Talk:Vernors

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[edit] Change in Flavor?

I grew up in Michigan and left 1n 1978. I Found vernors at Winco in Idaho today. The taste is quite a bit different than I recall. It was bold and deliciously different, now it taste like cream soda. I imagine that the corn syrup, which is now in EVERYTHING, was not an original ingredient. I am betting they don't age it at all even though the can says "barrel aged 3 years". If that isn't a lie, than it isn't Oak barrels.

I remember the heavy carbonation used to tickle my nose. You had to let it breath if not mixing it with ice-cream. Not very carbonated any more, looses the fiz soon after opening. My can says; Manufactured by independant bottlers under the authority of Dr. Pepper/Seven up inc, Plano Tx. The Ingredients are Carbonated water, High fructose corn syrup, natural and artificial flavors, carmel color, citric acid, sodium bensozoate preservative.

I am sure that there has been a change, and I am opposed to it. It's like when they messed with coke. The new improvements are likely cost saving measures for higher profit. Maybe Plano Tx/ Dr Pepper, needs to take a trip to Detroit...if they still make it right up there. Jim Hackett

I used to drink this stuff in Buffalo, NY in the late 70s, as the ultimate cure for an upset stomach. There's no question it was THE most heavily carbonated beverage available anywhere; drinking it too fast was guaranteed to give the hiccups. It also had a bitter taste to it, almost like bitter lemon mix, I thought. Anyway I found some recently in the "retro soda" aisle of a mega-beverage store in SoCal, and was disappointed with both the lack of extreme fizz and the overly-sweet flavor. So, I agree, it tastes like a completely different soda to me. From the standpoint of Wikipedia, it would be good to find some citations to this effect and document it. I'm searching the web now in hopes there's some discussion on it somewhere. If not, then maybe we just have faulty memories. --Free-world 17:36, 11 April 2007 (UTC)
I always wondered about the wimpification of Vernor's myself. One day it really did taste "deliciously different," and the next it turned into just another soda. I think Wikipedia explains the reason for the change in flavor... one of the key ingredients, a natural low-calorie sweetener called Stevia (sweetleaf), was taken off the market due to pressure from the artificial sweetener industry, coupled with inconclusive studies about the safety of the product.
Stevia's still being sold in Japan, and can be purchased in the United States as a dietary supplement. This leads me to believe that the Monsanto Corporation (makers of Nutra-Sweet) were up to their usual dirty tricks and "persuaded" the United States to make Stevia illegal for food consumption. I strongly doubt that Nutra-Sweet is any LESS hazardous than Stevia... but when Monsanto's got millions of dollars to spend on lobbyists, that probably doesn't matter.
Anyway, to make a long story short, the reason Vernor's isn't as good as it used to be is because it's against the law to make it the right way. Stevia has a licorice-like bite that contributed to the flavor of the drink. Without it the beverage is no longer the same. --M.Neko 22:30, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
Yes, I noticed someone recently added the discussion on the controversy over Stevia, and this may indeed account for the overly-sweet flavor Vernors seems to have. I think that takes care of the need for an encyclopedic fact on our perception of it being a lesser drink.
But the carbonation seems to be ratcheted down, too--I certainly didn't get the nose-tickle that I remember. Vernors used to be rather dangerous, I thought, requiring great skill to drink without injury :) Now it's just another bottle of fizzy sugar. Not sure if this point is documentable, though. --Free-world 23:34, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
I never knew the drink before the change discussed here, but I can sense its potential. From the sound of it (licorice-like bite), stevia was a pretty zesty ingredient. Wish I could try some of the old-fashioned kind now. ~ Rollo44 23:43, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm not going to make any edits because I don't have any research or knowledge on the subject, but I'm sitting here drinking Vernors and I notice two things: 1) There's no apostrophe in Vernors on the can 2) The only motto on the can is "Barrel Aged, Bold Taste!™" "Deliciously Different" doesn't show up anywhere. Have these things changed since this article was written?

The apostrophe was dropped somewhere along the way. Thinking back I don't remember seeing it in the 80's, but that was a long time ago, so I might be wrong. I never drink the stuff now... too many bad memories of my mother giving to me when I was a kid and had the flu... The bottle slogan is still "Barrel Aged, Bold Taste!™", but to the best of my knowledge they've never abandoned "Deliciously Different" as a motto, it just doesn't appear on the bottles.--Isotope23 16:34, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

Then shouldn't this article be redirected to one called "Vernors", instead of "Vernor's", if the product/company no longer uses the apostrophe?

Just an observation which I did not feel was necessary to add to the article: I am going to college in Georgia and the local grocery store carries it. Delicious, by the way, but I couldn't find it on Wikipedia when I mistakenly tried to look up "Vernon's". Honestly, who's heard of anyone named "Vernor"?

                                                - Northerners apparently :)


I just bought a 6-pack in Huntsville, AL. Wouldn't that show this drink is more widespread than the article implies?

I remember my Grandmother telling me that it used to be VERY localized, you couldn't even get as far north as West branch. You can find it all over now.

Like Faygo, Vernor's is primarily found in Michigan but it is possible (although very uncommon) to find it in other states. Perhaps something along these lines should be added to the article.Bradkoch2007 21:59, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

While it may be true that it wasn't widely distributed, I remember drinking Vernor's in Los Angeles in the mid-1950's from large bottles....and it was fizzier and tastier than now...many California markets carry it nowadays.

[edit] Ginger Ale?

Is it really appropriate to call this a ginger ale? It doesn't call itself a ginger ale, and it differes from ginger ale in that it has vanilla, like creme soda. Its more of a ginger creme soda... and other sodas with ginger that arent traditional ginger ale are called by other names, ginger beer, etc. Jafafa Hots 09:32, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Notice the advertising image in the article which definitely calls it a ginger ale. It is a prime example of a traditional "golden" ginger ale as described in that article. It is definitely not a "dry" ginger ale though. Rmhermen 18:39, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
aha. next time I'll RTFA! Jafafa Hots 04:36, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
if you look on the can you can see its now labeled as "The Original Ginger Soda" not as Ginger Ale. Maybe this statement, "It is important to note that Vernors is not a Ginger Ale, it is in fact a Ginger Soda, there is a distinct difference in both the taste and brewing.", needs a citation from their website or something? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.68.52.174 (talk) 04:17, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Vernor's as a mixer?

I've found through experience that Vernor's mixes great with Crown Royal (at a ratio of about 1 part vernor's to 3.5-4 parts crown), but what else is it good with?

[edit] Michiganders?

The sentence "While Michiganders who grew up with it tend to like it, many other Americans are suspicious of it, as it doesn't taste like a "typical" ginger ale." is a bit narrow. While the drink is popular in Michigan I have noticed it sold across a much wider range of areas. Even in southern Ohio Vernor's is avaliable in most Wal-Marts, Drug Marts, gas stations, and at Krogers. Perhaps this sentence should redone to not specify Michiganders, and also redone with a wording more accurate than "suspicious". Perhaps "wary" is better? --Deepraine (talk) 00:50, 17 April 2008 (UTC)