Vernors facts for kids
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| Type | Ginger ale |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Keurig Dr Pepper |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1866 |
| Color | Golden |
| Variants | Diet Vernors, Black Cherry |
Vernors is a popular American brand of ginger ale. It is owned by a company called Keurig Dr Pepper. A pharmacist named James Vernor from Detroit first served this special drink in 1866.
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The History of Vernors
Vernors is the oldest ginger ale still around in the United States. The company says it was first shared with people in America way back in 1866.
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James Vernor opened his own drugstore in Detroit, Michigan. He sold his ginger ale at a special "pop fountain" inside the store. At first, you could only buy Vernors at these pop fountains. In 1896, Vernor closed his drugstore to focus only on making and selling his ginger ale. He opened a new pop fountain closer to the city center.
Later, Vernor also let other businesses sell his ginger ale. These businesses had to follow his exact recipe to make sure the drink tasted the same everywhere.
James Vernor passed away in 1927. His son, James Vernor Jr., took over the business. The company kept growing, even during a time called Prohibition when alcohol was banned. Before World War II, Vernors built a huge bottling plant and main office in Detroit.
In the late 1950s, the company moved its bottling plant to a new location. They made sure the new plant had many of the popular features from the old one. People used to love taking tours of the Vernors plants.
The drink was first called "Vernor's" with an apostrophe. But in 1959, the apostrophe was removed. In 1962, Vernors also introduced a low-calorie version, which is now called Vernors Zero Sugar.
In 1966, the Vernor family sold the company. Over the years, Vernors was owned by several different companies. The main bottling plant in Detroit closed in 1985. Today, Vernors is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper. The main bottling plant for Michigan is now in Holland, Michigan.
In August 2022, Vernors released a new black cherry flavor. This was the first new flavor in over 50 years! It was only sold for a short time in Michigan and parts of Ohio.
What Makes Vernors Special?
Vernors is known as a sweet "golden" ginger ale. It gets its golden color from a special ingredient called caramel. It has a strong, rich flavor with a hint of vanilla.
Vernors is also very fizzy, which means it has a lot of carbonation.
Some people describe the original Vernors flavor as "mellow but lively." The "mellow" part comes from the idea that the syrup used to make it was aged in oak barrels. The "lively" part comes from using more ginger than other types of ginger ale.
The Vernors Recipe Story
There's a famous story about how Vernors was created. The legend says that before the American Civil War, James Vernor worked in a drugstore in Detroit. He was trying to create a ginger ale like one from Dublin, Ireland. He supposedly stored his secret syrup, made with 19 ingredients like ginger and vanilla, in an oak barrel.
When he returned from the war four years later, he found the syrup had changed from being aged in the wood. The drink he made from it was amazing! He supposedly said it was "Deliciously different," which is still the drink's motto today.
However, James Vernor Jr. said in a 1936 interview that his father actually developed the recipe after the war. This was also confirmed by a former company president in 1962. A trademark application from 1911 shows that Vernor's ginger ale first started being sold in 1880.
Where is Vernors Sold?
For most of its history, Vernors was mainly sold in certain areas. At first, Vernor sold special rights to bottle his drink in Michigan and other big cities. It was also available in Ontario, Canada. In the 1970s and 1980s, you could even buy Vernors-flavored ice cream!
Vernors was not sold all over the country for many years. By 1997, it was available in 33 states. Even then, Michigan bought 80% of all Vernors sold! Ohio and Illinois were the next biggest buyers. It was also very popular in Florida, where many people from Michigan moved or retired. In 2015, the company said they sold over 7 million cases of Vernors. A large part of those sales were still in Michigan.
Vernors Advertising and Mascots
Vernors has used many different slogans over the years. In the early 1900s, ads called it "Detroit's Drink." Since 1921, it has used the slogan "Deliciously Different." The labels used to say "Aged 4 years in wood." This was later changed to "Flavor aged in oak barrels," then "Barrel Aged, Bold Taste," and now it says "Barrel Aged 3 Years • Bold Taste."
The little gnome mascot, named "Woody," was used from the early 1900s until 1987. He was removed for a while but came back on the packaging in the 2000s. Today, Vernors still features Woody with the slogan "A Michigan Original Since 1866."
There has been some debate about the gnome's name. While the Dr. Pepper company says his name has always been Woody, a Vernors historian named Lawrence L. Rouch says there's no old proof of that name.
However, everyone agrees that Ronald Bialecki played the gnome in real life during the 1970s. He worked for the advertising company that handled Vernors. People thought he looked just like the gnome! Bialecki even made his own gnome costume and drove around in a special "gnome mobile" to meet people.
150th Anniversary Celebration
In 2016, the Detroit Historical Society and Museum celebrated Vernors' 150th birthday. They teamed up with the Vernors Collectors' Club to show off old Vernors items. There was an exhibit with old signs and other cool things from the brand's history. It was held at the Detroit Historical Museum.
How People Use Vernors
Some people drink warm Vernors to help with a stomach ache. Others, especially people from Detroit, use it to add a sweet and spicy flavor to their food. The famous singer Aretha Franklin was known for her recipe for Christmas ham that used a glaze made with Vernors. It has also been used in glazes for salmon and in batter for onion rings.
The Boston Cooler
A Boston Cooler is a special drink made with Vernors Ginger Ale and vanilla ice cream. It's blended together like a milkshake. Some people in Detroit simply put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass, add Vernors, and call it a Boston Cooler.
Some people think it's named after Boston Boulevard in Detroit. But the drink was named before that street was even built!
See also
