Boring soft drink selections

[Trickyvee]

Has anybody else noticed how dull soft drink choices have become? I'm talking about the cans and small bottles available next to the sarnies in supermarkets and shops. At one time there used to be a vast range available but now it seems everybody has sold their soul to Coca Cola. I'm tired of seeing boring old Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite and Dr Pepper everywhere I go!

Now I've started getting the cheap own brand 2l bottles of old favourites like Cream Soda, Ginger Beer and Dendelion and Burdock to fill my small bottles with. Much better!

[escorteclipse1990]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Yes i have noticed it too. D&B, Ginger beer etc are great on a hot summers day with ice.

[Richard1978]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Asda still has a selection of drinks in cans, though you need to buy them in 6 packs.

[the fox]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Good point - its always the same dull selection.

By the way, whatever happened to 'Quattro' ?

And why can you not get Root beer anywhere in the UK these days? (I used to love a McDonalds Root Beer on a hot day).

[Richard1978]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

For the last few years Asda has had Carter's Root Beer, I've got the feeling Wimpy used to have Root Beers.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

I developed a taste for root beer in Thailand last year (it's big over there) but it is tricky to find over here. As Richard says you can get it in ASDA but only in a six can pack. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

[the fox]

I developed a taste for root beer in Thailand last year (it's big over there) but it is tricky to find over here. As Richard says you can get it in ASDA but only in a six can pack. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Thanks guys, I am definitely off to stock up at Asda !! I'm sure root beer is an acquired taste - tastes a bit like listerine mouthwash- but it's a taste I acquired when I was about 12 and have missed ever since !

[Richard1978]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

I got a taste for root beer after drinking it during a holiday in the USA a few years ago.

That wintermint taste takes some getting used to.

One thing to try is adding some ice cream to a half glass of root beer, it makes a really refreshing drink.

[Kaptain_Von]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Root beer is starting to appear a lot more than it used to in the UK. I got a real taste for it whilst spending time with family in
the US in the late 70s and early 80s then had to go without for years. However, I have found a couple of companies selling it in
bulk in the UK, ASDA stock Carters (as mentioned by someone else) and you can find A&Ws in certain specialist 'candy' stores. My
personal favourite is IBC Root Beer though, great looking bottles and it drives my wife nuts when I fill the fridge with it along with Koeze
peanut butter, Welch's grape jelly and Folgers coffee

Two other favourites are Cream Soda and Birch Beer although I haven't found the latter in the UK yet.

[Richard1978]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

I had some Barq's Root Beer when I was in Florida in 1998. I managed to bring a can or 2 home.

Asda have an own brand Cream Soda that is nice.

I can remember seeing any Birch Beer Stateside, but have heard of it online.

[Kaptain_Von]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Ah! Barqs! I should have remembered that as my family sent me a few cans over earlier this year. Great with Old Heaven Hill Bourbon...although as a 12 year old that would have never crossed my mind

Birch beer still seems to be around although maybe not as popular as it once was. I remember Pennsylvania Dutch and another brand, Boylands(?) as being the ones my cousins and I used to drink.

[Jedi Knight]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Root beer is starting to appear a lot more than it used to in the UK. I got a real taste for it whilst spending time with family in
the US in the late 70s and early 80s then had to go without for years. However, I have found a couple of companies selling it in
bulk in the UK, ASDA stock Carters (as mentioned by someone else) and you can find A&Ws in certain specialist 'candy' stores. My
personal favourite is IBC Root Beer though, great looking bottles and it drives my wife nuts when I fill the fridge with it along with Koeze
peanut butter, Welch's grape jelly and Folgers coffee

Two other favourites are Cream Soda and Birch Beer although I haven't found the latter in the UK yet.

McDonald's used to sell Root Beer back in the day, I was gutted when they stopped.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Yesterday in a corner shop I spotted some orange juice in a milk bottle and bought it a) because it's pretty rare these days and b) the bottle has a retro-style print on the front reminiscent of those from the 80's. I'm going to keep the bottle and use it to store my milk. It's from Rock Farm Dairy in Durham. Not sure if other dairies have something similar but I thought it was pretty cool.

[DemonEyeX]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

Every Christmas I always get myself a large selection of imported fizzy drinks in.
So far this year i've got a 12 pack of Wild Cherry Pepsi & a 12 pack of Cherry Dr Pepper.
I was also lucky enough to find a 12 pack of Day's Black Cherry Wishniack Soda for less than a tenner.
And because I only tend to buy large amounts of imported drinks around Christmas time I have somehow created an association for myself with Christmas & root beer.
So I have also got a large variety of root beer in, A&W, Barq's, Dad's, Sioux City, Day's, Mug, Stewarts, IBC, a few others I can't remember right now, but best of all Faygo Root Beer.
There are a few ones this year that I have yet to try, but so far my favourite is definitely Faygo, so I am very much looking forward to having some on Christmas night.
And as they had Faygo Root Beer I had to buy a decent selection of all the other Faygo sodas, so I now have a massive amount of soft drinks in for Christmas.

A couple of people have mentioned Birch Beer, I have bought some before from both Cybercandy & Americansoda.

So I have spent a fair wack on loads of festive pop, but no more than the average person spends on festive alcohol.
But I drink so rarely these days that i'm a total lightweight, so I only need to get a small selection of booze in to keep me quite merry throughout the season.

Don't know what that ridiculous amount of sugar/corn syrup will do to me though.

But for everybody on this thread who loves soft drinks but is bored with the tiny UK selection, get some imported ones in.
If you shop around you can find some surprisingly cheap prices, my Wild Cherry Pepsi worked out at less than 80p a can, which is not far off what an average UK can goes for these days.

[Sinistar]

Re: Boring soft drink selections

I know what you mean with the dull selection. I've found myself drawn to the world foods aisles as they occasionally have odd flavours. I've been tempted with the throwback pepsi.
What I'd give for some grape twist'n squeeze though...