At the end of a hot summer’s day in Namibia, there’s nothing like a cold beer. In my childhood days, however, there was nothing like a bottle of Canada Dry. Sitting outside in the shade of the farmhouse stoep, the cold drink was heaven-sent.
On a steamy day this month, childhood memories flooded back and Canada dry was there with the best of them. Even the bottle was appealing with its shape and texture, and to a young boy it resembled a lady in a dress. As a bonus, at the end of soccer matches we used to comb the area collecting empty bottles. We would pack them into a ‘Canada Dry’ wooden crate and return them to the shops to be reused, earning us some extra pocket money.
Like all good stories, Canada Dry had an interesting beginning in 1904 when Canadian pharmacist and chemist John J McLaughlin, owner of a sparkling water plant in Toronto, noticed syrupy ginger ales becoming a popular drink. He set about producing a less sweet version, calling it Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale, the ginger ale we are familiar with today.
McLaughlin had worked in a soda factory in Brooklyn, so was acquainted with soft drink recipes and production. In 1907, when his ginger ale was selected by the vice-regal household of the governor general of Canada, the original logo depicting a beaver above the map of Canada was replaced with a crown and shield.
He began shipping his ginger ale to New York and, soon after, when the drink became popular, opened a manufacturing plant in Manhattan. During Prohibition, it became a well-liked mixer that was added to the homemade liquors to help mask their harsh taste. Canada Dry expanded worldwide from the 1930s, eventually reaching Southern Africa - and Namibia. And from the 50s onwards, various other soft drinks were introduced. The ginger ale was often referred to as ‘the champagne of soda’ and was present on drink trays along with Canada Dry tonic water and club soda.
After McLaughlin’s death in 1914, his brother Samuel ran the company. In 1923 the business was bought from the family by PD Saylor and Associates, who formed Canada Dry Ginger Ale Inc. It changed hands over the years and is now owned by Keurig Dr Pepper.
In 2019 Canada Dry was involved in ‘false advertising’ lawsuits by US consumers, who thought that although the ingredients included a natural flavour ginger extract, the drink didn’t have enough of a ginger flavour. In a settlement the company stopped making this claim in the US and offered between US$5.20 and $40 to the affected consumers.
A class-action lawsuit was requested in Canada to contest the amount of real ginger in Canada Dry’s ginger ale. After an investigation, Canada Dry confirmed that its ginger ale uses real ginger extract from ginger root in a derivation called ginger oleoresin during which the flavour compound is drawn out and made into a concentrate. This was enough to satisfy the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) requirements and they continued to use the claim.
Today, a hundred years later, Canada Dry in cans and plastic bottles is still produced and available at selected stores worldwide, and new enticing flavours have been added. But, it is those cold bottles of Canada Dry enjoyed on the stoep in the exciting day of a child that stay warmly embedded in my memories.
(References: Canada Dry - Wikipedia; Ginger Ales, Seltzer Waters, Sodas | Canada Dry; Why Canada Dry's 'made from real ginger' claim isn't on U.S. cans | CBC News)
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