Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks founded in 1904 and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple (now

Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1981–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts. Formed i ...

). For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

, though the company also manufactures a number of other soft drinks and mixers. Although Canada Dry originated in Canada, just as the brand name tells, it is now produced in many countries such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, Japan, and in a number of countries of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

Etymology

The "Dry" in the brand's name refers to not being sweet, as in a dry wine. When John J. McLaughlin, who first formulated "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale", originally made his new soft drink, it was far less sweet than other ginger ales then available; as a result, he labelled it "dry".

History

Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale Toronto Star ad 1916

In 1890, Canadian pharmacist and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

John J. McLaughlin of Enniskillen, Ontario, after working in a

soda Soda or SODA may refer to: Chemistry * Some chemical compounds containing sodium ** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash ** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda ** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda ** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide * Sod ...

factory in Brooklyn, New York,"The McLaughlins - Sleighs, Buggys, Cars and Ginger Ale". ''The Clarington Promoter'', September 2016, pages 1 and 4. by Myno Van Dyke opened a carbonated water plant in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. McLaughlin was the eldest son of Robert McLaughlin, founder of McLaughlin Carriage and McLaughlin Motor Car. In 1904, McLaughlin created "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale". Three years later, the drink was appointed to the Viceregal Household of the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

and the label featuring a beaver atop a map of Canada was replaced with the present crown and shield label. When McLaughlin began shipping his product to New York, it became so popular that he opened a plant in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

shortly thereafter. After McLaughlin's death in 1914, the company was run briefly by his brother,

Samuel McLaughlin Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, (September 8, 1871 – January 6, 1972) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evo ...

. P. D. Saylor and Associates bought the business from the McLaughlin family in 1923 and formed Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc., a public company. Canada Dry's popularity as a mixer began during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, when its flavor helped mask the taste of homemade liquor. In the 1930s, Canada Dry expanded worldwide. From the 1950s onward, the company introduced a larger number of products.

Norton Simon Norton Winfred Simon (February 5, 1907 – June 2, 1993) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was at one time one of the wealthiest men in America. At the time of his death, he had amassed a net worth of nearly US$10 billion. ...

took an interest in the company in 1964, and it merged with Simon's other holdings, the

McCall Corporation McCall Corporation was an American publishing company that produced some popular magazines. These included ''Redbook'' for women, ''Bluebook'' for men, ''McCall's'', the '' Saturday Review'', and ''Popular Mechanics''. It also published ''Better L ...

and Hunt Foods, to form Norton Simon Inc.

Dr Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. It was created in the 1880s by pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and first served around 1885. Dr Pepper was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is now also sold in Euro ...

bought Canada Dry from Norton Simon in 1982. In 1984, Dr Pepper was acquired by

Forstmann Little & Company Forstmann, Little & Company was a private equity firm, specializing in leveraged buyouts (LBOs). At its peak in the late 1990s, Forstmann Little was among the largest private equity firms globally. Ultimately, the firm would suffer from the burs ...

, and Canada Dry was sold to R. J. Reynolds'

Del Monte Foods Del Monte Foods, Inc (trading as Del Monte Foods) is an American food production and distribution company headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketer of br ...

unit to pay off acquisition debt. RJR Nabisco sold its soft drink business to

Cadbury Schweppes Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...

in 1986. Today, Canada Dry is owned by

, which was spun off from Cadbury Schweppes in 2008.

'Made from Real Ginger' lawsuits

In 2019, Canada Dry faced a false advertisement lawsuit from the U.S. Government. According to researchers, the drink did not have enough ginger for it to have health benefits and for the company to claim that it was "made from real ginger." Instead of defending their ginger content by going to court, they decided to settle by no longer making this claim. Dr Pepper decided to offer payment to those who purchased Canada Dry for personal use since 2013. After the settlement with the U.S. Government, a class-action lawsuit has also been requested in Canada. , Canada Dry still advertised their drinks as "made from real ginger" in Canada. The Supreme Court of British Columbia case was settled with the defendant Canada Dry Mott's Inc. agreeing to pay $200,000, inclusive of all expenses and fees, plus disbursements of $18,607.61, but it did not require the defendant to change its product labelling or advertising for products marketed in Canada. The settlement amount was to be distributed to the class members by way of cy-près donation to the Law Foundation of British Columbia, while two lead plaintiffs, Victor Cardoso and Lionel Ravvin, received $1,500 each. On August 9, 2022, Canada Dry announced a new logo on their Canadian Facebook page. As such, it is currently unknown if this logo will be used outside of Canada.

Products

* Canada Dry

Ginger Ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

Canada Dry Ginger Ale (rebranded in November 2020 as Canada Dry Zero Sugar) * Canada Dry Bold Ginger Ale * Canada Dry Ten * Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Lemonade * Diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Lemonade * Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Orangeade * Canada Dry

Club Soda Club soda is a manufactured form of carbonated water, commonly used as a drink mixer. Sodium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, or sodium citrate is artificially added to replicate constituents commonly fo ...

* Canada Dry

Tonic Water Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctive ...

with Quinine *

Canada Dry Tonic Water with Quinine * Canada Dry Bitter Lemon * Canada Dry Lime Ricky * Canada Dry Tahitian Treat (now just Tahitian Treat) * Canada Dry Hi-Spot Apple, Hi-Spot Orange, Hi-Spot Tutti (cherry and fruit punch) and Hi-Spot Lithiated Lemon * Canada Dry Golden Cockerel Ginger Beer * Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale * Canada Dry White Tea with Raspberry Ginger Ale * Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale * Diet Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale * Canada Dry Blackberry Ginger Ale * Canada Dry Blueberry Ginger Ale * Canada Dry Lemon Ginger Ale * Canada Dry Sparkling

Seltzer Water Carbonated water (also known as soda water, sparkling water, fizzy water, club soda, water with gas, in many places as mineral water, or especially in the United States as seltzer or seltzer water) is water containing dissolved carbon dioxide gas, ...

(unflavored and mineral free) * Canada Dry Flavored Sparkling Seltzer Water (Lemon Lime, Mandarin Orange, Raspberry, Triple Berry, Pomegranate Cherry, Peach Mango and Cranberry Lime; all available in low sodium and sodium free varieties) *

Sussex Golden Ginger Ale Sussex Golden Ginger Ale is a "golden" ginger ale originally bottled in the town of Sussex, New Brunswick, Canada. It is produced by Canada Dry Motts, a subsidiary of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. The beverage is retailed in Canada's Maritime P ...

* Sussex Pale Dry Ginger Ale * Sussex Red Oval Ginger Ale * Sussex Old English Ginger Beer * Sussex Cola * Cactus Cooler * Purple Passion * Canada Dry Lemon Soda * Canada Dry Lemon Lime Soda * Canada Dry Vanilla Cream Soda * Canada Dry Cocoa Cream Soda * Canada Dry Wild Cherry Soda * Canada Dry Black Cherry Soda * Canada Dry Sunripe Orange Soda * Canada Dry Mandarin Orange Soda * Canada Dry Concord Grape Soda * Canada Dry Grapefruit Soda * Canada Dry Spur Cola * Canada Dry Sport Cola (a caffeine-free cola introduced in 1968, then discontinued in the 1970s) * Canada Dry Jamaica Black Cola * Canada Dry Rooti Root Beer * Canada Dry Barrelhead Root Beer * Canada Dry

Wink A wink is a facial expression made by briefly closing one eye. A wink is an informal mode of non-verbal communication usually signaling shared hidden knowledge or intent. However, it is ambiguous by itself and highly dependent upon additional c ...

* Canada Dry Pink Wink * Canada Dry Collins Mixer * Canada Dry Tonic Water Mixer with Quinine * Canada Dry Hi-Grape

Brands with limited availability

Limited availability flavors are produced in

Pennsauken Township, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 37,074, reflecting an increase of 1,189 (+3.3%) from the 35,885 count ...

, by Pepsi-Cola/National Brand Beverages and are distributed in southern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

, southeastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, eastern

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and northern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. At one time, the flavors all had uniquely designed labels; but now all of them use the standard Canada Dry crest logo. Brands with limited availability in the United States include: * Canada Dry Pineapple * Canada Dry Peach * Black Cherry Wishniak * Island Lime * Wild Cherry * Vanilla Cream * Blackberry Ginger Ale * Cranberry Ginger Ale (nationwide; however, only sold during the Christmas season)

Locale-specific brands

Asia

* Canada Dry "Dry" Ginger Ale ( Japan) * Canada Dry "Wet" Ginger Ale (Japan)

The Middle East

* Canada Dry UAE Dubai * Canada Dry Dana * Canada Dry Qabuum (

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

) * Canada Dry

Orange Soda Orange soft drinks (called orange pop or orange soda in certain regions of the United States and Canada, orangeade in the UK, or the genericized trademark Orangina in France) are carbonated orange drinks. Non-carbonated orange drinks, i.e. the ...

(

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) * Canada Dry Cream Soda (the

)

South America

* Pink Grapefruit Canada Dry (

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

) * Canada Dry

Limón Limón (), commonly known as Puerto Limón, is a district, the capital city and main hub of Limón province, as well as of the Limón canton in Costa Rica. It is the seventh largest city in Costa Rica, with a population of over 55,000, and is ho ...

Soda (

)

North America

* Cranberry Ginger Ale (Canada during the Christmas season, although also available in the United States during the Christmas season) * Blackberry Ginger Ale (Canada, spring 2016; also sold in some U.S. stores as 20 oz. bottles, but not all stores that sell Canada Dry sell the Blackberry variant) * Canada Dry

Pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

(

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) * Canada Dry

Peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

(U.S.) * Black Cherry Wishniak (U.S.) * Island

Lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

(U.S.) * Wild Cherry (U.S.) * Vanilla Cream (U.S.)

Marketing

Nylon Studios produced the song used in the Rabbit's "Jack's Farm" commercial featuring Canada Dry Ginger Ale. A

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

version of the ad was also produced.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Robertson, Heather (1995). ''Driving Force: The McLaughlin Family and the Age of the Car''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart Ltd.

External links

Canada Dry
(Canada)
Canada Dry
(USA)
Canada Dry
(Japan) * * {{Ginger ales 1904 establishments in Ontario Products introduced in 1904 Canadian brands Canadian drinks Keurig Dr Pepper brands Ginger ale Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon Canadian cuisine Soft drinks manufacturers

Etymology

History

'Made from Real Ginger' lawsuits

Products

Brands with limited availability

Locale-specific brands

Asia

The Middle East

South America

North America

Marketing

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links