VernorsGuy
Well-Known Member
Whether or not Vernor’s actually began in 1866 is an age old question that is one of the longest-paged blogs on this site if you search Vernor’s 150th. The link below takes you to a short three minute You Tube video explaining it. Yes, a trademark application said Vernor’s entered commerce in 1880. He was a pharmacist beginning in 1865. The video shows the evidence he had a soda fountain in 1866. The evidence also shows he called his ginger ale “ginger ale”, not Vernor’s, in the early days. The trademark application was for the Vernor’s name, which they didn’t start using until 1880. Before that, it was just ginger ale at Jim Vernor’s pharmacy. He didn’t go into ginger ale making full time until 1896. The blog article about “dubious history” says he questions the age if it’s not the same formula. It’s not. Does Coke still have cocaine in it? They all changed formulas, unfortunately, from natural ingredients to chemicals. Sugar is a novelty item now. So, if changed formulas are the criteria, every pop began in the 1960’s.
