By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
It’s been called “the nectar of the gods,” but I was pretty much unaware of the Ale-8-One soft drink before I moved to Winchester and took my first teaching job in 1975.
That ignorance on my part soon changed after seeing its strong hold on the local culture. Just about anywhere in Clark County, I’d see people swigging or sipping, depending on the occasion, on those trademark long necks. Green, red, and white advertisements were everywhere. Everyday conversations were peppered with talk about the drink, almost always positive.
And on mornings while I walked into my school and classroom carrying a cup of coffee, I recall some of my colleagues holding a bottle of Ale-8-One in their hands. I wondered if I might have to acquire a taste for it to be accepted in my new home community. Full disclosure, I never did acquire that taste for regular Ale-8s but do enjoy an occasional Zero Sugar one.
One thing is for sure. A genuine pride in Winchester holding claim as the drink’s home was obvious from the beginning, and I noticed that the drink’s increasing popularity pushed its appearance across the state and beyond. Ale-8-One was, and is, sent as a gift internationally, often to America’s military troops who miss the taste and memories engendered by the drink.
This stuff has an interesting history after a modest start.
According to Ale-8-One’s web site, the company started way back in the early 1900s when Winchester resident G.L. Wainscott produced a soft drink named after his wife, Roxanne, called “Roxa-Cola.” He was sued by the largest cola company in America for infringement but won a suit and appeal afterward. In looking for a new product in case he lost the suit, Wainscott searched for a new product, traveling as far as the northern part of Europe, where he discovered a “ginger beer” and used the idea to create his own soft drink recipe with a similar taste.
In 1926, he first marketed his new drink at the local Clark County Fair and it soon was christened “A Late One” after a naming contest, indicating it as a new, refreshing drink. It became, colloquially, “Ale-8-One,” or, as the locals would call it, simply “Ale-8.” The rest, as is often stated, is history. The bottling operation moved its Winchester site from North Main to Carroll Road in 1966. In 2013, it was designated as Kentucky’s state soft drink, bringing even more attention to a community I consider a great place to live.
I found a lot of people wanting to say good things about this Winchester icon.
Marla Strong, of Richmond, grew up in Winchester. “Ale-8-One has always been my go-to morning drink,” she said, “and I have so many fond memories associated with it. When I was teaching in Northern Kentucky, I brought one with me every day, and it’s amazing how it can spark conversations. My principal even asked if I was drinking beer.”
Though Tera Pierce grew up north of Winchester in Pendleton County, someone must have spread some Ale-8 pixie dust on her palate. “I rarely drink soda, but I always make an exception for Ale-8,” she said. “The memories of taking sips from my dad’s bottle when I was around four or five years-old always come flooding back, and the cherry on top of the delicious taste. In 2019, I shipped two 24-packs to my now fiancé while he was stationed in Korea. He told me that he and his buddies drank all of them within a day or two! Now we live in California and miss having Ale-8. We found them once at Cracker Barrel in Las Vegas, but nowhere else. We’re getting married next month back in Kentucky, and we can’t wait to drink it at our wedding!”
Erin Tipton developed her taste for the drink while growing up in Winchester, and much like so many others, it stands the test of time. “When I was in the Air Force and stationed in North Dakota and Alaska, my parents would ship Ale-8 to me every few months as a taste of home,” she said. “I enjoyed telling other airmen what I was drinking when asked about it, and a little about what I knew about Ale-8. I even let a few of my friends try it, but I had to like you a lot to share my Ale-8.”
Another Winchester native, Kim Shoemaker, had a similar experience while in military service. “My mom and dad would mail them to me in Iraq and Afghanistan. Didn’t care if they were hot!” Now living in North Carolina, she noted she has a friend who picks them up for her when he visits Kentucky.
One Lexington individual waxed poetic about communing with nature aside a green longneck and some tasty food in the mountains. “Miguel’s in the Gorge is, in my opinion, the best place in the world to enjoy ‘a late one,’” said Justin Evans, a cancer survivor who works in the corporate world of Panera Bread. “Picture this, a long, sweaty hike with friends, reaching a ‘peak’ . . . then finding yourself satiated with peak flavor and caffeine while enjoying a hot slice (of pizza) amongst community.”
Tim Ogden, of Nicholasville, recalled that his days working in Lexington for IBM had an Ale-8 connection. While working in Austin, Texas, on a temporary assignment of six months, Tim mentioned that some of his work colleagues from Lexington brought cases of Ale-8. He soon got hooked, too. “Never had one and a friend of mine left a week before I did and had three left over from his refrigerator and said I could have them.” He drank each and developed a taste. “I couldn’t wait to get home (from Texas) and buy more. I’ve been hooked on them now for about 35 years,” he said.
Some are heartened by the taste of an Ale-8, even while living in their last days on earth. “Last summer, my mom was in the Maysville Hospice Center for six months,” said Karen Cox, of Vanceburg. “She has always loved pawpaws. Ale-8 had a pawpaw flavored Ale-8 last summer. Mom loved them. Even when she wouldn’t eat or drink much else, she would drink the pawpaw Ale-8. We kept her supplies as long as they made them.”
David Danforth first drank an Ale-8 at a gas station, and thirty years later it’s the only soft drink he touches. For Scott Abney, the best breakfast is “Ale-8 and Grippo’s.” Jason Robertson, a former student of mine in Lexington, often packs his SUV with the drink when he heads home to Missouri. Lucy Riffle drank it at EKU to stay up late and study for tests, and Christine Marret has found an Ale-8 bottle cap or two in her washer.
And to beat all, Dale Hatton was so enamored with his town’s iconic piece of culture that he wrote a song about it called “Ale-8s, Tailgates, and Two Dollar Wine.” You can find it on YouTube.
If you have some good Ale-8 stories, contact me at sflairty2001@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you.
