Local Soda

A few years ago I learned about a local soda pop. It’s famous in Clinton County, Illinois–only a few short miles east of my hometown, but far enough away that I’d made it 30-plus years on this planet without ever hearing about it. Next thing you know, I’m seeing the stuff everywhere. In Clinton County, soda machines always have Ski. It’s a thing there. Really. Like Coke or Pepsi, but Ski.

Apparently Ski is famous for being made with real lemon juice and real orange juice. It kinda tastes like Sprite or 7up. Somebody will probably yell at me for that blasphemy. But if you wanted a Sprite and I gave you a Ski, and you’re not an insane soda nut, you’d probably be okay with it.

I just did a bit of research and found that the Double Cola company makes Ski, and they’re based in Tennessee. But one of its bottlers, the Excel Bottling Company, is in Breese, Illinois. That probably explains the local connection.

So if you live in select areas of Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee or Florida, you should keep an eye out for Ski. If you live west of the Mississippi, you now have one more reason to move.

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