t’s easy to look back at the original Coca-Cola formula and see it as a historical anomaly—a one-time lapse in judgment by a caffeine-crazed pharmacist. In reality, Coca-Cola wasn’t the outlier; it was just the most successful survivor of an era where the line between a refreshment and a pharmaceutical was almost non-existent. While Coke … Read more
By 1891, when Asa G. Candler bought the rights to Coca-Cola, the drink was already a runaway success. But that success invited a massive wave of Coca-Cola rip-offs looking to cash in on the “coca” craze. From blatant name-swaps like Koke and Coke-Ola to literal “clones” like Afri-Kola, the soda market was flooded with imitators. … Read more
Did Coca-Cola really contain cocaine? The short answer is yes. Far from being an urban legend or an accidental contamination, cocaine was a foundational ingredient in John Pemberton’s original 1886 formula. At a time when coca-leaf extracts were touted as a medicinal marvel, the drink wasn’t just a soda, it was a sophisticated delivery system … Read more
Taste of Home ran an article that is sure to delight many of us ’80s kids: Slice soda is making a comeback! The headline proclaimed “This vintage soda is making a comeback and ’80s kids are freaking out.” Another headline proclaims “This Cult 90s Soda is Officially Coming Back.” Well, if you heard about this, you … Read more
Forget what you think you know about absinthe. It won’t trigger hallucinations, it won’t drive you mad, and it certainly doesn’t taste like jelly beans doused in cough syrup. Absinthe is a potent, anise-flavored botanical spirit historically derived from wormwood, fennel, and green anise. This notorious spirit was once the most popular drink in 19th-century … Read more
I remember a scene in the movie Poltergeist II where Craig T. Nelson’s character is chugging a bottle of tequila. Or was it mezcal? At the bottom of the bottle was a big, fat agave worm. Even as a kid, I remember thinking, “What kind of idiot would eat that thing?” The Urban Legend That … Read more