Ironbeer is a soft drink that originated in Cuba in 1917 and was created by Manuel Rabanal. It has been described as tasting like "a fruitier

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...

" or like Ironport soda. After

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

became Cuba's leader and oversaw nationalization of private property in 1960, "Inversiones Rabanal" run by Jesus Larrazabal (husband of Teresa Rabanal – Manuel's daughter) along with the Ironbeer of Cuba families (Rabanal, Larrazabal, Rojas) were exiled in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. The U.S. version of Ironbeer Softdrink, without the bell on logo, is owned and operated by the Blanco Family.

History

In 1991, Ironbeer's sister company, Sunshine Bottling, got into a business venture with

Tropicana Tropicana may refer to: Companies *Tropicana Entertainment, a former casino company that owned several Tropicana-branded casinos *Tropicana Products, a Chicago-based food company known for orange juice Hotels and nightclubs *Tropicana Casino & Re ...

, which was looking for a new bottling company. Ironbeer then invested heavily into expanding Sunshine Bottling Co. to get it ready for the demands of this really enormous contract. Subsequently, Tropicana made a demand about the percentage of air in each can of their orange juice—an impossible demand, industry experts said, and one outside the terms of their contract—and extricated themselves from it. Ironbeer's CEO, Pedro Blanco Sr., sued Tropicana and eventually won a considerable sum for production costs and damages, but not before the huge legal bills sent Ironbeer into bankruptcy court. They emerged from bankruptcy in 1999. The softdrink along with a few others and the Sunchy line of juices is still being bottled in Miami by Sunshine Bottling Company. The company is still currently owned and operated by president and CEO Carlos Blanco Sr., Pedro Blanco Sr. has since died. The labels on Ironbeer cans give the following story about the soda's origins:

Legacy

In 2019, a beer inspired by the original Ironbeer was launched by

-based

microbrewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

Beat Culture Brewery; the beer was called Iron Bier. Ironbeer imagery has also been appropriated by artists and incorporated into the fine arts, most notably by Cuban-American artist

Ric Garcia Ric Garcia (born 1968 Miami, Florida) is an American fine arts painter, digital printmaker, and curator of Cuban Americans, Cuban ancestry currently working and residing in the Greater Washington, D.C., Washington, DC area. Education Garcia stu ...

References

External links

BevBoard Ironbeer discussion

Soft drinks Cuban drinks Soft beers and malt drinks American soft drinks {{soft-drink-stub

History

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links