Canada Dry Ginger Ale Prices

The Canada Dry Ginger Ale is a brand of soft drinks now currently owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group, an American corporation, since 2008. The company, Canada Dry, itself is best known for its ginger ale soft drink although there are also several other types of soft drinks and mixers in its product range.

The ginger ale soft drink itself is available in several countries including Canada, its country of origin, as the United States, Mexico, and Japan as well as in the Middle East and Europe.

Below are the latest Canada Dry Ginger Ale prices.

Overview

John J. McLaughlin, a Canadian pharmacist and chemist, opened his own carbonated water plant in 1890 in Toronto. He has entrepreneurial blood, so to speak, in him due to his early exposure to business via his parents’ businesses, McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car.

By 1904, he created the drink that will put his company on the soft drinks industry radar – the Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale. Such was its popularity that it was accepted by appointment to the Viceregal Household of the Governor General of Canada just three years later! The label first featured a map of Canada with a beaver on top but it was soon replaced by the current label, the Crown and shield.

Drink Overview

Today, there are two available versions of Canada Dry’s version of the ginger ale, namely, Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale.  The “dry” term in the brand doesn’t refer to its mouth-feel but instead to its non-sweet quality, a term borrowed from the wine industry (i.e., dry wine). The reduced sweetness attracted customers because the drink provided a refreshing and energizing feeling without the sugar and caffeine rush.

Ginger ale, by the way, is a carbonated soft drink with a ginger flavoring.  John McLaughlin created the dry or pale style, which was characterized by a milder ginger flavor and paler color. Thomas Cantrell, an American doctor, is generally regarded as the creator of the golden style, which has a stronger ginger flavor and darker color than its Canadian-made counterpart.

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The ginger flavor isn’t just ginger, too. There’s a complex mix of fruits like lemon and lime, spices, and natural flavors as well as natural sweeteners like cane sugar and honey in the flavoring ingredient. The Canada Dry Ginger Ale’s specific formulation is understandably a trade secret.

The original Canada Dry Ginger Ale also comes in a few variations. There’s the green tea version, which the ginger ale mixed with green tea flavors for an added kick, and the hot ginger ale available in Japan, which has the same carbonation as the original albeit it’s a heated version.

This soft drink can be consumed on its own. But there are also other uses for it, such as mixing it with other drinks like beers, wines, and hard liquors creating punch and cocktails.  Many people also serve it as a cheaper yet still satisfying substitute to beer and champagne mainly because of their similar appearances.

Interesting Trivia

John McLaughlin initially added flavor extracts to carbonated water as part of his experimentation. While he created Pale Dry Ginger Ale in 1904, it wasn’t until 1907 when he received its patent as Canada Dry Ginger Ale. As soon as it was launched, it became an instant success in Canada!

He had to develop innovative mass bottling techniques to meet the demand, too. He also served the drink whenever there were private and public gatherings, thus, promoting it to an ever-wider audience.  He was then instrumental in making dry ginger ale among the bestselling drinks in the international food and beverage market, as well as a staple product in bars, restaurants, and airlines.

In contrast, golden ginger ale has a more regional feel to it. The sweeter taste may have something to do with its less pervasive presence in homes, offices, and schools.

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Did you know that the Prohibition in the United States was also instrumental in the nearly meteoric rise to popularity of Canada Dry Ginger Ale? The mild ginger flavor helped in masking the taste of home-brewed liquor, which were prohibited for production and consumption at the time. The soft drink also added a layer of flavor to the liquor so much so that it made even the worst taste better.

Many recipes are available about mixing Canada Dry Ginger Ale with other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.  The mild ginger flavor coupled with the carbonation makes it ideal for kid-friendly punch and for adults-only mocktails and cocktails.

The Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale, the green tea-flavored version, was awarded the Grand Prix New Product Award for its excellence in originality, quality, and packaging.  This isn’t surprising as the spicy kick of ginger combined with the soothing feel of green tea may sound contradictory but the resulting drink is refreshing on a hot summer or spring day, even during the colder days of winter and autumn.