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There’s something almost mythical about regional sodas in 2026. While Coca-Cola and Pepsi dominate supermarket shelves coast to coast, the South holds tight to its fizzy secrets. These aren’t just soft drinks. They’re liquid nostalgia, bottled identity, and traditions handed down through generations. The Southern soda phenomenon is different from anywhere else in America. These beverages tell stories of local pride, family recipes guarded like state secrets, and flavors so distinctive they become part of the regional vocabulary. Let’s explore the sodas that Southerners swear by but the rest of the country rarely gets to taste.
Cheerwine: North Carolina’s Cherry Treasure
Cheerwine is a cherry-flavored soft drink by Carolina Beverage Corporation of Salisbury, North Carolina, produced since 1917 and claiming to be the oldest continuing soft drink company still operated by the same family. L.D. Peeler created Cheerwine in 1917 in Salisbury, North Carolina amid a sugar shortage, and his drive to start his own soft drink led him to a salesman from St. Louis who sold him a wild cherry flavor that blended well with other flavors. The name might confuse first-timers since there’s zero alcohol involved, just pure cherry soda magic…