I do spend a lot of time writing about ginger ale, whiskey and soda pop. But, a blog has a ravenous appetite – or, more appropriately, an unquenchable thirst – for daily material that must be satisfied. And since Lorain County was the home of so many bottlers, I enjoy writing about the many national products that were produced here for decades.
And so, to close out February, here’s today’s topic: an ad for Canada Dry Ginger Ale’s Golden Anniversary promotion that ran in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 27, 1958. It’s a neat, Willie Wonka-ish gimmick in that consumers looked for special gold bottle caps. When they collected three of them, the caps could be redeemed for 30 cents – enough to buy a family-sized bottle of you-know-what.
It’s the whole ‘golden anniversary’ angle that had me a little puzzled. Traditionally, ‘golden’ meant fifty years, and Canada Dry Ginger Ale seems to date back to 1904 (the year it was created) or 1905 (the year the name “Canada Dry” was registered. But it appears that the promotion used the year that it was first shipped to the United States (1908).
One co-worker thinks I’m all wet when it comes to my preferences in ginger ale (Canada Dry or Vernors). He much prefers the smooth taste of Seagram’s, especially in his highballs.
I’ve got to admit, Seagram’s is very good – very smooth. It’s not as sweet as Canada Dry. Plus it has a cool can design.
But the hoser in me keeps me reaching for Canada Dry.
By the way, that original blog post about the former Canada Dry bottling plant on Colorado Avenue is currently the second-most visited entry of all time here on the Brady Blog with 13,695 page views. (That’s second only to the post about the American flag painted on the cliff overlooking Route 2.)
I only wish I knew why.