Cool Drinks

A soft drink is a beverage that does not contain alcohol. Carbonated soft drinks are commonly known as soda, soda pop, pop, coke or tonic in various parts of the United States, pop in Canada, fizzy drinks or fizz in the United Kingdom and Australia and sometimes minerals in Ireland. The name "soft drink" specifies a lack of alcohol by way of contrast to the term "hard drink". The term "drink", while nominally neutral, sometimes carries connotations of alcoholic content. Beverages like colas, flavored water, sparkling water, iced tea, sweet tea, lemonade, squash, and fruit punch are among the most common types of soft drinks, while hot chocolate, hot tea, coffee, milk, tap water, juice and milkshakes do not fall into this classification. Many carbonated soft drinks are optionally available in versions sweetened with sugars or with non-caloric sweeteners.

The earliest soft drinks were sherbets developed by Arabic chemists and originally served in the medieval Near East. These were juiced soft drinks made of crushed fruit, herbs, or flowers. The first marketed soft drinks (non-carbonated) in the Western world appeared in the 17th century. They were made from water and lemon juice sweetened with honey. In 1676, the Compagnie des Limonadiers of Paris was granted a monopoly for the sale of lemonade soft drinks. Vendors carried tanks of lemonade on their backs and dispensed cups of the soft drink to thirsty Parisians.

Artificial mineral waters, usually called "soda water," and the soda fountain made the biggest splash in the United States. Beginning in 1806, Yale chemistry professor Benjamin Silliman sold soda waters in New Haven, Connecticut. He used a Nooth apparatus to produce his waters. Businessmen in Philadelphia and New York City also began selling soda water in the early 1800s. In the 1830s, John Matthews of New York City and John Lippincott of Philadelphia began manufacturing soda fountains. Both men were successful and built large factories for fabricating fountains.

A float is created by dropping a scoop of ice cream into a soft drink. In the Midwestern United States, a soft drink with ice cream added is most often called an "ice cream soda," or soda, for short as they were made at soda fountains. In Australia and New Zealand, this is known as a "Spider." In Scotland (mainly the West Coast) it is usually referred to as a "float". For example; a "coke float". (Note: As elsewhere, 'coke' is often used generically to refer to any cola in Scotland, while 'soda' in Scotland is usually taken to mean 'soda water'). The most common of these is the root beer float. In Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, there is a regional variation: Cola (regardless of brand) and vanilla ice cream constitute a "coke afloat".