hells_cowbells t1_jdkqggs wrote on March 25, 2023 at 2:32 AM

Reply to comment by Deathbyhours in TIL that Barq's Root Beer was first created by Edward Barq in Biloxi, Miss, in 1897. In 1934, Barq and a former employee, who moved to New Orleans, agreed to each distribute their own version of the root beer, with the New Orleans version having a red label and the Biloxi version having a blue one. by jdward01

100% truth. I grew up around the Mississippi coast in the 80s, and that version of Barq's was amazing. My dad had one of the older Coke machines at his business, the kind that had the 12 oz glass bottles in it. The drinks were so cold, and the ice cold Barq's was so good. People think I'm just imagining it, but I swear Coke changed the formula after they bought it, and it isn't as good as it used to be.

Deathbyhours t1_jdl88xx wrote on March 25, 2023 at 5:23 AM

Oh, they absolutely changed it. It’s indistinguishable from any generic root beer now. I assume part of the difference is that original Barq’s used cane sugar (that’s an assumption, too, but given where it was made I imagine that cane sugar was the cheap sweetener,) whereas the first change Coca Cooa would have made on Day 1 was to substitute high fructose corn syrup in what had just become a nation-wide product.

I can’t even drink Coke anymore, it’s just harsh and nasty, or I couldn’t until I discovered that you can buy Mexican Coca-Cola in glass bottles by the case at Home Depot. They still make it with cane sugar in Mexico, and it is a different kind of soda entirely.