Congress May Pass "Guest Soda" Program for Mexican Coke
Some people say it tastes better because it has cane sugar instead of corn syrup, and others say it keeps its fizz better in the old school glass bottle. But either way, Coca Cola "hecho in Mexico" seems to be all the rage. I saw a random blog reference to it being available at the Wal Mart here in Napa, and today the SF Chronicle says it's being sold at Costco stores all over the Bay Area. It's news in Santa Cruz, too, and in San Diego:
"If there's a tiny amount of Coke from Mexico sold in the U.S., it's a pin drop compared to the ocean of American Coke sold by the U.S. bottlers," said John Sicher, editor of the New York-based industry publication Beverage Digest.A "pin drop compared to the ocean?" Is that some kind of special beverage industry language, or just a mixed metaphor?
Anyway, over at this site I learned some people say Italian Coke is better than the regular stuff, and I also learned that Coke with corn syrup is apparently not kosher so you can get Coke with cane sugar in the kosher section of the market, especially around Passover.
From my angle, corn schmorn. It's all about the bottle! No matter what the science might say, drinking stuff out of metal and plastic does not compare with glass. (Eating, too, probably - we're into this fancy yogurt that comes in a tiny little milk bottle, and damn it's definitely better than the usual yogurt.) And what about beer? Have you ever known a person who cares about the taste of their beer who doesn't prefer a bottle over a can? Sure, I'll drink beer out of a can in an emergency - if, for example, there is no other option available within arm's reach - but I'd really like a bottle, thank you.
And beyond taste, there's the psychology of it for those of us old enough to remember getting a cold bottle of pop after riding your bike to the gas station on a sweltering summer day. Or, for me, a bottle of Dr. Pepper at the laundromat when my mom brought me along to carry the baskets. It was always a hundred degrees inside that laundromat and that Dr. Pepper hit the spot. And let's not forget the OK Bar, where I would sit beside my dad while he had a bowl of PBR and when I asked for a Dr. Pepper I got a glass of ice and the cold bottle - best of both worlds - and I would sit there looking at the "10-2-4" logo on the bottle and wondering what the hell that was all about.
So obviously, sweeten it with corn, cane, honey, beets - won't matter if you put it in a glass bottle and shove it down in a bucket of ice.
And don't ruin the moment with a twist-off cap.
Comments
As for the friendly pepper-upper:
Under a Frequently Asked Questions head, an explanation is given by Dr Pepper for its 10-2-4 slogan. (Another explanation, one not give here, is that Dr Pepper once contained prune juice and the 10-2-4 times of the day helped to promote a natural "regularity.")
What does 10-2-4 mean?
Those well-known Dr Pepper numbers of 10, 2 and 4 weren’t selected at random. They represent the times of day when the human body needs a little “pick-me-up” to avoid an energy slump.
It was in the 1920s that Dr. Walter Eddy at Columbia University studied the body’s metabolism. He discovered that a natural drop in energy occurs about 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. But he also discovered that if the people in his research study had something to eat or drink at 10, 2 and 4, the energy slump could be avoided.
After Dr. Eddy’s research findings were released, Dr Pepper challenged its advertising agency to come up with a theme which would suggest that Dr Pepper should be that 10, 2 and 4 drink which would keep the energy level up. The result was one of the most enduring of Dr Pepper’s advertising themes: Drink a bite to eat at 10, 2 and 4.
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