In 1767, the English chemist Joseph Priestley conducted an experiment in a brewery that involved hanging a bowl of distilled water above a beer vat. This unlikely set-up resulted in carbon dioxide infusing the water, resulting in carbonated water.
Priestley tasted the water and found it to his liking. He continued his experiments and published the scientific paper “Impregnating Water with Fixed Air” in 1772. But Priestley would become distracted with other projects, such as discovering oxygen and introducing the Unitarian religion to England, and he allowed his experimental work with carbonated water to be expanded by others, resulting over the years with advances in commercial production that would eventually turn into the multi-billion-dollar soft drink industry.
Priestley never flavored his carbonated water – that addition to the formula didn’t happen until the early 1800s. However, if Priestley had invented a time machine and traveled to the present, he might be baffled (or worse) to see how his simple carbonated water drink evolved over the century.
Thus, with a nod to Priestley and advance apologies to those with sensitive palates, allow us to serve up the 10 weirdest soft drink flavors of all time.
Dirt Soda: Few people savor the taste of dirt in their mouths, but the good folks at Rocket Fizz believed (correctly) there was a market for this flavored beverage. One Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) consumer review said it tasted “like potting soil and mushrooms combined” while another said it was “like drinking dirt with sugar in it.” (Photo via Amazon)
Eel-Flavored Cola: What happens when soft drink manufacturers run out of fruit flavor ideas for their drinks? Why, of course, they turn to fish flavors! Japan’s Kimura Inryou unleashed this limited-edition soft drink (known locally as Unogi Cola) in 2015, which was designed to taste like grilled eel. (Photo courtesy U/NamaJapan on Reddit)
Fanta Lactic: The Coca-Cola Company’s (NYSE:KO) Fanta brand introduced a milk flavored soft drink in Taiwan in 2006 – although some people said it had a yogurt-type taste. A companion product, Fanta Lactic White Grape, was also offered. The product fizzled, but four years later it was revived in Japan as Fanta Moo-Moo White, except that the beverage lacked the calcium included in the Taiwan release. (Photo courtesy Pinterest)
Grass Soda: Sorry, Benzinga Cannabis readers, but the grass flavoring for this beverage is inspired by your front lawn. This Rocket Fizz product is supposedly based on the taste of grass clippings – but for those of us who never had a mouthful of lawnmower offcuts, how would we even know if the taste is accurate? (Photo via Amazon)
Jones Soda Co.’s Thanksgiving Sodas: For those who feel overstuffed with the annual November holiday meal, there is a line of five soft drinks with flavors inspired by the celebration: Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potato, Fruitcake, Cranberry and Turkey & Gravy. This line was introduced as a limited edition gift in 2003 and was brought back in 2021 for a 35,000-bottle run. (Photo by Kevin Trotman / Flickr Creative Commons)
Kitty Piddle Soda: No, this soft drink was not made with urine samples from felines. Instead, this entry in Connecticut-based Avery’s line of “gross sodas” opts for an orange and pineapple flavor mix, although its pee-pee hue was achieved by blending Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 colorings. (Photo via Avery's)
Lester’s Fixins Bacon Soda with Chocolate: Three things that rarely get mentioned in the same sentence are bacon, chocolate and soda, yet this independent soft drink label saw nothing wrong in this unlikely combination. For those who would rather drop the chocolate from the drink, Lester’s Fixins has a regular bacon soda and a bacon soda with maple syrup. (Photo via Amazon)
Leninade: If you’re nostalgic for the USSR, this beverage made by The Beauty Box boasts a Kremlin-worthy red hue (to match its strawberry flavoring), but the real kookiness is the surplus number of Yakov Smirnoff-worthy one-liners on its label: “Get Hammered and Sickled!”, “A Taste Worth Standing in Line For!” and “Join the Party!” (Photo via Amazon)
Nitro Pepsi: PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) premiered this drink in February by promoting it as the world’s first nitrogen-infused soft drink. However, the company had a few tips on consuming the beverage: serve it cold but ideally without ice, pour it into a tall glass and sip directly from the glass rather than using a straw. The product, which is now in stores, comes in Draft Cola and Vanilla Draft Cola flavors. (Photo via PepsiCo)
Pepsi Maple Syrup Cola: This beverage, which was created in conjunction with Dine Brands Global, Inc.’s (NYSE:DIN) IHOP restaurant chain, was introduced last month in a brief social media promotion, with 2,000 winners gaining the product by using the tags #ShowUsYourStack, #PepsiSweepstakes and @IHOP on their Instagram and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) pages. Whether the beverage tastes good when poured on pancakes is not clear. (Photo via PepsiCo)
Photo: Simplyelke / Pixabay
