal was done. Meanwhile, the Tip Corporation got to work on the Mountain Dew formula. They decided to add a little lemonade to the original recipe, but kept everything else Barney and Ally created. Whatever they did to the recipe worked because in 1964, PepsiCo came knocking at their door, looking to buy the rights to Mountain Dew. With their support, the drink finally got off the ground, but the tweaks weren't done yet. In 1974, Pepsi added orange flavoring and the signature lime-green coloring we've all come to know They also scrapped the country bumpkin branding and surprise, surprise: Mountain Dew was soon a hit. Pepsi's marketing targeted Extreme Sports and Gamers! Today it is a highly successful product. Do you drink Mtn Dew.....?

The "original orange soda"–Orange Crush–was created in 1906 by Chicago's J.M. Thompson; however, the commercial formula wouldn't take off until 1911, when California-born beverage chemist Neil C. Ward perfected the blending process. Within only a few years, Crush became so successful in the US market that the company expanded distribution to Canada. Two new flavors, lemon and lime, were introduced to the brand in 1919 and 1920, respectively, paving the way for a flood of additional flavors to emerge in the coming years. Flavors like chocolate, blue raspberry, banana, and even red licorice have all been a part of the Crush portfolio; however, Crush now focuses on promoting staple flavors like grape, strawberry, and cherry alongside its signature orange. Now owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, Crush has become a smaller scale offering in the US market. Do you drink any of the Crush sodas?

Shasta began as The Mt. Shasta Mineral Springs Company in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 6, 1889. It was also known as The Shasta Water Company. It produced bottled mineral water from Shasta Springs in northern California. The water was poured into glass-lined railroad cars and shipped off for local bottling. In 1931, Shasta produced its first soft drink, pale dry ginger ale. Until the 1950s, the company's products were mainly mixers for alcoholic drinks: mineral water, club soda, and ginger ale. During the 1960s, Shasta was purchased by the Sara Lee Food Company (then known as Consolidated Foods). In 1985, it was acquired by the National Beverage Corp., which also owns the popular Faygo line. By 1992, the company was producing 108 flavors and 34 product lines, marketing more beverage flavors than any other beverage company in the world. Do you drink Shasta beverages?