![Sioux City sarsaparilla bottles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Sioux_City_sarsaparilla_bottles.jpg)
Sarsaparilla (, ) is a
soft drink originally made from the vine ''
Smilax ornata
''Smilax ornata'' is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America. Common names include sarsaparilla, Honduran sarsaparilla, and Jamaican sarsaparilla.
It is known in Spanish as ', which is derived ...
'' (also called 'sarsaparilla') or other species of ''
Smilax
''Smilax'' is a genus of about 300–350 species, found in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found (39 of which are endemic), while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico. They are climbing flowering ...
'' such as ''
Smilax officinalis''. In most
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
n countries, it is known by the common name sarsi, and the trademarks Sarsi and Sarsae. It is similar in flavour to
root beer
Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the ...
. In the US, sarsaparilla is traditionally made with
birch oil rather than the tropical plant.
Etymology
''
Smilax ornata
''Smilax ornata'' is a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America. Common names include sarsaparilla, Honduran sarsaparilla, and Jamaican sarsaparilla.
It is known in Spanish as ', which is derived ...
'', a perennial trailing vine with prickly stems that is native to Mexico and Central America, is often used as the basis for the soft drink sarsaparilla. Common names include sarsaparilla,
Honduran sarsaparilla,
and Jamaican sarsaparilla.
It is known in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
as ', which is derived from the words ' meaning "bramble" (from preroman ''sarza''), and ', meaning "little grape vine".
History
Sarsaparilla was popular in the United States in the 19th century. According to advertisements for
patent medicines
A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...
of the period, it was considered to be a remedy for skin and blood problems. ''The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink'' notes that it evokes images of "languid
belles and parched
cowboys".
Sarsaparilla is sometimes considered to be a type of
root beer
Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the ...
. Dozens of brands of sarsaparilla are made by microbreweries, mainly in the United States.
Availability
Sarsaparilla is not readily available in most countries, although many
pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
and most major supermarket chains in the Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia stock sarsaparilla-flavoured soft drinks, and sarsaparilla remains available in the United Kingdom as a legacy of the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
. Australian sarsaparilla, produced by major manufacturers such as
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Pty Ltd is an Australian family-owned business that brews non-alcoholic beverages. Based in Bundaberg, Queensland, they export to over 61 countries across the globe and they are most known for their ginger beer and othe ...
, has a flavor different from that of American root beer or sarsaparilla.
Sarsi is a sarsaparilla-based drink popular in Asia.
United Kingdom
Sarsaparilla is produced on a small scale in the United Kingdom. Baldwin's has produced a sarsaparilla
cordial continuously since 1844. It is produced in Walworth Road, London, and it is readily available in
pie and mash
Pie and mash is a traditional working-class food, originating in the Docks of London. It typically consists of a minced beef pie, mashed potato and a parsley sauce known as liquor. Pie, mash and eel shops have been in London since the 19th centu ...
shops in the
East End of London, where it is popular, as well as being available in most Tesco supermarkets in the world foods section. In the
North of England sarsaparilla is produced by Fitzpatrick's, Britain's last
temperance bar
A temperance bar, also known as an alcohol-free bar, sober bar, or dry bar, is a type of bar that does not serve alcoholic beverages. An alcohol-free bar can be a business establishment or located in a non-business environment or event, such as ...
, reflecting its former importance to the temperance movement there. Maine Soft Drinks, based in Northern Ireland, also produce the drink. American soldiers stationed in Northern Ireland during World War Two are said to be responsible for the drink's popularity.
United States
Classic U.S. sarsaparilla was not made from the extract of the sarsaparilla plant, a tropical vine distantly related to the lily. It was originally made from a blend of birch oil and
sassafras
''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle ...
, the dried root bark of the sassafras tree. In this context, sassafras should not be confused with common sassafras seasoning,
filé, used in Cajun cooking and made from dried and ground sassafras leaves. Sassafras was widely used as a home remedy in the 19th century; taken in sufficient doses it induces sweating, which some people thought had health benefits. Sarsaparilla made its debut as a patent medicine, an easy-to-take form of sassafras, much as
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 Atlant ...
was first marketed in 1885 as a remedy for hangovers, headaches and morphine addiction. Besides the effects of the ingredients, sodas were popular in the United States at the time, due to the belief that
carbonated water had health benefits. In 1960 the FDA banned the use of sassafras oil in foodstuffs after evidence accumulated showing that the main constituent,
safrole
Safrole is an organic compound with the formula CH2O2C6H3CH2CH=CH2. It is a colorless oily liquid, although impure samples can appear yellow. A member of the phenylpropanoid family of natural products, it is found in sassafras plants, among oth ...
, was carcinogenic. Safrole is also found in filé, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, anise, black pepper, and sweet basil, but in low enough concentration to be deemed safe.
East Asia
Taiwan
HeySong Sarsaparilla () is the most popular brand of sarsaparilla drink in Taiwan. It is manufactured by
HeySong Corporation
HeySong Corporation () is a well-known beverage producer in Taiwan. It was founded in 1925 as a family business, and later on grew into a large corporation.
History
The first chairman of the corporation, Chang Wen-chi (張文杞), founded ...
.
It is available in two varieties:
*Regular — regular sarsaparilla flavor.
*Salty — significantly saltier with a bitter aftertaste, like
Barq's
Barq's is an American brand of root beer created by Edward Barq and bottled since the beginning of the 20th century. It is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. It was known as "Barq's Famous Olde Tyme Root Beer" until 2012. Some of its formulations ...
root beer in the
US.
Southeast Asia
Cambodia
In Cambodia, sarsaparilla is one of the flavors sold under the
Fanta
Fanta is an American-owned German brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are more than 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as ...
brand, bottled and distributed by Cambodia Beverage Company Ltd., a unit of the Coca-Cola SABCO Group.
Indonesia
There are two well known sarsaparilla brands in Indonesia,
Badak (from
North Sumatra) and Indo Saparella (from the
Special Region of Yogyakarta
The Special Region of Yogyakarta (; id, Daerah Istimewa (D.I.) Yogyakarta) is a provincial-level autonomous region of Indonesia in southern Java. It has also been known as the Special Territory of Yogyakarta.
It is bordered by the Indian Oce ...
). Badak was established by a Swiss national named Heinrich Surbeck in 1916 in
Pematangsiantar,
North Sumatra and Indo Saparella was established in 1960 in
Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
. there's also Agung Ngoro a local soft drink brand who produces traditional sarsaparilla in a glass bottle. Both brands can be found in some local restaurants and stalls or marketplace.
Thailand
Hi-Mark by
Green Spot was the domestic sarsaparilla drink in Thailand, but was discontinued in 2000.
F&N Sarsi is produced in Thailand by Sermsuk Public Company Limited.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, sarsaparilla is one of the flavors (Xá Xị) sold under the
Mirinda
Mirinda is a brand of soft drink originally created in Spain in 1959 and now owned by PepsiCo with global distribution. Its name comes from the Esperanto translation of "admirable" or "amazing".
It is available in many fruit varieties, like ...
brand, bottled and distributed by
Suntory-
PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage (formerly, PepsiCo Vietnam). There is also a sarsi flavored soda (Huong Xá Xị) under the Fanta brand.
There are two local brands offering their own sarsi drink:
* Sá Xị Chương Dương by Chuong Duong Beverages.
* Wonderfarm Zizy by Interfood Shareholding Company.
Sarsaparilla-flavored sodas are available in the south of Vietnam but much more difficult to find in the north.
South Asia
India
Nannari, also known as "Indian sarsaparilla", is popular drink in South India and usually served with
club soda
Club soda is a manufactured form of carbonated water, commonly used as a drink mixer. Sodium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, or sodium citrate is artificially added to replicate constituents commonly fo ...
and
lime juice
A lime (from French ''lime'', from Arabic ''līma'', from Persian ''līmū'', "lemon") is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles.
There are several species of citrus trees ...
.
Sarsi (brand)
Philippines
In the Philippines, Sarsi is a brand name for a sarsaparilla drink originally manufactured by Cosmos Bottling Corporation, a local company that is now a subsidiary of
Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. Cosmos Bottling Corporation was established in 1918 as Manila Aerated Water Company. Sarsi was originally branded as Cosmos Sarsaparilla until the 1970s. The unique taste that distinguishes the current version of Sarsi from other sarsaparilla-based soft drinks is attributed to the sugar substitute
saccharin
Saccharin (''aka'' saccharine, Sodium sacchari) is an artificial sweetener with effectively no nutritional value. It is about 550 times as sweet as sucrose but has a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. Saccharin is ...
, although its "regular" formula contains
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 enzy ...
or cane sugar.
Singapore
In Singapore, F&N Sarsi (originally branded as Sarsi) is a brand name for a sarsaparilla drink manufactured by the Singaporean company
F&N Group (Fraser and Neave). It is unrelated to the brand established in the Philippines.
Sarsae (brand)
Mainland China
![Bottle of Asia Sarsae](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Bottle_of_Asia_Sarsae.jpg)
In mainland China, the drink's introduction can be traced back to the 1920s, when
A. S. Watson began producing its sarsaparilla drink in Shanghai and other Chinese cities. In the 1940s, Li Zhiyang (李智扬), Li Guanling (李冠玲), Huang Youtong (黄油桶), Liang Hanqi (梁汉奇), and Wang Zhensan (王震山) were among eleven people who had worked in Watson's Canton and founded Asian Waters in Guangzhou to continue producing Sarsae there and in other mainland Chinese locations.
Asia Sarsae (亚洲沙示) is now produced by
Xiangxue Pharmaceutical.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, Sarsae (沙示) is the most popular brand of sarsaparilla drink. It is manufactured and distributed by the
A. S. Watson Group, which pioneered in carbonated beverages in Hong Kong. The drink was the central
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelie ...
of a 1985 film called ''It's a Drink, It's a Bomb'' (starring
George Lam
George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...
,
John Sham
John Sham Kin-Fun (born 1952) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. His English name is sometimes written as John Shum.
Whilst known primarily for his comedic acting roles in Hong Kong cinema, he also spent time as a political activist.
Biogra ...
and
Maggie Cheung), about a
hand grenade disguised as a Sarsae cola, detonated by releasing its
ringpull.
See also
*
Root beer
Root beer is a sweet North American soft drink traditionally made using the root bark of the sassafras tree '' Sassafras albidum'' or the vine of '' Smilax ornata'' (known as sarsaparilla, also used to make a soft drink, sarsaparilla) as the ...
*
Birch beer
Birch beer is a beverage, commonly found as a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts and birch bark. It was originally made from the extracts of both oak and pine barks (which are sometimes combined). There are dozens of brands of birch ...
*
List of soft drink flavors
A soft drink is a beverage that typically contains carbonated water, one or more flavourings and sweeteners such as sugar, HFCS, fruit juices, and/or sugar substitutes such as sucralose, acesulfame-K, aspartame and cyclamate. Soft drinks ...
References
{{Root beer brands
Carbonated drinks
Root beer
Soft beers and malt drinks
Soft drinks