Philadelphia pharmacist Charles Elmer Hires discovered a recipe for a delicious tisane—a form of herbal tea—while on his honeymoon in New Jersey. Not long after, he began selling a dry version of the tea blend but it had to be mixed with water, sugar, and yeast and left to ferment for the carbonation process to take place.On the suggestion of his friend Russell Conwell (founder of Temple University), Hires began working on a liquid formulation for a carbonated root beer beverage that would be more appealing to the masses. The result was a combination of more than 25 herbs, berries, and roots that Hires used to flavor carbonated soda water. At Conwell’s urging, Hires introduced his version of root beer to the public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial exhibition. Hires’ Root Beer was a hit. In 1893, the Hires family first sold and distributed bottled root beer.

You might think you know everything there is to know about this neon drink, but its rocky history isn’t the only interesting tidbit about Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew soda was born in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in Knoxville, Tennessee. Long before it became a soda, the term “mountain dew” was a nickname for moonshine. In the 1930s or 40s (sources vary on the year), brothers Barney and Ally Hartman created a mixer to make whiskey taste better. As the story goes, the brothers made their own mixer only when they couldn’t get their favorite mixer (Natural Set-Up) in Tennessee.

Diet Pepsi is a no-calorie carbonated cola soft drink produced by PepsiCo, introduced in 1964 as a variant of Pepsi with no sugar. First tested in 1963 under the name Patio Diet Cola, it was rebranded as Diet Pepsi the following year, becoming the first diet cola to be distributed on a national scale in the United States. In the 1960s and 1970s its competition consisted of Tab, produced by The Coca-Cola Company, and Diet Rite cola, produced by RC Cola.

The Coca-Cola Company introduced Diet Coke to great fanfare in 1982, following another low-calorie cola called Tab that was produced in 1963. Although Tab was successful in the growing weight and calorie-conscious market (its name referred to “keeping a tab on your weight”), the company’s field tests and research on consumer attitudes indicated that sales were limited by its lack of the Coca-Cola trademark. The company began developing a different diet cola to replace Tab beginning in 1975, which would have a renewed brand image and respond to the demand for a diet drink with better taste. Company technicians managed to develop a new, smoother flavor with less phosphoric acid under the slogan, “Just for the taste of it, Diet Coke!”

Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, who made the original formula in his backyard. The recipe contained cocaine—in the form of an extract of the coca leaf, which inspired the “Coca” part of the name. The “Cola” part came from another ingredient, the kola nut, which contains caffeine. At the time, cocaine was legal and a common ingredient in medicines.

Pepsi was created in 1893 by Caleb Bradham in his Drug Store in New Bern, North Carolina. The original name of this new drink was called “Brad’s Drink” after Caleb Bradham himself. It was made with a mix of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg, and cola nuts. On August 28th, 1898, Brad’s Drink was renamed to Pepsi after the pepsin enzyme. Bradham believed that his drink was a “healthy” cola that helped with digestion.

Fanta started back in the World War II days when a trading ban was placed on Germany by the Allies. The Coca-Cola Company wasn’t able to import the syrup needed to produce Coca-Cola in Germany. Dr. Schetelig decided to create a new product for the German market instead of Coca-Cola which could be made using only ingredients available in Germany which at the time was mainly apple fiber and a by-product of cheese. It tasted of orange and was yellow colored.

Dr Pepper was first served in 1885 in the small town of Waco, Texas. It has since grown to be one of the most reputable and popular soft drinks in existence. Dr Pepper was created by Charles Alderton, a pharmacist at the corner drug store in Waco. While he spent most of his time mixing medicine for the people of his town, he became very intrigued by the soda fountain and carbonated drinks.

Image from Flickr. Reused with modifications.

Sprite was originally developed in West Germany in 1959. The drink started life as part of the Fanta line with the name Clear Lemon Fanta. Two years later the drink would be introduced to the U.S. market with its new name: Sprite. The name “Sprite” had been around at the Coca-Cola Company for many years. During the 1940s, Sprite Boy made regular appearances in Coke marketing. The white-haired elfin figure was dropped from advertising in 1958. When the drink Sprite came to the U.S., the name Sprite was reintroduced and has become one of the most recognizable brand names in the world.