Vernors is an American brand of
ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...
owned by
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 ...
that was first served in 1866 by
James Vernor
James Vernor, Sr. (April 11, 1843 – October 29, 1927) was an American pharmacist and druggist who began selling Vernors brand ginger ale in 1880.
Biography
Vernor was born in Albany, New York, moving with his parents to Detroit, Michigan in hi ...
, a
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
pharmacist
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
.
History
Vernors is the oldest surviving
ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...
, according to the company it was first served to the public in 1866 in the United States.
Vernor opened a drugstore of his own in Detroit, Michigan, on
Woodward Avenue
A woodward is a Game warden, warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to:
Places
;United States
* Woodward, Iowa
* Woodward, Oklahoma
* Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place
* Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which b ...
, on the southwest corner of Clifford Street
and sold his ginger soda at its
soda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentra ...
. Initially, Vernors was only sold via soda fountain franchises.
In 1896, Vernor closed his drugstore and opened a soda fountain closer to the city center to concentrate on the ginger ale business alone, on Woodward Avenue south of Jefferson Avenue, near the ferry docks on the
Detroit River
The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively refe ...
.
The early Vernors soda fountains featured ornate plaster, lighting and ironwork featuring a "V" design, examples of which still exist, such as at the
Halo Burger
Halo Burger, formerly known by its full name Bill Thomas' Halo Burger, is an American fast-food restaurant chain based in Genesee County, Michigan. Begun in 1923 as the original Kewpee location and separating from the Kewpee chain in 1967 with t ...
restaurant in Flint, Michigan.
Later, Vernor also sold bottling franchises in other cities, requiring operators to adhere strictly to his recipe.
Vernor died October 29, 1927, and was succeeded by his son, James Vernor Jr. Expansion continued throughout
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
.
Just prior to the onset of World War II, Vernors built a bottling plant and headquarters encompassing an entire city block on Woodward Avenue, one block from the Detroit River.
In the late 1950s, when the City of Detroit proposed construction of
Cobo Hall
Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...
and other riverfront projects, a land-swap was negotiated, and Vernors moved its bottling plant and headquarters to the location of the old civic exhibition hall at 4501 Woodward Avenue, incorporating many of the popular features of the old plant. Tours of the Vernors plant old and new were major tourist attractions.
The brand was originally sold as Vernor's; the apostrophe was dropped in 1959.
In 1962, Vernors introduced Vernors 1-Calorie, now called Diet Vernors.
In 1966, the Vernor family sold out to the first of what became a succession of owners.
The company was next acquired by American Consumer Products and then by
United Brands
Chiquita Brands International Sàrl (), formerly known as Chiquita Brands International Inc. and United Fruit Co., is a Swiss-domiciled American producer and distributor of bananas and other produce. The company operates under a number of ...
. The flagship Detroit bottling plant was shut down in 1985, with the local rights to bottle Vernors granted to
Pepsi-Cola
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 ...
.
The Woodward Avenue plant was later demolished. The Vernors brand was purchased by
A&W Beverages in 1987, which was in turn purchased by
Cadbury Schweppes
Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...
. Today, Vernors is property of
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 ...
of Burlington, Vermont, and Plano, Texas, and the flagship bottling plant serving Michigan is the Keurig Dr Pepper bottling plant in
Holland, Michigan
Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River (formerly known locally as the Black Ri ...
.
In August 2022, Vernor's released a black cherry flavor, its first new flavor in more than 50 years. The limited-time product was only available in Michigan and the Toledo, Ohio, area.
Characteristics
Vernors is a sweet "golden" ginger ale that derives its color, like other commercial, industrially produced ginger ales, from
caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
, and has a robust, vanilla-heavy flavor. The Vernors style was common before
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, during which "dry" pale, less sweet ginger ale (typified by
Canada Dry
Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks founded in 1904 and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Dr Pepper Snapple (now Keurig Dr Pepper). For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its ginger ale, though ...
Ginger Ale) became popular as a
drink mixer
Drink mixers are the non-alcoholic ingredients in mixed drinks and cocktails. Mixers dilute the drink, lowering the alcohol by volume in the drink. They change, enhance, or add new flavors to a drink. They may make the drink sweeter, more sour ...
.
Vernors is highly
carbonated
Carbonation is the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to give carbonates, bicarbonates, and carbonic acid. In chemistry, the term is sometimes used in place of carboxylation, which refers to the formation of carboxylic acids.
In inorganic ch ...
.
Los Angeles
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
''Metropolitan News-Enterprise'', also known as ''MetNews'' or ''Met News'', is a small daily legal newspaper published in Los Angeles, California.
History
The ''Enterprise'' newspaper was founded in 1901 and the ''Metropolitan News'' in 1945. ...
Editor Roger Grace describes the original flavor as "mellow yet perky" with the mellowness attributed to the aging in oak barrels, and the perkiness to the use of more ginger than "dry" ginger ales.
Many people believe that the taste of Vernors has changed significantly in recent years. Grace describes the current flavor as an "emaciated version of a product that once was", and "sweetened carbonated water with ginger flavoring". Theories as to the reason for the evident change in flavor include that the secret formula has been changed, or the substitution of modern
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 ...
for its traditional refined sugar; that it seems to have less carbonation than formerly; and that Vernors is no longer aged four years, but three in oak barrels.
Formula
A company-spread legend once held that prior to the start of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
James Vernor, then a clerk at the Higby & Sterns
drugstore
A pharmacy (also called "drugstore" in American English or "community pharmacy" or "chemist" in Commonwealth English, or rarely, apothecary) is a retail shop which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmaci ...
in Detroit, experimented with flavors in an attempt to duplicate a popular ginger ale imported from Dublin, Ireland. When Vernor was called off to serve he stored the syrup base of 19 ingredients, including
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
,
vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
and other natural flavorings, in an oaken cask. When he was discharged four years later he found the concentrate had been changed by being aged in the wood. The drink made from it was like nothing else he had ever tasted, and he purportedly declared it "Deliciously different," which remains the drink's motto to this day.
In a 1936 interview, however, James Vernor Jr., admitted that the formula was not developed by his father until after the war was over. This was confirmed both in a 1962 interview with former company president, James Vernor Davis, and a 1911 trademark application on "Vernor's" as a name for ginger ale and extract indicating Vernor's ginger ale first entered commerce in 1880.
Distribution
For most of its history, Vernors was a regional product. Initially Vernor sold franchises throughout Michigan and in major regional cities; the product was also available in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada.
In the 1970s and 1980s Vernors-flavored ice cream was sold by
Sanders Confectionery.
Vernors was not mass distributed nationally for many years; by 1997, the brand's distribution had expanded to a 33-state area. In 1997, even after expansion, Michigan accounted for 80% of Vernors sales. Ohio and Illinois were the next-highest-selling states; the drink was also very popular in Florida, which has large numbers of retired or relocated former Michigan residents.
In 2015, Dr Pepper Snapple said that it sold more than 7 million cases of Vernors, about 1% of the company's total sales volume.
[Witsil, Fran]
How Vernors, Michigan's ginger ale, endured 150 years
, ''Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' (June 5, 2016). At that time, a "large percentage — although not a majority — of the sales" were in Michigan.
Promotions
A number of slogans have been associated with Vernors over the years. Advertising in the early 1900s used the slogan "Detroit's Drink".
According to its trademark application, it began using the slogan "Deliciously Different" in 1921. The labels formerly read "Aged 4 years in wood", which was changed some years ago to "Flavor aged in oak barrels", again in 1996 to "Barrel Aged, Bold Taste" and currently notes "Barrel Aged 3 Years • Bold Taste".
The apostrophe in the name "Vernor's" was dropped in the late 1950s.
For a time in the mid-1980s, Vernors used the slogan "It's what we drink around here" in its advertising campaigns. The gnome mascot, named "Woody", was used from the start of the 20th century until 1987, when it was dropped by A&W Brands in favor of new packaging,
but had returned to the packaging by the 2000s. As recently as October 2013, Vernors features a picture of Woody with the slogan "A Michigan Original Since 1866", plus a picture of a barrel with the slogan "Barrel Aged – Bold Taste". As of January 2016, the wording surrounding the picture was changed to "Authentic • Bold Taste".
The identity of the Vernors gnome mascot has been contested and as a result, there is significant local folklore surrounding the gnome.
While the
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 Europe ...
company insists the name of the gnome has always been Woody, Lawrence L. Rouch, Vernors historian, argues this was not the case. He agrees that the gnome mascot surfaced sometime in the early 1900s and lasted through to the 1980s, but found no historical evidence of the name “Woody” being associated with the gnome.
There is general consensus, however, of Ronald Bialecki's live-action appearances as the gnome in the 1970s. According to both Vernors historians and Bialecki's family members, he was employed with the
Doner Company
Doner Company (formerly W.B. Doner & Co.) is an American advertising agency headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1937 by Wilfred Doner, better known as Brod Doner. The Doner Company also has a United Kingdom-based agency calle ...
at the time, which was the advertising firm in charge of the Vernors account.
His arrival at work one morning was followed by widespread agreement amongst both Vernors representatives and Doner ad executives that he should be cast as the gnome. Bialecki was so dedicated to the role that he and his wife created a gnome costume for public appearances. During his time as the Vernors mascot, Bialecki made personal appearances in the "gnome mobile" which he also designed for the enjoyment of the local public.
150th anniversary
The
Detroit Historical Society
The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Avenue in the city's Cultural Center Historic District in Midtown Detroit. It chronicles the history of the Detroit area from cobblestone streets, 19th century stores, the auto assembly lin ...
and Museum teamed up with the Vernor's Collectors' Club and the Detroit Experience Factory to celebrate the brand. Starting June 7, 2016, a Vernors memorabilia exhibition showed artifacts and vintage signage from the brand. The feature ran through June 12, 2016, at the
Detroit Historical Museum
The Detroit Historical Museum is located at 5401 Woodward Avenue in the city's Cultural Center Historic District in Midtown Detroit. It chronicles the history of the Detroit area from cobblestone streets, 19th century stores, the auto assembly li ...
.
Use
Some people drink Vernors hot as a remedy for
stomach ache
Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues.
Common causes of pain in the abdomen include gastroenteritis and irritable bowel syndrome. About 15% of people have a m ...
. Others, such as some Detroit natives, add it to impart a sweet and spicy flavor to dishes.
Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
singer
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
became famous in the city for demonstrating a recipe, traditionally at her church, for
Christmas ham
A Christmas ham or Yule ham is a ham often served for Christmas dinner or during Yule in Northern Europe and the Anglosphere. The style of preparation varies widely by place and time.
Despite the common claim that the tradition of eating ham is ...
with a glaze made with the soft drink; Vernors has also been used in a glaze for salmon and in a batter for onion rings.
Boston Cooler
A
Boston Cooler, also known as a Vernors float, is an
ice cream soda variant typically composed of Vernors Ginger Ale and vanilla ice cream blended together similar to a milkshake, although in other parts of the country, different combinations of ingredients are also known as a Boston Cooler. Some native Detroiters simply put a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream in a glass, add Vernors and a soda straw, and call it a Boston Cooler. While some claim it is named Boston Cooler for being invented on Boston Boulevard in Detroit, but Boston Boulevard had not been developed when the drink was named.
See also
*
Moxie
Moxie is a brand of carbonated beverage that is among the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States. It was created around 1876 by Augustin Thompson as a patent medicine called "Moxie Nerve Food" and was produced in Lowell, Massac ...
*
List of regional beverages of the United States
The following is a list of notable beverages associated with (and often limited to) specific regions of the United States. See also: List of regional dishes of the United States.
__TOC__
Non-alcoholic drinks
Alcoholic drinks
See also
* Lis ...
References
External links
Vernors pagefrom Keurig Dr Pepper web site
Snack foods and pop, Detroit styleVernor's Collectors Clubformer Vernor's outlet in Flint, MI, now
Halo Burger
Halo Burger, formerly known by its full name Bill Thomas' Halo Burger, is an American fast-food restaurant chain based in Genesee County, Michigan. Begun in 1923 as the original Kewpee location and separating from the Kewpee chain in 1967 with t ...
.
{{ginger ales
Ginger ale
Keurig Dr Pepper brands
History of Detroit
Culture of Detroit
Michigan culture
1866 introductions
Soft drinks