The Rise, Fall, and Return of Cream Soda

You haven't thought about cream soda in a long time, even if you drink a variety of sodas. You don't see cream sodas in stores much at all. If you were to think about them, it would be to wonder why they are called cream sodas, since there is no cream or even milk in them. The name itself seems to work against the drink's popularity. If you've had one, you might think that the reason it's not popular is because it's too darn sweet. Like that ever stopped any other soft drink. 

But vanilla-flavored cream soda was once very popular, especially at soda fountains where it was mixed up on the spot. With the rise of bottled and canned sodas, every regional bottler had their own version of cream soda. It declined in the latter half of the 20th century for various reasons explained by Tom Blank of Weird History Food. Cream soda is still around, although its main draw these days is the nostalgia factor. But watch out- the nostalgia factor is gaining ground because people in troubled times go for comfort foods from their childhoods, and drinks, too.