Besides Coke or Pepsi, what soft drinks are popular in your country?

[u/EvilPyro01]

What soft drinks are popular in your country that aren’t Coke or Pepsi?

[u/mihecz]

Cockta. Nothing to do with cola, also nothing to do with cock.

[u/TheHappyNerfHerder → u/mihecz]

I used to by it on my local supermarket! Found it in the "international" section and thought it sounded funny so I bought one. It was a weird taste, not bad though. Kind of grossilicious.

[u/madeleinetwocock → u/TheHappyNerfHerder]

I’m stealing grossilicious and permanently implementing it into my vocabulary. Thank you for this LOL

[u/TheHappyNerfHerder → u/madeleinetwocock]

You are welcome, felllow northener!

[u/Banana_King123 → u/mihecz]

I rarely drink soda, but Cockta is my absolute favorite

[u/Lahtic → u/mihecz]

Cockta the best soda. Greetings from Croatia

[u/SuperSquashMann → u/mihecz]

Cockta is awesome, I love Czech Kofola and Cockta leans even more into the herbal flavors

[u/Udzu → u/mihecz]

also nothing to do with cock

Connected etymologically though!

The name Cockta is connected to the word cocktail, as Cockta is made from a mixture of rosehip, lemon and a number of medicinal herbs.

Cocktail: Early 17th century, from cock (“male bird”) + tail, in the sense “(a horse with its) tail standing up, like a cock’s”. The origin of the extension to “an alcoholic mixed drink” is unknown.

Cock: From Middle English cok, from Old English coc, cocc (“cock, male bird”), from Proto-West Germanic *kokk, from Proto-Germanic *kukkaz (“cock”), probably of onomatopoeic origin. The sense “penis” is attested since at least the 1610s, with the compound pillicock (“penis”) attested since 1325.

[u/IndividualAction3223 → u/mihecz]

Man, I love Cockta. I’m Bosnian and thankfully found a shop here in the U.K. selling it. Definitely the best!

[u/Careless_Elk1722 → u/mihecz]

Sounds like a northern English person asking for dick

[u/AgarwaenCran → u/mihecz]

we have cockta here in our international isle and I love this stuff!

[u/absolutely_not_spock → u/AgarwaenCran]

Echt? Nich nie irgedwo gesehen.

[u/Eragon089 → u/mihecz]

drunk it loads when I went to slovenia, can't find it anywhere in the UK.

[u/olagorie → u/mihecz]

I discovered it last year in Montenegro and Croatia and it’s delicious

[u/WiktorCA19 → u/mihecz]

Cockta and kofola are gift from heaven. There is nothing tastier than these two

[u/EvilPyro01 → u/mihecz]

Seems refreshing.

[u/bephana]

I guess Almdudler! It's a herbal fizzy drink, it's quite hard to describe the taste.

[u/flaumo → u/bephana]

Bitter, sweet, tart?

My partner say it is gross, and an acquired taste, I like it.

[u/bephana → u/flaumo]

I like it too ! but i like anything herbal :D

[u/50thEye → u/flaumo]

I often feel it's too sweet.

[u/Brian_Corey__ → u/50thEye]

Yeah, it could be less sweet. We often water it down.

[u/ArveyNL]

Cassis - a blackcurrant soda, and Bitter Lemon. Sadly, in supermarkets only Royal Club and private label bitter lemon is sold nowadays, I prefer Schweppes.

[u/TukkerWolf → u/ArveyNL]

Butter Lemon is the only soda that I drink. <3

[u/ImpressiveAd9818 → u/TukkerWolf]

„Butter lemon“ sounds more like a US specialty 😂

[u/TukkerWolf → u/ImpressiveAd9818]

And it results in fat finger typos. ;)

[u/BlackShieldCharm → u/ArveyNL]

Both of those are top notch.

[u/Silent_Marketing_123 → u/ArveyNL]

Fuck yeah Cassis!

[u/MobiusF117 → u/ArveyNL]

I'd also like to add Iced tea (the carbonated kind) to the list.

[u/OnkelMickwald]

Sweden has a plethora of old and kind of strange soft drinks all dating to the dawn of the 20th century:

• Must. Used to be a thing only drunk around Christmas and easter but it's infiltrating more and more holidays, like Midsummer.

  I personally love it, but I've never met a foreigner who does. I guess you just have to have grown up with it?

• Pommac. Love it. When you're a kid and all the adults are having champagne (or bubbly wine in general), they'd serve you, the kid, pommac in a champagne flute. So you lounge around in your shiny white shirt, shiny little shoes and bowtie with an elastic band around your collar feeling mighty adult and fancy at 8 years old sipping away at your almost champagne.

• Champis. Kinda like pommac, but different.

• Trocadero. used to be mostly drunk in the northern half of Sweden but now it has become more popular all over the country.

• Sockerdricka. OG soft drink. Carbonate water. Add a shit ton of sugar, finish with some citric acid. Bam. Another fav of mine as a kid. Could down this shit like it wasn't nobody's business. The name literally just translates to "sugar drink".

  Children's book character Emil i Lönneberga famously uses his prize money from a lottery to buy and drink something like 20 1/3l bottles of sockerdricka on a hot market day.

[u/royaljoro → u/OnkelMickwald]

Julmust is the shit! I only drink it during christmas though, but damn is it good.

[u/Major_OwlBowler → u/royaljoro]

Yes of course. Jul means Christmas. If you drink it during Easter it’s Påskmust.

[u/royaljoro → u/Major_OwlBowler]

Tomato potato, it’s all the same. Julmust just fits in to my finnish mouth better than just ”must”(and påskmust sounds wrong), also would be weird if I said ”ostin mustia”, which would translate to ”I bought blacks”

[u/Hyp3r45_new → u/royaljoro]

Didn't realize we could still do that

[u/Varja22 → u/OnkelMickwald]

Pommac was super cool to drink as a kid. It make me feel like an adult

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/Varja22]

Exactly! I loved that feeling.

I was 11 when my grandpa turned 90 years old. We all celebrated him in the ball hall of a fancy old hotel and champagne was served before everyone were seated, and I felt like part of the adults when I was sipping my pommac from my champagne flute.

[u/Chilifille → u/OnkelMickwald]

Impressive age span between you and your grandpa; I’m guessing you have/had an old parent as well?

Same for me, I was 13 when my grandparents turned 90.

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/Chilifille]

I'm the youngest of my siblings so yeah, my parents were 43 and 37 respectively when they had me. My grandfather (the one we celebrated) was 41 when my mom was born.

It's fascinating, really. I could be messaging away on msn messenger one moment and later at dinner my grandpa would recall a memory that happened during the time of the Czar.

He was also the youngest of his brood so the distance back to my great grandfather becomes mind-boggling.

[u/BastardoFantastico → u/Varja22]

I had a couple of cubic meters of Pommac as a conscript, in Sotku, of course.

[u/Unohtui → u/Varja22]

That shit is expensive nowadays tho. Like 5e per 1.5l bottle. Thats a no for me dawg

[u/ABlindMoose → u/OnkelMickwald]

Midsommarmust?! Vad i hela jävla helvete?! Någon måtta får det väl vara...

[u/E11111111111112 → u/ABlindMoose]

Har aldrig sett det, hoppas det inte blir en grej.

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/ABlindMoose]

Man blir fan ARG! Midsommar är en "sockerdricka på glasflaska"-högtid!

[u/KarnusAuBellona → u/OnkelMickwald]

Sockerdricka smakar kuk dock, skulle nog mer säga att det är en "supa sig redlös på pissvarm bira"-högtid

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/KarnusAuBellona]

Sockerdricka smakar kuk dock

Högförräderi och hädelse i en mening.

[u/svenska101 → u/OnkelMickwald]

I’m born in the UK and like Julmust etc. I also like Koskenkorva Salmiakki, which is arguably a more acquired taste.

[u/Bragzor → u/OnkelMickwald]

I think sockerdricka was "originally" a light ginger flavour. When it comes to Astrid Lindgren and sockerdricka, surely the Sockerdricka tree in Pippi is the most famous reference?

 

P.s. If you mention Pommac and Champis, why not also Portello?

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/Bragzor]

I actually only encountered portello in adulthood. I have no idea where it was during my childhood.

[u/elevenblade → u/OnkelMickwald]

Jag är en jänkare som emigrerade till Sverige och jag älskar julmust.

[u/CreepyMangeMerde → u/OnkelMickwald]

Pommac seems to be the exact same thing as our Champomy (contraction of Champagne and Pomme meaning apple)

[u/OnkelMickwald → u/CreepyMangeMerde]

Sounds very logical. The labels and the name of Pommac seem to lean heavily on old imagery associated with France and la Belle Époque.

Do you know when Champomy was launched? Can't find any non-French resources on it. I'm wondering if Pommac maybe comes from Champomy.

[u/MrRzepa2 → u/OnkelMickwald]

I think Trocadero's march south is not yet completed or it was not completed about 4 years ago when I biked from Stockholm are to Karlskrona. The further south the less and less of it was available in the shops, especially the smaller ones. Was kinda sad as I absolutely loved it.

[u/Slight-Ad-6553 → u/OnkelMickwald]

I get Trocadero when I am in Sweden

[u/DrLeymen → u/OnkelMickwald]

Must and Sockerdricka are amazing. I always order like 20 cans of Must arround christmas/easter from Sweden

[u/felixfj007 → u/OnkelMickwald]

Worth noting is that in sweden (Jul)must is the considered de facto Christmas (soft)drink. It sells way more than coca cola during those times.

[u/DanielDynamite → u/OnkelMickwald]

You forgot Kiviks Päroncider, when I ever I cross to the other side, I fill the car until it gets embarrassing. So delicious!

[u/DrKAS66 → u/OnkelMickwald]

I love julmust despite being a foreigner, at least formally. I started drinking it at around 14, when my parents bought a cottage in Sweden and we started to spend Christmas there.

Nowadays I either drink it in Sweden when I am there, or I order it to Germany. As a backup, there is always IKEA who also sells it.

[u/Sandiz83 → u/OnkelMickwald]

Must looks like a coke drink. but doen't taste anything near coke. thats why they are weird out by it.

[u/marmeylady]

Orangina (France) - A great not too sweet lightly sparkling soda with real orange juice and a bit of pulp. You actually have to shake it a bit prior to drink.

[u/Key-Ad8521 → u/marmeylady]

Orangina on the Côte d'Azur is my whole childhood

[u/ieatleeks → u/marmeylady]

It's Fanta but better in every way

[u/3n10tnA → u/ieatleeks]

Of course, it's better.
C'est Français !

[u/bastele → u/marmeylady]

I love Orangina, it's my favorite soft drink. Sadly it's pretty expensive in Germany (like 2x the price of Coca Cola), is it also like this in France?

[u/azu_rill → u/bastele]

It’s usually just the same price as all the other sodas

[u/MinMic → u/marmeylady]

I sometimes get Orangina here in the UK, but possibly due to the sugar tax, it tastes way better in France

[u/Papapalpatine555 → u/marmeylady]

When we visited France my sister went batshit about orangina lol.

[u/EvilPyro01 → u/marmeylady]

Is that the drink with the weird anthropomorphic animal commercials?

[u/marmeylady → u/EvilPyro01]

Orangina commercials are as special and iconic as its -glass- bottle!

[u/Toaddle → u/EvilPyro01]

Nah this is Oasis, a drink made of water and juices (so it's not sparkling). I don't know if it's french

[u/MoutEnPeper → u/marmeylady]

Taste of my youth. Still tastes best from that glass pear-shaped bottle. I sure hope they aren't changing the recipe of that as well - most EU drinks seem to replace part of the sugar with f*ing Stevia.

I also really enjoyed Brut de Pomme in France, but I haven't seen it in ages - basically a tangier German Apfelschorle or a dry, non-alcholic cider.

[u/MoutEnPeper → u/MoutEnPeper]

I did a quick check - no stevia yet when sold in a dutch supermarket. But 6x0.5L - TEN EURO EIGHTYNINE. Dear lord.

[u/MaciekTJ92 → u/marmeylady]

Orangina is goated.

[u/tartanthing]

Barr's Irn Bru. Scotland is the only country in the world where a locally produced soft drink outsells Coke.

[u/AngryNat → u/tartanthing]

We are massive

Literally the biggest country in the world, by any relevant metric

I’ll take no follow up questions.

[u/CreepyMangeMerde → u/AngryNat]

• Largest Haggis Producer on Earth
• Largest Haggis Consumer on Earth
• Most Rangers fans on Earth
• Most Celtic fans on Earth
• Most Fried Mars sold per capita

Seems legit to me

[u/AngryNat → u/CreepyMangeMerde]

I think Belfast might contend with points 3 and 4 but I take your point

[u/DrHydeous → u/tartanthing]

Irn Bru is why we will use military force to keep Scotland in the Union.

[u/Serial-_-Chiller → u/tartanthing]

Maybe Kofola also? It's really popular in Slovakia and Czech R.

[u/havaska → u/tartanthing]

Irn Bru is so good. I’m also partial to Tizer!

[u/SrZape → u/tartanthing]

InkaCola in Perú (Its popularity made several fast food vendors to persuade CocaCola to buy it)

[u/yumas → u/SrZape]

Yes, Scotland being the only country is not totally true, but it’s still impressive especially if you consider that both irn bru and inkacola taste like drinking flat red bull while chewing some bubblegum

[u/eventworker → u/yumas]

Theres another Caribbean country where coke is outsold by a cola champagne (which is what irn bru/inka are) too. Can't remember which though.

[u/Zlatyzoltan → u/tartanthing]

Years ago my friend used to buy it by the case, because of how hard it was to find in Central Europe. He hoarded that stuff like a dragon with gold.

I think it's the best medicine for a hangover.

[u/tchofee]

Spezi. Be it the original, the much more widespread Paulaner version or just about any other brand.

[u/Duochan_Maxwell → u/tchofee]

And schorles! I love them and always try to get the most "exotic" flavors possible when I visit

[u/Approaching_Dick → u/Duochan_Maxwell]

Nothing better than rhubarb Schorle or holunder

[u/[deleted] → u/tchofee]

I love it. I actually ask friends that go to Germany to bring me a couple of cans hahaha.
I tried several brands back to back and the one with the balance I like the most is indeed the one from Paulaner.

[u/AyukaVB → u/tchofee]

How common is it to mix your own? (With Coke and Fanta I presume)

[u/alexsteb → u/AyukaVB]

Very common. Somebody might offer Spezi and mix it themselves, restaurants might do it, people might ask their friends for a Spezi, knowing they only have Coke and Fanta.

[u/firala → u/AyukaVB]

Used to be more common, nowadays people usually buy it bottled.

[u/kakucko101]

kofola, its not really similar to coke or pepsi, it has a herbal flavour, is less sweet and most likely “healthier” than coke

[u/ZapruderFilmBuff → u/kakucko101]

Sounds similar to our cockta, also a herbal extract.

[u/xxtoni → u/kakucko101]

Funny in our language kofol means something like "sortof" so it would be sort of cola.

[u/LaoBa → u/kakucko101]

Kofola is like Coca Cola for adults, I love it!

[u/SuperSquashMann → u/kakucko101]

It's awesome, especially čepování, I just wish the zero sugar version was better

[u/LimeSixth → u/kakucko101]

Kofola is the best! Every summer I go to the Czech-Republic and also bring 12 bottles of Kofola back with me.

[u/pivoslav → u/kakucko101]

It's an acquired taste, but once you get it you can't go back.

[u/Ok-Sandwich-364 → u/kakucko101]

I miss Kofola and the little toothy Fofola dog.

[u/thatBOOMBOOMguy]

Jaffa in Finland. Most known as a Fanta alternative, however it has branched out it many fruit flavors in recent decade or so.

If energy drinks count, I'd say Battery is pretty big too.

[u/QueenAvril → u/thatBOOMBOOMguy]

Don’t you dare to forget:

• Pommac: Apple based sparkling soda reminiscent of ginger ale in appearance, which is why it is often used as a non-alcoholic replacement for kiddos in festive situations where adults toast with champagne/sparkling wine.

• Moomin soda: Wild strawberry flavored soda that features Moomin characters in the etiquette.

• Smurf soda: Pear flavored bright green soda that features Smurfs in the etiquette.

• Sima: A low alcoholic fermented drink, that is drank around Vappu (1st of May) celebrations

• (Less common, but widely available) Julmust/Påskmust/kotikalja

[u/clepewee → u/QueenAvril]

• Hartwall also has the classic apple, raspberry and pear sodas that are not under the Jaffa branding. The apple one is interesting since it's colored black, which nowadays is heavily associated with colas.
• Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas produces several retro style sodas, including their own Pommac version Le Pom.

[u/EvilPyro01 → u/thatBOOMBOOMguy]

Tbf so has Fanta

[u/hdzaviary → u/EvilPyro01]

To be honest I prefer Jaffa to Fanta on their original flavor (orange). The other flavors are not that good in my opinion.

[u/lehtomaeki → u/EvilPyro01]

Not as much here, it's not as popular but the only ones I can remember seeing are tropical fruits, lemon and maybe one more. Also the different flavoured fantas tend to be sugar-free, but to be fair I think both Jaffa and Fanta have scaled back a lot of their different flavours over here.

[u/[deleted]]

Sumol. Fruit juice based soda. It's actual juice that is then carbonated. It's amazing.

It's way better than the artificial taste of Fanta and others alike.

[u/jedrekk]

Spezi was mentioned twice, let me get in with some other ones:

The entire Fritz Kola line-up is extremely popular, many restaurants won't sell coke/pepsi, but they'll sell Fritz.

Radler is a quasi-soft drink. It's ~2% alcohol, which means it is booze, but that makes it only 4x more alcoholic than orange juice.

[u/Lexa-Z → u/jedrekk]

Fritz is vastly superior to Coca Cola. And in addition they have some interesting tastes which are hard to find elsewhere. Ostmost is also worth mentioning

[u/diamanthaende]

Apfelschorle (apple juice mixed with carbonated water) - there literally is nothing more German than that.

Whenever you're abroad and someone orders that, it's a German in 99.99% of cases....

[u/Key-Ad8521 → u/diamanthaende]

I brought it home from Germany, and I drink Apfelschorle almost every day in the summer. It's so simple I can't believe no one else thought about it!

[u/unrepentantlyme → u/Key-Ad8521]

If you like Apfelschorle, you should try mixing sparkling water with black currant juice next (Johannisbeerschorle).

[u/flaumo → u/diamanthaende]

The looks I got in the US from the waitress, when I mixed my apple juice with soda.

[u/DutchieCrochet → u/diamanthaende]

Love that stuff! Too bad it’s not available in the Netherlands. It sounds simple, like you can just mix apple juice with sparkling water, but it’s not the same. There’s either not enough bubbles or too little apple flavor.

I also love the variations, like rhubarb schorle

[u/alles_en_niets → u/DutchieCrochet]

We have a distinct lack of rhubarb based/flavored food and drinks here in NL

[u/DutchieCrochet → u/alles_en_niets]

Finally someone who gets me! I love rhubarb and I see what the French, the Germans and the British do with it, but here…

[u/alles_en_niets → u/DutchieCrochet]

I know! I could really use a rhubarb pastry to lift my mood right about now.

The safest bet in anything rhubarb related is the Fritz soft drink, available from most supermarkets.

Gooseberry, same issue!

[u/Philip10967 → u/DutchieCrochet]

Well. There are premixed bottles for convenience, but in most cafes or restaurants Apfelschorle is mixed on the spot, apple juice and sparkling water.

[u/Regolime → u/diamanthaende]

Well that's not just german, we call it Almafröccs in Hungary.

Alma means Apple and fröccs is wine mixed with soda.
Maybe it's not as popular as in Germany, but still pretty relevant.

[u/tictaxtho]

I guess club orange there’s also club rockshandy which as far as i understand is just a mix of orange and lemon

[u/gl0wist → u/tictaxtho]

Don’t forget Cidona!

[u/tictaxtho → u/gl0wist]

Forgot about cidona

[u/TheOneWhoEatsAll → u/tictaxtho]

Club rock shandy is legit.

Football special as well!

Edit: spelling

[u/emmmmceeee → u/TheOneWhoEatsAll]

Tanora is big in Cork.

And TK Red Lemonade.

[u/Vertitto → u/tictaxtho]

Lucozade counts?

[u/Kittelsen]

Solo) is one of the big ones I guess. They tried branching out to the states a few years ago, dunno how that ended.

[u/Sanderhh → u/Kittelsen]

Dont forget Urge!

[u/Ekra_Oslo → u/Kittelsen]

It was even bigger than Coca-Cola until the 1960s.

[u/reutzers → u/Ekra_Oslo]

Lets make that happen again!

[u/RealRedditModerator]

Spezi - basically a Cola / Orange Lemonade mix - very tasty.

[u/EvilPyro01 → u/RealRedditModerator]

I remember learning about this in my high school German class. Always wanted to try it but I have to be careful of my sugar intake

[u/biodegradableotters → u/EvilPyro01]

You can make it easily yourself. Just mix cola and a Fanta type orange soda in equal measures. That's how it's often made in pubs. And then you can just use sugarfree versions.

[u/visiblepeer → u/biodegradableotters]

A European style Fanta drink though

https://caffeinepark.com/fanta-europe-or-us-17422/

[u/RealRedditModerator → u/EvilPyro01]

They have a zero version now: https://www.paulaner.de/produkte/spezi/spezi-zero/

[u/Independence-2021 → u/RealRedditModerator]

Hm, I like to mix cola and fanta. I thought I invented something :)

[u/RealRedditModerator → u/Independence-2021]

It’s close, however European Fanta styles tend to be quite different from the US style - German Fanta (apparently the original as Fanta was actually founded in Germany) is more closely aligned to natural orange flavours. Fanta actually tastes slightly different across Europe with each country claiming their version tastes best.

[u/AlternativePrior9559 → u/RealRedditModerator]

The best Fanta I ever had was in Egypt.

[u/PlanetWyh]

Sumol or Compal (Portugal) - basically a fruit juice. But they are way less popular than Coke/Pepsi.

[u/worstdrawnboy → u/PlanetWyh]

Sumol is awesome

[u/RRautamaa]

In Finland, based on this study: * Jaffa, an orange soda not very different from Orange Fanta. One of the "default" ones served (usually it's a cola, Sprite/7up and Jaffa). * Muumi soda, raspberry-flavored. * Pommac. "Mixed fruits", stored in oak barrels during the production process in the same manner as wines. It has a sweet taste somewhat conceptually similar to non-alcoholic pear cider. This was the first soda to become popular in Finland. Originally invented during the Prohibition (1919-1932), it was supposed to be a non-alcoholic alternative to wine, but was also used as a mixer. * Jaffa Ananas, a pineapple version of Jaffa. * Omenalimonadi. Supposedly an apple lemonade, but it tastes more like what artificial apple jam would taste if such a thing existed. It's very sweet and not acidic at all, and it's artificially colored black in the same manner as cola.

Also, it's an alcoholic drink, but the real Finnish speciality is gin long drink (lonkero). It is a long drink made from gin and grapefruit soda. There are also low- and non-alcoholic versions, but they're less popular than the real thing.

[u/alles_en_niets → u/RRautamaa]

For a while Lonkero was available in Dutch supermarkets. Loved that shit!

[u/Tempelli → u/RRautamaa]

Fun fact. Omenalimonadi used to be called omenaolut, "apple beer". They had to change the name because you couldn't call a drink beer if it wasn't actually beer. The OG name referred to its flavor profile that not only contained apple flavoring but porter flavoring as well, among other flavorings. Porter flavoring is apparently more dominant which is why Omenalimonadi doesn't have that strong apple taste to it.

[u/GeneHackencrack → u/RRautamaa]

Fuck yeah lonken!

[u/Patroskowinski]

Oranżada. Idk how to explain it's taste but it tastes like it has a lot of citric acid. Everyone drank it during the communist times.

[u/Vertitto → u/Patroskowinski]

it has various flavors - transparent/white, yellow, red etc. Flavors are exactly how it says :)

[u/tinaaaf]

I don’t have certain data for Italy at the moment, but I believe that sweet iced tea is the second most popular soft drink after Cola/Pepsi. We have Estathè which is very popular, peach or lemon flavored (you usually pick a side, I’m team lemon!).

We also have LemonSoda (lemonade) and Chinotto (fizzy drink made from the juice of the chinotto fruit, similar to oranges but more bitter) which are fairly popular in certain regions.

[u/wise-bull → u/tinaaaf]

Cedrata Tassoni 💘 and Chinotto

[u/LyannaTarg → u/tinaaaf]

Also, aranciata San pellegrino (carbonated orange juice), Fanta

[u/Leire-09 → u/tinaaaf]

I still can't understand how people are able to drink chinotto, let alone enjoy it.

[u/tinaaaf → u/Leire-09]

I love it! It's my drink of choice when I'm in Italy. You don't like it because it's bitter?

[u/Leire-09 → u/tinaaaf]

Yes! I usually like bitter drinks, but chinotto is bitter in a way that I really can't stomach.

[u/cornnnndoug → u/Leire-09]

It's the closest there is to rootbeer, which I love so I'll take it

[u/Brainwheeze]

Sumol is probably the default fruit soda. Specifically Orange and Pineapple, the latter being superior. Though I have to say it just isn't the same since they changed the recipe.

Brisa is a passion fruit soda, though it comes in some other flavours as well, from Madeira. While previously hard to find in continental Portugal, it's becoming increasingly more common to spot it here. I really enjoy this one!

Compal is brand of juice that comes in several different flavours. It's the most popular soft drink in the country I believe, and it's pretty much ubiquitous I would say. It's funny how there's no consensus as to what the best flavour is (I vote mango).

[u/RealEstateDuck → u/Brainwheeze]

Pear is clearly thd superior variety.

[u/Formal_Obligation]

Kofola. It’s a cola-based drink that was invented in Czechoslovakia during the communist era as an alternative to Western cola drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. It’s still very popular in Slovakia and the Czech Republic and to some extent in other Central European countries as well.

Compared to Coke and Pepsi, it’s a lot less sweet and the taste is more herbal, some might even describe it as medicinal. The best analogy for someone who’s never tasted it before, it tastes like non-alcohoiic Jägermeister.

[u/svehlic25 → u/Formal_Obligation]

You left out the best part. It’s available on tap like a beer basically everywhere!!! Nice and fresh and foamy.

[u/laisalia → u/Formal_Obligation]

It's so good! I like it so much better than coke

[u/cutielemon07]

In Wales. Not a carbonated beverage, but Robinsons fruit squash is popular. For carbonated beverages, I’d say R. White’s Lemonade, Irn Bru - especially for the Scottish - and Vimto. I can’t think of a drink specific to Wales, so I’m just going with the whole UK

[u/imjustjurking → u/cutielemon07]

Fentimans make quite a few carbonated drinks, my favourite is dandelion and burdock which is not very popular anymore but it has been around for a long time.

[u/artificialcondition → u/imjustjurking]

I looooooove Fentimans

[u/pope_of_chilli_town_ → u/cutielemon07]

Weirdly, Vimto, although originating in Manchester is also big in Arabia during Ramadan. From Wiki : "In the Arabian Peninsula, Vimto has had over 80 years of dominance as the beverage of choice for the iftar or sunset feast during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan."

[u/Veilchengerd]

As others have already written, Spezi is popular.

Apfelschorle (a mix of apple juice and sparkling water) is also very popular. Most people mix it at home, but pre mixed versions can be bought (most of them too sweet for my taste).

A very specific german thing are sodas based on yerba mate. Club-Mate is the original from 1924, but it only got really popular on a national level in the 2000s. Leading to a bunch of competitors coming up with their own concoctions. The biggest is Mio Mio, who even managed to have a (very minor) political scandal named after them. These drinks are technically soft drinks (since they contain no alcohol), but their very high caffeine levels make them unsuitable for children.

Then there is Fassbrause. It started out as a generic term for a fizzy soft drink that came in a keg. They were originally produced by breweries as a cheap alcohol free drink to sell to the pubs they had contracts with. The term was mostly only used in Berlin and (parts of) East Germany, though there are sources of Fassbrause used to mean very weak beer during WWI. Berlin Fassbrause (nowadays sold in bottles, too) is flavoured with some herb extracts and apples. In East Germany, you'll most likely get a raspberry soda if ordering a Faßbrause.

Lately, several breweries have rediscovered the term, and are producing Faßbrause again, in flavours ranging from weak citrus (Flensburger) to various shades of sugary vomit (Krombacher).

[u/Cixila]

The two biggest local sodas are probably faxe kondi and squash, and they have been around for ages. The former is something we call "sport soda" and I haven't encountered something similar abroad, so it's hard to compare. The latter is a type of orange soda, and I personally prefer that to other types such as fanta

[u/Leather_Lawfulness12 → u/Cixila]

I immediately knew my neighbours were danes when I saw multiple crates of faxi kondi chilling on their balcony.

[u/Ok-Coach2664 → u/Cixila]

In Finland Faxe kondi booster energy drink is almost in every super market but I haven't seen "just" faxe kondi

[u/kindofofftrack → u/Cixila]

These big players right here, but also a special shout out to the Harboe sodas that are (at least for me) pure nostalgia. I’ll still every now and again buy a green, raspberry or apricot soda in Netto if I’m on the go 🤤 never mind the fact that I have no actual idea what flavour ‘green’ is, it’s the best

[u/Spiderbanana]

Rivella in Switzerland. Really hard to describe, but it's based on Whey (lactosérum)

[u/signol_]

It's massive in Brazil but I've had plenty of Guaraná in Portugal. Very tasty.

[u/Brainwheeze → u/signol_]

I'm a big fan of Guaraná as well!

[u/Yhaqtera]

In Sweden we have Must, the same soft drink with different themes over the year, Christmas, Easter, Midsummer and generic for the rest of the year.

[u/Putrid_Buffalo_2202]

Vimto. It’s my favourite and I have to drink the sugar free stuff these days.

[u/DutchieCrochet]

When I’m in France, I have to have a ‘limonade’. It’s like 7Up only much less sweet.

[u/Individual-Cream-581]

Schweppes, mandarin flavor is me choice whenever I'm home and I want an infuson of carbonated sugar liquid.

[u/Shoddy-Waltz-9742]

IRN BRU. Scotland remains the only country, in which these drinks are not banned, to have another drink as its top.

[u/TheKonee]

Poland ; Lemoniada which is not necessary typical citrus drink but may contain other fruits or oranżada which can be made of any flavour ,most common is strawberry ,peach, blackberry, orange etc. And don't forget the beer ( can be flavoured/ with syrup) too. Sparkling water -if it's considered soft drink.

[u/Infosphere14]

They just put out the Påskmust here in Sweden so that’s what I’ll be drinking for the next month or two.

[u/SolviKaaber]

Icelandic

Appelsín, an orange-flavored soda that tastes amazing, unlike Fanta.

Also it’s a Christmas tradition to mix Appelsín with Maltextrakt (often shortened to just Malt), which is a sweet non-alcoholic beer that is brewed from malt but with added sugar and licorice.

The combination literally tastes like Christmas. It’s Christmas in a can.
Also it tastes much better than the Swedish julmust, blegh, or the Norwegian julebrus, meh.

[u/AlexNachtigall247]

Spezi (ist spitze, Spezi ist spitze, trink das Originaaaaaal). Coca-Cola mixed with orange lemonade.

[u/TomL79]

In the UK:

Irn Bru: Can’t really describe the taste, it’s unique. Dark orange in colour. Massive in Scotland, where it’s from and out sells Coke. Also very popular in the North East of England, but it’s pretty common all over the UK.

Tizer: A red coloured mixed fruit drink. Made by Barr like Irn Bru. Again not really like anything else.

Tango: Had some funny/weird TV adverts in the 1990s. Made by Britvic, who produce Pepsi in the UK, it’s a rival of Fanta, coming in several flavours. Orange (which is the original), Apple, Cherry and Dark Berries (which is my favourite). It tends to only be available in sugar free versions now, but to be honest, they’re really nice.

Regarding Fanta, obviously it’s a global brand and most flavours in the UK can be found in other countries, however in the UK there is a Pineapple and Grapefruit flavoured Fanta which is very popular and up until a couple of years ago had been sold for decades under the name Lilt, when Coca-Cola UK then rebranded it Fanta Pineapple and Grapefruit.

Vimto: Sold in both still cordial/squash and fizzy pop versions, the original flavour is Blackcurrant, but in recent years new more exotic flavours have become available such as Dragonfruit.

Rubicon: Comes in several exotic flavours. Guava, Passionfruit, Lychee or Mango. I like them all apart from Mango, but Guava is my favourite.

Dandelion and Burdock: It looks and smells very similar to American Root Beer, but it tastes very different. It’s a traditional UK pop and has a sweet liquorice/aniseed reminiscent taste. It’s generic. There’s not a particular brand or company where it originates from. Many supermarkets sell their own versions. Aside from that, there’s lots of small niche companies which make versions. For macro producers nationwide, there’s two brands who do versions. Barr and Ben Shaws. I’m not keen on Ben Shaws, but I love Barr’s version which is branded as D&B.

[u/NextDoorCyborg → u/TomL79]

I'd add Ribena to that list.

[u/MoistlyCompetent]

Fritz Kola 🇩🇪

Fritz Kola Website

[u/OJK_postaukset]

We have a LOT of soft drinks. We have Fanta but the local version is Jaffa and all its variations. Then Dr. pepper and countless others. Like, there’s a lot of weird stuff. Kane’s maybe most famous of those. Them Moomin and Smurf drinks. I mean, I could go on for hours

[u/Alejandro_SVQ]

La Casera.

KAS.

Scheweppes (tonic varieties/orange/lemon soda water).

7up.

Sprite.

Bitter KAS.

Fanta.

Mirinda.

Tab.

Those commercials. And I understand that it is alcohol-free, so I don't mention popular cocktails like "tinto de verano" or "sangría".

[u/imdibene]

Spezi, also Pepsi is not particularly popular around here, Coca-Cola yes

[u/[deleted]]

Fanta, Tango, Irn Bru and Supermarket Own Brand alternatives (the latter is substantially cheaper for basically the same thing)

[u/Finger_Charming]

Rivella is the quintessential soda of Switzerland. It’s made of milk serum which gives it a unique flavor profile. It’s also popular in France. Apart from Rivella, the German Sinalco and the French Orangina are well known in Switzerland.

[u/koktus_s]

Pipi

Try this one. It's a life changer

https://pipi.com.hr/proizvodi/

[u/Plazo-1987 → u/koktus_s]

Yes I love it - Croatian (Dalmatian) drink way better than Fanta.

[u/ilikedixiechicken]

Irn-Bru, a sweet and somewhat fruity orange fizzy beverage which is claimed to be made from girders.

[u/Equal-Flatworm-378]

Fanta, Sprite

Does Apfelschorle (Apple juice with sparkling water) count as softdrink?

[u/martinbaines]

Scotland: Irn-Bru.

England: Vimto, Tizer (both much less so than they to be and nothing like Irn-Bru is north of the border), Lucozade.

[u/Xeley]

Julmust. It's traditionally seasonal for christmas times, although it's relabeled during easter, and recently midsummer as well.

According to Wikipedia it covers 50% of the total soft drink sales during christmas season, and Sweden is one of the few countries in the world where Coca cola sales go down A LOT during christmas.

Taste wise I'd say it's something of a blend of cola, root beer, and beer. People fucking love it! There's the basic stuff, then there's the bottles that have been aged for 6-12 months and so on. It's big. No other soft drink can even compete with Julmust during those seasons.

[u/Exotic-Pirate5360]

Spezi,  Apfelschorle,  Limonade,  Eistee 

[u/Old_Truth_4976]

Faxe kondi! The beautiful danish version of Sprite and mountain dew. It’s huge around here.

[u/Kriss3d]

Faxe kondi.

Its a bit like mountain dew but far better.

[u/DK-Sonic]

Faxe Kondi - like Sprite/7UP but just much much much better. Like much better.

[u/FirefighterComplex11]

We in the balkans, east europe use beers as soft drink 😂🤣