All That Sparkles
Soda, pop, whatever you call it - bubbly beverages have always been popular but the non-alcoholic refreshments are gaining popularity. Chicago is home to both soda shops and soda brands offering innovative flavors for today’s beverage connoisseur.
While 'soft drink' is typically used to describe sodas, this section also includes other non-alcoholic beverages (aside from coffee, tea, and dairy). Juice, energy drinks, flavored water, and more. Of course, any cocktail can be made without alcohol, and any non-alcoholic beverage can become spiked, so the lines are frequently crossed. For example, Pepsi now has a cocktail bar.
Most sodas are composed of filtered water, flavor, sweetener, and carbon dioxide.
Try a subscription to healthy drinks or produce delivery for juicing - check out our article on beverage subscriptions here.
A recent Gallup poll found that most Americans actively try to include fruits and vegetables in their diet and more than half try to avoid sugary sodas.
Health Oriented Beverages
Over two pounds of organic fruits and vegetables go into San Francisco's Forager Juices.
Organic Gemini's TigerNut Horchata Chocolate beverage is made with Organic Cacao Powder from fair-trade Peruvian cacao beans. Tiger nuts aren't actually nuts, but small root vegetables that look like nuts. Organic Gemini uses traditional methods to make its horchata chocolate but replaces rice, seeds, or nuts with these tigernuts. Each small batch of this cold pressed vegan horchata is made and bottled in Brooklyn.
Suja has a line of organic, non-GMO pressed juices and recently announced Suja Pressed Probiotic Waters, which are available in Target stores.
Related: Health conscious holiday drinks
minoTOR™ is a premium supplement beverage for athletes. Its amino acid formula includes Beta-alanine to delay muscle fatigue, and Sustamine™ to aid recovery, B Vitamins, BCAA’s, and Caffeine help build muscle, increase metabolism, and spur fat loss.
Related: A healthy drink infused with sunscreen
Sodas
Related: Five Pop-ular Sodas to Try
Hard Soft Drinks
Alcoholic sodas are becoming more and more pop-ular. According to Chicago's IRI, consumers spent $111 million on hard root beer in retail stores in 2015. Small Town Brewery's Not Your Father's Root beer has 80% of the alcoholic root beer market, with Coney Island next at 18%. However, Budweiser is looking to shake things up with its recently launched its Best Damn Root Beer.
Related: Hop soda and other beverage trends to try
Related: Fun gadgets at Sur la Table