British Soft Drinks That Americans Need To Try

The soda industry is long said to be in decline, with giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi marketing lower sugar and lower calorie alternatives to their mainstay products. In America, Coca-Cola is the biggest seller, indeed, most of the world, Coca-Cola is the biggest selling soft drink. Except in Scotland, where the biggest seller is Irn-Bru. So, what other British soft drinks (or soda, if you will)




Irn-Bru (Barr)

Irn Bru gets you through!

This drink was first mixed as 'Iron Brew' in Scotland in 1901. The name was changed because Iron Brew wasn't technically 'brewed' so it became 'Irn-Bru' (Which is pronounced exactly the same way) and various advertising slogans over the years have been effective at marketing this drink and making it the most popular drink in Scotland. 'Made in Scotland from Girders', 'A soft drink for hard men', 'Scotland's other national drink' and the most recent one; 'Irn-Bru Gets You Through'.

The rust coloured drink has a unique flavour. Nobody can adequately describe it. Americans I have spoken to who have tried Irn Bru say it tastes like Bubblegum but...it doesn't. It really doesn't.

Tizer (Barr)

Tizer, the great British pop.

Much like it's sister drink Irn Bru, Tizer is also a drink that has a flavour that's hard to identify. Where Irn Bru is orange coloured, Tizer is red. It was marketed for many years as 'the Appetizer' but in recent years Barr have dropped the slogan. Tizer is a drink that many Americans might liken to Big Red soda (in some parts of the US, anyway, as Big Red is not a national soda.)


Vimto (Nichols)

Vimto and Fizzy Cherry Vimto

Outside of the UK, Vimto is enjoyed in the Arabian Peninsula, or the Middle East, with several million bottles being sold thanks to it being the beverage of choice during 'iftar', the sunset feast during the holy month of Ramadan. Vimto is a mixed fruit, purple colour drink that was originally marketed as a health tonic in 1908 but these days it comes as a cordial or carbonated.


Ribena (Suntory)

Ribena was a good source of Vitamin C for many years.

Another purple drink, this time Blackcurrant flavoured. Ribena has been a British childrens favourite since 1938. Britains entire blackcurrant crop was converted to syrup during World War II and distributed to children for free, which has no doubt had a lasting impact on the blackcurrant flavour in Britain. Ribena, like Vimto, also comes in carbonated flavour (but it's not as good as the cordial!). In America, they seem to favour the grape flavour over the blackcurrant. In fact, many Americans have never even tasted a blackcurrant before due to the growing of them being banned. They seem to be relaxing the ban though but will America grow accustomed to the blackcurrant enough to like Ribena?