By Steve FlairtyNKyTribune columnist
It’s been called “the nectar of the gods,” but I was pretty much unaware of the Ale-8-One soft drink before I moved to Winchester and took my first teaching job in 1975.
And on mornings while I walked into my school and classroom carrying a cup of coffee, I recall some of my colleagues holding a bottle of Ale-8-One in their hands. I wondered if I might have to acquire a taste for it to be accepted in my new home community. Full disclosure, I never did acquire that taste for regular Ale-8s but do enjoy an occasional Zero Sugar one.
One thing is for sure. A genuine pride in Winchester holding claim as the drink’s home was obvious from the beginning, and I noticed that the drink’s increasing popularity pushed its appearance across the state and beyond. Ale-8-One was, and is, sent as a gift internationally, often to America’s military troops who miss the taste and memories engendered by the drink…