I like old-timey, Southern stuff and with that in mind yesterday, I sampled a can of Buffalo Rock “Southern Spice” Ginger Ale.I can safely say that it is the strongest soft drink that I’ve ever had. (Make no mistake. This is not an alcoholic beverage. It’s a caffeine-free soft drink like Sprite.)
It definitely is not your regular, run-of-the mill ginger ale. The first can I popped was unrefrigerated, and the hot drink took my breath away. I gave it the good, old college try, but ultimately could not finish the first can. The spicy, ginger taste was too overwhelming.
I put the rest of the half-case in the refrigerator to see if it tasted different cold. Several hours later, I tried a cold one, and it went down a lot easier.
The taste of this drink is hard to describe, but I’ll give it a shot. The drink is extremely spicy and made me think of something you might have bought in a turn of the century drug store. The taste hits you hard in the back of the throat, and it’s so strong that it actually made me choke up a couple of times.
This is not to say that the drink is bad, but be warned, it’s just a very strong soft drink. When cold, it definitely qualifies as a thirst quencher.
This drink does have an interesting history. According to Wikipedia, the drink is a “strongly flavored golden ginger ale” that was “first created in 1901 by grocer Sidney Lee as a non-carbonated tonic for stomach ailments. Lee worked with Selma chemist Ashby Coleman to create a carbonated soft drink from the tonic which he sold through his Alabama Grocery Company. The name was first used in commerce in 1906, and a trade mark was applied for in 1917. By 1927, Lee dropped all of his wholesale products to focus on making and bottling Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale.
“In the modern context of ‘dry’ ginger ales, Buffalo Rock is notable for its strong ginger ‘bite,’ but in an earlier era, the drink could be advertised for its ‘mild, mellow bouquet’ relative to the ‘hot, fiery, biting taste’ of other ginger ales. Both a ‘standard’ and a ‘pale-dry’ version were offered for sale by licensed bottlers in 1930.
“Buffalo Rock celebrated the 100th anniversary of its flagship product in 2001 with a commemorative 6 1/2 oz. glass bottle. Currently the drink is only available in 12 oz. cans, which are sold mainly in the Birmingham area or shipped by the case from the company's website.”
In the end, I’d be interested to know if any of you have had a chance to try this soft drink. If so, what did you think? Did you like it? Would you recommend it to others? Let us know in the comments section below.
We buy it regularly here in Mobile. It's the only ginger ale that is worth drinking! Best on a hot Alabama day!
ReplyDeleteOMGoodness. I tried my first can of this stuff last night. If this was the mild stuff, I can't imagine how horrible the other ginger ales tasted. Took an extra swallow just to make sure it was as bad as I thought. Yep. Looking to see if there was some other use for this stuff, such as a base for pickles. So far, I have found none. Will try it on ants later to see if it kills them. Ha.
ReplyDeleteThis is my go-to-must have in the refrigerator soda. I have some major gut issues and thought this spicy deliciousness would just make me bend over double in pain but it didn't. Rather, it helped my fussy gut and went down like a treat. WalMart has it in the sugar as well as the sugar free version but it is often hard to find the sugar free version.
ReplyDeleteBefore my parents' passed away, Father would send me a good bit of money every month to make certain they would have it on hand. They loved Buffalo Rock's Southern Spice Gingerale and got many of their friends hooked on this ambrosial, spicy liquid as well. Father used to say it was good with or without booze but had to hide it from visiting children rather than wasting it on children whose palates had not yet developed sufficiently to truly appreciate Southern Spice Gingerale. Father passed due to stomach cancer and at the end, Buffalo Rock's Southern Spice Gingerale was the only liquid that would quench his thirst without hurting his gut. I was so happy to find something he could drink without pain that I made certain to buy and ship many cases to him home every week. I love it as well and when I kick back and drink a can of frosty Southern Spice Gingerale, it feels like I'm sitting on the back porch with Father, sipping our favorite soda and it makes missing him a bit less painful.
One thing I have found is that THIS is NOT a kiddie beverage. This is good either ice cold or over ice - or even turned into a beverage. This is some really good stuff!