NuGrape is a brand of grape-flavored

soda pop 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 sugar ...

. The NuGrape brand was created in 1906, first bottled in 1921, and by April 1933, The

National NuGrape Company The National NuGrape Company Lofts are located in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward on the north side of Ralph McGill Blvd. and the west side of the BeltLine trail. The building was built in 1937 as the national headquarters for the National NuGrape Co ...

was founded in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In 1922, licensing rights were sold to the Olla Bottling Works in

Olla, Louisiana Olla is a town in northwest La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the heart of the Louisiana Central Hill Country. Olla has a federally recognized downtown Historic District and a Louisiana historic marker. The population was 1,3 ...

where it was made and distributed for many years. NuGrape was followed up by the popular

Sun Crest Sun Crest. is a brand of flavored carbonated soft drink manufactured by The Dad's Root Beer Company, LLC. of Jasper, Indiana and owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC, except for 6 countries in Asia owned by The Monarch Beverage Company, Inc. of Atlanta ...

brand of soft drinks in 1938. In 1965, the National NuGrape Company introduced

Kickapoo Joy Juice Kickapoo Joy Juice is a citrus-flavored soft drink brand owned by the Monarch Beverage Company. The name was introduced in ''Li'l Abner'', a comic strip that ran from 1934 through 1977. Although ''Li'l Abners Kickapoo Joy Juice was an alcoho ...

, a product based on

Al Capp Alfred Gerald Caplin (September 28, 1909 – November 5, 1979), better known as Al Capp, was an American cartoonist and humorist best known for the satirical comic strip ''Li'l Abner'', which he created in 1934 and continued writing and (wi ...

's ''

Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished mountain village of Dogpatch, USA. Written and drawn ...

'' comic strip. All three brands were acquired in 1968 by The Moxie Company (renamed Moxie-Monarch-NuGrape Company and later Monarch Beverage Company). In 1970, Moxie-Monarch-NuGrape discontinued domestic U.S. sales of Kickapoo Joy Juice. In 1999, NuGrape and the

Nesbitt's Nesbitt's is a brand of orange-flavored soft drink sold in the United States. Nesbitt's was originally produced by the Nesbitt Fruit Products Company of Los Angeles, California. The company also produced several other flavors of soft drink und ...

line of carbonated drinks were acquired from

Monarch Beverage Company The Monarch Beverage Company Inc is a diversified, international beverage company based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company's CEO is Jacques Bombal. The company was founded in 1965 by Frank Armstrong. Monarch Beverage Company aimed to establish it ...

in Atlanta by Big Red, Ltd. of

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 ...

under its North American Beverages Products division, which also included Nesbitt's. The National NuGrape building still exists in Atlanta at 794 Ralph McGill Blvd., but is not open to the public. Today, NuGrape is usually found in parts of the southeast United States. Specifically, it is sold in parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, northwest Alabama, and the eastern half of Tennessee. NuGrape is almost impossible to find for sale west or north of

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

. However, NuGrape is bottled and distributed in central Kentucky by the

Ale-8-One Ale-8-One, known colloquially as Ale-8, is a regional ginger- and citrus-flavored soft drink, distributed primarily to brick and mortar retailers in Kentucky. Ale-8 could be described as a ginger Soda with a "kick". It is a ginger and citrus blend, ...

Bottling Company of

Winchester, Kentucky Winchester is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 18,368 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winchester is located ro ...

and in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

by Orca Beverage Company of

Mukilteo, Washington Mukilteo ( ) is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on the Puget Sound between Edmonds and Everett, approximately north of Seattle. The city had a population of 20,254 at the 2010 census and an estimated 2019 ...

. It is most commonly available in small, novelty candy stores as well as independent grocery stores, available in bottles (glass or plastic) or cans. In recent years,

Cracker Barrel Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc., doing business as simply Cracker Barrel, is an American chain of restaurant and gift stores with a Southern country theme. The company was founded by Dan Evins in 1969. Its first store was in Lebanon, T ...

restaurants have begun selling NuGrape, by the individual bottle and in six-packs. It is available at World Market stores.

References

External links

Big Red, Ltd. - NuGrape website
{{Grape sodas Cuisine of the Southern United States Grape sodas Products introduced in 1921 Monarch brands