The Best High-End Soft Drink Brands and Producers

A SOFT DRINK typically contains carbonated water (although some lemonades are not carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, sugar substitutes (in the case of diet drinks), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives, and other ingredients.

Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic beverages. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Fruit punch, tea, and other such non-alcoholic beverages are technically soft drinks by this definition but are not generally referred to as such.

Soft drinks may be served chilled, over ice cubes or at room temperature. They are available in many formats, including cans, glass bottles, and plastic bottles (the latter in a variety of sizes ranging from small bottles to large 2-liter containers). Soft drinks are also widely available at fast food restaurants, movie theaters, convenience stores, casual dining restaurants, dedicated soda stores, and bars from soda fountain machines. Soda fountain drinks are typically served in paper or plastic disposable cups in the first three venues. In casual dining restaurants and bars, soft drinks are often served in glasses. Soft drinks may be drunk with straws or sipped directly from the cups.

Soft Drink News, Reviews & Resources

• 11 Zero-Proof Alternatives To Keep You Going Through Dry January - And Beyond - "People usually start the year with the best intentions but find it difficult to keep up with those healthy resolutions. Dry January can be challenging for those of us who enjoy a variety of beverage flavors or prefer to stay away from too much coffee, sugar and artificially flavored drinks. So here are a few suggestions that I have found enjoyable so far, and will remain on rotation moving forward."
• Aspartame hazard & risk assessment results released - World Health Organization.
• Bill Gates Booked Entire Michelin-Star Restaurant For Two Days Just To Sip A Diet Coke - "Leaves Without Trying A Single Bite Of The $313 Meal - Chef Says, 'People With Money Value Things Less'."
• Coca-Cola among brands greenwashing over packaging, report says - "Research ‘exposes litany of misleading claims’ by household names, including Coca-Cola and Unilever."
• Coca Cola-Bottle glasses - Extremely thick eyeglass lenses.
• Coca-Cola, Pepsi & NestlÉ named top plastic polluters for third year in a row - "Companies accused of 'zero progress' on reducing plastic waste, with Coca-Cola ranked No 1 for most littered products."
• Coca-Cola produces $3 billion worth of pure cocaine per year - "Sells it to one of the world’s largest opioid manufacturers in a secretive deal with the US government that has recently been renewed."
• Coca-Cola reveals full scale of price rises as it unveils bumper profits - "Coca-Cola has boosted profits in the first three months of the year - driven by customers buying more drinks at higher prices."
• Coca-Cola's secret formula - Mirror Online.
• COKE CLAIMS TO GIVE BACK AS MUCH WATER AS IT USES. AN INVESTIGATION SHOWS IT ISN’T EVEN CLOSE - The Verge.
• Coke has a new flavor. It took inspiration from McDonald's - "The new flavor, which also comes in a zero-sugar variety, will be available for purchase starting on July 11 in the United States for a limited time. It will be offered in other countries later this summer."
• Coke is changing the recipe of a popular drink. A lot could go wrong - "If you've had a sip of Coke Zero Sugar recently and thought that it tastes a little different, you're not crazy. The company is rolling out across the United States a new version of the beverage designed to taste more like regular Coke."
• Coke is giving one of its most popular drinks a makeover - "If you're a big fan of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, you may want to brace yourself: The recipe for your beloved drink is changing. Coca-Cola said Tuesday that it is tweaking the beverage in an effort to make the drink taste more like regular Coke. The product's can will also look different — all red, rather than red and black."
• Coke products might look a little different next year - "Over the past year, Coca-Cola has experimented with bizarre, limited-time flavors and immersive online experiences. Now, it’s setting its sights on adding more varieties of cans, bottles and value packs to offer cash-strapped consumers more options - even if that ultimately means paying more for less."
• Coke's latest bizarre flavor is here - "Coca-Cola's latest experimental, limited-time flavor is here. It's called ... wait for it ... Dreamworld. And it tastes like ... dreams?"
• Coke's new bottle cap doesn't come off - "Coke knows that its soda caps often end up as litter. So it's trying to solve the problem by tethering them to the bottle, at least in the United Kingdom. Earlier this week, the British arm of the beverage company announced that it has started rolling out new versions of its plastic bottles. The new bottles feature an attached cap, a design that is supposed to make it easier to recycle the whole package at once - and keep caps out of the trash."
• Cristiano Ronaldo snub wipes billions off Coca-Cola’s market value - "Portugal captain rejects bottles in Euro 2020 press conference. Soft drink company’s share price drops by 1.6%."
• Diet coke 'may be bad for your heart' as experts say artificial sweeteners - 'Should not be considered a safe alternative to sugar.'
• Diet drinks boost risk of dangerous heart condition by 20%, study says - "Drinking two liters or more per week of artificially sweetened beverages - the equivalent of a medium-sized fast-food diet soda a day - raised the risk of an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation by 20% when compared to people who drank none, a new study found."
• Diet drinks may be preventing you from losing weight - The Telegraph.
• Effects of artificial sweeteners on breath alcohol concentrations in male & female social drinkers - Drug & Alcohol Dependence.
• Expert shares impact Diet Coke can have on your body just one hour after drinking - "For many, nothing beats a refreshing Diet Coke when craving a satisfying, low-calorie beverage. However, some claim the fizzy favourite can have alarming effects just one hour after drinking."
• FDA to Finally Outlaw Soda Ingredient Prohibited Around The World - "An ingredient once commonly used in citrus-flavored sodas to keep the tangy taste mixed thoroughly through the beverage could finally be banned for good across the US. The FDA proposed in November to revoke the registration of a modified vegetable oil known as BVO in the wake of recent toxicology studies that make it difficult to support its ongoing use."
• France bans free soft drink refills in effort to tackle obesity - RT News.
• Fritz-kola, a drink created by two German students to challenge Coca-Cola with the highest legal amount of caffeine - "The beverage, which started as an idea one night over frozen pizza 20 years ago, has become a brand that employs 300 people and is distributed throughout almost all of Europe."
• Here’s why McDonald’s Coke tastes better - The Sun.
• How a Lawsuit Against Coca-Cola Convinced Americans to Love Caffeine - TIME Magazine.
• How soft drinks can spoof a covid test - "How children are spoofing Covid-19 tests with soft drinks. Some children have found a devious method to get out of school - using cola to create false positive Covid tests. How does it work?"
• 'It has cost me 14 teeth': Readers on soft drink addiction - and how to beat it - "Fizzy, caffeinated drinks are on sale everywhere, and for many people it can become difficult to function without them. Is cold turkey the only way out?"
• JOHN PEMBERTON - inventor of Coca-Cola.
• List of soft drink flavors - Wikipedia.
• List of soft drinks by country - Wikipedia.
• my battle to beat a 27-year Diet Coke addiction - "I have been obsessed with the sugar-free soda since I was four, spending £500 a year on up to seven cans a day. This is what happened when I tried to quit."
• New Coke - (1985-2002). The unofficial name for the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in April 1985 by the Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink Coca-Cola (also called Coke). In 1992, it was named Coke II. Coke II was discontinued in July 2002. It remains influential as a cautionary tale against tampering with a well-established and successful brand. "New Coke" became synonymous with a product fail.
• PepsiCo bans mentioning Ukrainian army, support for Kiev in advertising - "The list of restrictions indicated that there should be no mentioning of hostilities, the Ukrainian armed forces, calls to support Ukraine and its army and other negative connotations creating a feeling of danger."
• Pepsi has a new logo - "If someone were to ask you to draw the Pepsi logo from memory, what would you draw? A circle, perhaps, with the red, white and blue stripes that are emblematic of the brand. The word 'Pepsi,' probably, in that globe."
• Pepsi introduces a first-of-its-kind flavor - "In what the company describes its 'most ambitious feat yet,' PepsiCo (PEP) announced Wednesday a first-of-its-kind nitrogen-infused cola that has a creamier and smoother taste compared to traditional carbonated sodas. The beverage, called Nitro Pepsi, is being released in the United States on March 28 and comes in regular and vanilla flavors."
• Putting Sugary Soda Out of Reach - The New York Times.
• See what internet sleuths spotted in Trump photo after his boycott call - "Internet users accused former President Trump of breaking his own Coke boycott when they spotted what appeared to be a half-hidden bottle on his desk."
• 'Shamefully good': Stephen Colbert reacts to Tom Hanks' new cocktail creation - "During an appearance on 'The Late Show,' actor Tom Hanks recreated his unusual cocktail creation with host Stephen Colbert. See how the duo react to The Diet Cokagne, a mix of Diet Coke and champagne."
• SodaStream is a bad deal & everyone should know it - "Home seltzer mods have been around for years. CO2 is dirt cheap. So why are any of us putting up with a middleman jacking up the price of fizzy water?"
• SOFT DRINK - Wikipedia.
• Soft drinks, including sugar-free, linked to increased risk of early death - "Drink more water, say experts as they argue study proves need for curbs on consumption."
• Study links sugary drinks to male hair loss - "A new Nutrients journal study explored the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and Male pattern hair loss (MPHL) in young men in China."
• Sugary drinks linked to risk of early death - "It's not just soda: Drinking too much fruit juice (or any sugary drink) linked to premature death risk."
• The condensation on the can; the tingle on the tongue. I love you, Diet Coke - "When it comes to my favourite soft drink, someone could make a lot of money opening a rehab clinic."
• The Decline of ‘Big Soda’ - The New York Times.
• THE ORIGINAL FORMULA FOR COCA-COLA? - This American Life.
• The price of ‘sugar free’: are sweeteners as harmless as we thought? - "We know we need to cut down on sugar. But replacing it with artificial compounds isn’t necessarily the answer."
• The weird world of soda flavours - "Beyond cola: The strange flavours of soft drinks. From drinks that taste like cough medicine to sodas that contain fish roe, there is a vast and varied landscape of flavours beyond the familiar cola and lemonade."
• Want to live longer? You may want to ditch these drinks - "Brace yourself, lovers of diet sodas and sugary drinks. It's more bad news and yet another reason to consider ditching your favorite soda or soft drink."
• WHO says soda sweetener aspartame may cause cancer, but it’s safe within limits - "The World Health Organization classified the soda sweetener aspartame as a possible carcinogen, but said the designation is based on limited evidence and more research is needed. The WHO said aspartame is safe to consume within a daily limit of 40 milligrams per kilogram of a person’s body weight. An adult weighing 70 kilograms or 154 pounds would have to drink more than nine to 14 cans of aspartame-containing soda daily to exceed the limit and potentially face health risks."

Soft Drink Brands

• Almdudler - since 1957. Brand name of a popular carbonated soft drink from Austria.
• COCA-COLA - introduced 1886. Carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants & vending machines in every country except Cuba & North Korea.
• DR PEPPER - since 1885. "The Only One You Crave." The number 23 is kind of our thing. So we just had to go all out on Pepper Perks for 2023 — with rewards like Dr Pepper yearly planners, can coolers, and more! Just sign up or log in to start the year off in style.
• DRANK - since 2008. Soft drink sold in the United States and Canada. It is marketed as an "Anti-Energy" drink which causes relaxation as opposed to a sugar or caffeine jolt.
• Fanta - since 1940. American-owned German brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are more than 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as a Coca-Cola alternative in 1940 due to the American trade embargo of Nazi Germany, which affected the availability of Coca-Cola ingredients. Fanta soon dominated the German market with three million cans sold in 1943. The current formulation of Fanta was developed in Italy in 1955.
• Fritz-kola - since 2003. "Let us wake you up." Soft drink made in north Germany and shipped to many nations in the European Union. It has a relatively high caffeine content and is sold in glass bottles with labels which were originally black and white, using the faces of the two founders in the logo.
• MONSTER ENERGY - since 1935. As of 2020, Monster held nearly 39% of the $5.7 billion US energy drink market, the second highest share after Red Bull.
• PEPSY COLA - created & developed in 1893. "Delicious. Refreshing. Pepsi." Carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
• Red Bull - since 1987. "Vitalizes Body and Mind." Red Bull Energy Drink is appreciated worldwide by top athletes, busy professionals, university students and travellers on long journeys. Brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, including over 9.8 billion in 2021.
• ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK - energy drink created in 2001. Rockstar products in the US have two levels of caffeine content: either 10 mg of caffeine per ounce, or 15 mg of caffeine per ounce. Rockstar Energy Drink Original contains 160 mg of caffeine per 16 ounce can, while the Rockstar Punched energy drink contain 240 mg of caffeine per 16 ounce can. Besides caffeine and sugar, Rockstar Energy Drink contains a variety of herbs, including panax ginseng, ginkgo biloba, milk thistle extract, and guarana seed.
• SCHWEPPES - since 1783. Swiss beverage brand that is sold around the world. It includes a variety of lemonade, carbonated waters & ginger ales.
• SodaStream - since 1991. "Water made exciting." Maker of a consumer home carbonation product based on the principles of making a carbonated drink as originally invented by Guy Gilbey in 1903. The device allows users to take ordinary tap water and carbonate it to create soda water (or carbonated water) to drink. With the addition of one of over 100 different types of concentrated syrups and flavorings produced by SodaStream, owners can create carbonated beverages.