Big Red is a

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

. It was created in 1937 by Grover C Thomsen and R.H. Roark in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

Patoski, Joe Nick
"Big Red"
Texas Monthly, 1986. Accessed February 14, 2008. and originally known as Sun Tang Red Cream Soda. It is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

variety of cream soda and it is the original "red cream soda".

History

The name was changed to ''Sun Tang Big Red Cream Soda in 1959 and to "Big Red" in 1969 by Harold Jansing, then president of the

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

bottling plant, after hearing a

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

caddy refer to the soda by that name.Todd, Heather
"Seeing Red"
Beverage World, September 15, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2008 Big Red was initially marketed exclusively in

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...

and around

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and in

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a region consisting of the southern third of the state of Indiana. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be p ...

. The Louisville connection was due to Roark owning the R.C. Bottling Company in Louisville.

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

was the first state in which this soda was available to consumers.Witt, Kathy. "Made in Kentucky", ''Kentucky Living Magazine'', March 2018, p. 26. May 16, 2018, was proclaimed "Big Red Day" by Louisville mayor Greg Fischer in recognition of the 80th anniversary of Big Red's introduction in that city. The drink is popular in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, known for its unique taste and red color."jTexas Food - Best of the Best"
, Lonely Planet Blue List, February 26, 2006. Accessed February 14, 2008 Though often thought to be

bubble gum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

, its flavor is a combination of lemon and orange oils, topped off by a pure vanilla that offers a creamy aftertaste. Big Red is produced and distributed by various independent bottlers including

Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. Formed in ...

, CCE, and Pepsi Bottling Group under license from Big Red, Inc., based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. Big Red was the sixth-highest-selling soft drink company in the United States from 2002 to 2004, after

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

Pepsi Pepsi is a 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. History Pepsi was ...

, Dr Pepper/7Up,

Cott Primo Water Corporation (formerly Cott Corporation) is an American-Canadian water company offering multi-gallon bottled water, water dispensers, self-service refill water machines, and water filtration appliances. The company is headquartered in ...

, and National Beverage Company.Food and Drink Europe, February 25, 2003.
"Coke Stretches Lead Over Pepsi"
/ref> As a preeminent red crème soda in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. Bates, Karen Grigsby
"Red Sodas Are a Mainstay at Texas Celebrations"
National Public Radio, ''Day to Day'', June 19, 2007. Accessed February 14, 2008Moskin, Julia

New York Times, June 18, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2008 In 2007 Big Red Ltd. was purchased by Gary Smith, with backing from Citigroup Venture Capital and

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

. Smith serves as the Chairman and CEO of Big Red and

All Sport History All Sport was launched by PepsiCo in 1994 as a competitor to The Coca-Cola Company’s Powerade and Gatorade, which at the time was a separate entity owned by Quaker Oats. After PepsiCo's 2001 acquisition of Quaker, All Sport was sold ...

, Inc. In 2008

purchased a minority interest in Big Red, Inc. Dr Pepper distributes almost 80% of Big Red annually. Although the production facility is still in Waco, Texas, Big Red relocated their corporate headquarters to

, in 2009. In 2020, Islla St. Brewery in San Antonio, Texas created a Big Red flavored beer called Big Rojo (later renamed Wild Rojo).

Flavors

Current

*Big Red *Big Red Zero (formerly Diet Big Red) *Retro Big Red (sweetened with

cane sugar Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

rather than

high-fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzym ...

)

Current, limited availability

*Big Red Vanilla Float *Big Honey Lemonade *Big Blue *Big Pineapple *Big Peach *Big Manzana (apple flavored) Big Peach 2L

Former

*Sugar Free Big Red Vanilla Float *Big Punch Fruit Punch *Big Orange

References

External links

Big Red's websiteBig Red's NASCAR sponsorship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Red (Drink) Cream sodas Products introduced in 1937 American soft drinks Companies based in Austin, Texas Texas culture