Big Red (drink)

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12 fl oz bottle of Big Red
12 fl oz bottle of Big Red

Big Red is a soft drink that was created by Grover C. Thomsen and R.H. Roark in Waco, Texas (1937)[1]. Originally, it was known as "Sun Tang Red Cream Soda." It is generally considered to be one of many American varieties of cream soda, and is the original "red cream soda". The name was changed to "Big Red" in the late 1950s by Harold Jansing, then president of the San Antonio bottling plant after hearing a golf caddy refer to the soda by that name[2]. Until the late seventies it was marketed exclusively in Central and South Texas and around Louisville, Kentucky.[1] The drink is highly popular in the Southern United States and is well known for its unique taste and red color[3]. Its unique taste, though often thought to be bubble gum is created by mixing orange and lemon oils with the traditional vanilla used in other cream sodas[1]. It is produced and distributed by various independent soft drink bottlers including Cadbury Schweppes Bottling Group, CCE, and Pepsi Bottling Group under license from Big Red, Inc., based in Waco, Texas. Several other red drinks have tried to gain market such as Mountain Dew's Code Red but have frequently failed to gain the same popularity as Big Red.

Big Red was the sixth-highest selling soft drink brand in the United States in 2002, 2003, and 2004, after Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Mountain Dew, and Sprite[4][2]. As the preeminent red creme soda in the southwest, it is a staple of many Juneteenth celebrations[5][6].

In 2007, Big Red, Ltd was purchased by Gary Smith with the backing from Citigroup Venture Capital and Goldman Sachs. Gary Smith now serves as the Chairman & CEO of Big Red and All Sport, Inc.

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[edit] Fame and Popularity

Big Red is distributed in 43 states and in Tahiti[7]. With cigarettes, it is purportedly one of John Cougar Mellencamp's two vices, a favorite of Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joe Tex sang about it in his "Men Are Gettin' Scarce" song[1]. NBA star Karl Malone is also a fan of the soda, having grown up on it in Louisiana[7]. Singer Doug Sahm posed with a bottle of Big Red on the cover of the Sir Douglas Quintet's album "The Return of Doug Saldaña"[7]. It appears in the 2007 film Death Proof, where Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character Lee is seen drinking it and the drink is later seen in a gas station convenience store.

[edit] Ingredients

INGREDIENTS: Carbonated water, High fructose corn syrup, natural and artificial flavor, red #40, Citric acid, and Caffeine[8].

[edit] Flavors

  • Big Red
  • Diet Big Red
  • Caffeine Free Diet Big Red
  • Big Red Vanilla Float
  • Sugar Free Big Red Vanilla Float
  • Big Peach
  • Big Pineapple

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Patoski, Joe Nick. "Big Red", Texas Monthly, 1989. Accessed February 14, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Todd, Heather. "Seeing Red". Beverage World, September 15, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2008
  3. ^ "Texas Food - Best of the Best", Lonely Planet Blue List, February 26, 2006. Accessed February 14, 2008
  4. ^ Food and Drink Europe, February 25, 2003. "Coke Stretches Lead Over Pepsi"
  5. ^ Bates, Karen Grigsby. "Red Sodas Are a Mainstay at Texas Celebrations". National Public Radio, Day to Day, June 19, 2007. Accessed February 14, 2008
  6. ^ Moskin, Julia. "Late to Freedom's Party". New York Times, June 18, 2004. Accessed February 14, 2008
  7. ^ a b c Patoski, Joe Nick. "Big Red Web Extra", TexasMonthly.com, March 1, 2002. Accessed February 14, 2008
  8. ^ DietFacts.com: Big Red Soda

[edit] External links