BOND'S MEMORIES -
BEVERAGES
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With this category, I am going to remember & celebrate some of my favorite sodas & beverages. There are some no longer made, others that can be found in select markets across the country & others that can ONLY be ordered online from various "retro" soda shops. So kick back, open your favorite soda pop & ENJOY!!!
My memory: I have always regarded HIRES Root Beer as one of my 3 favorite sodas, one of the others is also a root beer. I have always LOVED the Hires logo & can designs over the years, perhaps it was the brown & orange colours or the design itself. Orange has always been one of my fave colours. It used to be sold in the area where I live, but has not been here for many years. I remember the flavor as being satisfying & a sort of exciting drink. Sure there are alot of root beers, and I have tried ALL of them but ONLY Hires & 1 other meet my standards.
Well...I will start out with one of my 3 ALL TIME favorite beverages PERIOD! That soda is none other than HIRES ROOT BEER. It was created by Charles Elmer Hires in Philiadelphia, PA. He had first tasted root beer in 1875, and by 1876, He had created his own recipe and was selling 25-cent packets of powder, each of which yielded 5 gallons of root beer. In 1884, he was producing a liquid extract & syrup for soda fountains. In 1890, the Charles E. Hires Company was created and began supplying Hires Root Beer in small bottles. In 1989, it was purchased by Cadbury Schweppes, now Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. The manufacturer considers HIRES to be the longest continuously made soft drink in the United States.
CLICK HERE for the WIKIPEDIA article on Hires Root Beer
CLICK HERE for the Dr Pepper Snapple OFFICIAL Hires Root Beer page
CLICK HERE for the USASODA collector's page on Hires Root Beer
Well...I will start out with my second of three ALL TIME favorite beverage PERIOD! That soda is none other than BARQS ROOT BEER. It was created around 1897, in Biloxi, Mississippi by Edward Barq. Barq's was the first North American root beer to have caffeine. It's traditional slogan was simply "Drink Barq's, It's Good." By the way Barq's is pronounced "Barks" and is currently distributed by the Coca-Cola Company.
CLICK HERE for the WIKIPEDIA article on Barq's Root Beer
CLICK HERE for the Barq's OFFICIAL website
My memory: I probably have to say that BARQ'S is probably my favorite PERIOD. There are several "classic" Barq's moments in my life. The first one was many years ago and occurred in Phoenix, Arizona. I was in high school, so it probably happened in 1990 or 1991 and was in July and we had gone to visit my grandmother and my aunt & uncle. One evening we went to Golf N' Stuff (now called Castles & Coasters...I believe) and we had stopped to buy a soda in a vending machine on this little circular island surrounded by water and I got a Barq's, I distinctly remember it being icy cold with little icy bits in it...and it was like pure heaven in the midst of a 80+ degree Phoenix evening.

The next memory I have takes us to 1998 in Alaska, we were running around Fairbanks, going to a couple of grocery stores and I noticed they had Barq's in 2-liter bottles & cans, so needless to say, I bought several cases to drink during my week there. Well in Kentucky, it was not available to buy, hence why I was so excited. So back at home, I was working at Manchu Wok, a fast food Chinese restaurant in our local mall. I was always talking about it so we all asked the Coke guy if there was a way to get it here...so he was only able to get it in cans and we all pitched in each week and bought several cases of them. We would keep them in the cooler at the store to drink for ourselves. Then he told us the wonderful news that it looked like they were going to start to carry it here in the Ashland area. I always like to think that I had something to do with Barq's coming back to our area.
Well...here is the 3rd ALL TIME favorite beverage PERIOD! That soda is none other than SKI. It was created around 1956 by the Double Cola Company and trademarked in 1958. It is orange & lemon flavored soft drink using actual orange & lemon concentrate. SKI has been a mainstay of the Boy Scouts of America's Chief Logan Reservation, located in Ray, Ohio. SKI can be found in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee & Florida. There is also a Cherry SKI soda.
CLICK HERE for the WIKIPEDIA article on SKI
My memory: I have always regarded SKI as probably my ALL-TIME favorite soda. The first time I really remember drinking it was at the Chief Logan Boy Scout Camp in Ohio. And around that thimeI was a big fan of The Kentucky Headhunters and SKI was mentioned in their song "Dumas Walker" which I loved to sing & still do to this day. Now in 2008 & 2009 in order for me to get ahold of SKI, I have to go to Fort Knox, Kentucky (where the SKI reserve is located-JUSTKIDDING) which is almost a 4 hour drive for me. BUT it is plentyful there, so 1 or 2 times a year, I buy about 15 bottles and drink 1 or 2 each month. Yes, that is the truth...haha The lengths I will go to for my favorite things!!!!