Flavorman Favorite Drink Memories

When I was a kid, I would visit my grandparents and they would brew me a small cup of green tea. I would add sugar in with a small metal spoon until it was as sweet as candy. This memory is as sweet to me as the green tea itself.

Morning glasses of gritty Tang, because it made me feel like I was an astronaut….. and that I could make a better flavor someday!

Yoo-hoo out of the bottle from the old-timey pull-type soda dispenser. It cost a quarter and we only got one when we went with my Dad to the farm store.

I don’t think I’ve ever told Dave this story of how he changed my life.



Roughly one million years ago in high school, I showed up at an upperclassman’s very-dark bonfire party, and I brought a multi-serve bottle of Jack Daniels Country Cocktails Wildberry Jack (5.5% ABV) with me. The dumdums there could only make out “Jack Daniels” on the label and mentioned how incredibly masculine that made me to drink whiskey straight from the bottle. I seized the opportunity. I turned the bottle up and drank all 1.75 liters in one go, then dramatically tossed it — empty — into the woods to hide my tracks.



All you could hear in that quiet moment was the sound of a dozen young women making up their minds to ditch their boyfriends. I was a legend that night. I probably gave myself diabetes, but I was a legend.

Cherry Limeade Sunkist! Me and my best friend would drive 30-45 minutes to find a Walmart that carried it. Always fun road trip even if the point was just to get soda.

Sun Tang all day and everyday!!

Barq’s… the one with bite!

I grew up on a small farm. During early summer months, we would plant tobacco on a setter in open, hot fields. At the end of the day, my sister and I would convince my Dad to treat us to a Yoo-hoo (chocolate of course) at Price’s Grocery, corner store.



At that time, Yoo-hoo was individually sold in cute little bottles. I still love Yoo-hoo; mostly because it reminds me of the feeling of a hard day’s work done.

I have two drink memories: root beer floats and Jones Soda.



Every time it was me or my sister’s birthday, my mother would make us root beer floats. We would watch her scoop sherbet ice cream in these cute little plastic cups that you can get at the dollar store, then pour root beer over them. Root beer takes me back to those humbling days when I didn’t have anything, but my parents made me feel like I had everything.



Second, every time my daddy gave me money, I would run down to the corner store on bank street in the Portland area to buy a Jones Soda. I liked all the flavors, but the cream flavor was the best one. I think it’s hilarious that the people who are responsible for the soda I loved as a kid are who I ended up working for.

Any of the Blue Sky sodas, I used to drink those while playing Nintendo with my buds Robert and Johnny in New Mexico.

Drinking Inca Kola as kid in Peru. Such a simple time!

I have two drink memories that come to mind.



On family road trip vacations, we used to make a gallon of Kool-Aid Strawberry Kiwi mix at a time to enjoy all day. I remember going through the flat land of Kansas while drinking a nice, cool glass of Kool-Aid in the car.



I also enjoy a nice goblet of hot mulled cider. Every time I smell and taste it, it takes me back to being at a Madrigal feast during the holiday season.

Sipping a super cold dirty martini with blue cheese stuffed olives at a nice restaurant is the best part of going to a steak house in my opinion.

Getting my wife a cup of coffee first thing in the morning so we can have a civil conversation!

Suicide Soda (a mix of 5 or more sodas) with my brother at any place that had a classic soda fountain when we were kids. I challenge some kid out there to try it with the new Coca-Cola Freestyle fountains. Drink your heart out kids!

When we were children, traveling to Louisville, KY was always such a treat. We knew that awaiting us was laughter and wild games with cousins, delicious homemade bread, and those wonderful, homemade “Old Fashioneds”. We could smell the mixture of the bourbon with the secret recipe from the minute we walked in the door. It even overpowered the scent of the sourdough bread. And then the adults would let us taste them. And taste we did! Took the edge off of being 10! (Flavorman does not endorse or approve of underage drinking.)