Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Other Telephone Information => Off Topic => Topic started by: Jester on January 10, 2010, 12:33:39 AM

Title: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jester on January 10, 2010, 12:33:39 AM
"We don't have no steenkink DIE-YET COKE!!!..." ;D

The title is, of course, some good natured teasing of those on this forum that have admitted a mild addiction to this mutated soft drink.  For the movie buffs out there, you might recognize the phrase I was parodying--its from "Treasure of the Sierra Madres".

I think it was Dan that spotted a couple rarely seen cans in one of my postings, and I promised to post some more detailed shots of my bottle collection.  So, after eight months, here are a couple pics.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Phonesrfun on January 10, 2010, 12:55:31 AM
Badges??  We don't need no stinking badges!

Yes, that is one of those oft-quoted movie snips.  I am also one of those Die-Yet Coke-aholics (No Pepsi, please).  Many of my pictures of various phones also catch one of many cans of the stuff in the background. 

-Bill
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Greg G. on January 10, 2010, 05:26:52 AM
Are any of those "Christmas" coke bottles?
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: talkingtime on January 10, 2010, 12:32:54 PM
I really like those steel diamond Coke cans. Very hard if not impossible to find back here in West Tennessee.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan/Panther on January 10, 2010, 12:41:35 PM
DIE YET COKE or nothing....

D/P
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 10, 2010, 06:08:21 PM
Now you are talking my language Jester. My basement is chock full of soft drink stuff. It was my previous addiction prior to phones. I could post some pics if you want
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jester on January 10, 2010, 07:23:45 PM
There are two "Christmas" bottles in the above shots--so called because of the Dec. 25, 1923 patent date--actually the second patent date for this design.  The first design date was Nov. 16, 1915.  My real interest turned to "straight wall" bottles in recent years, and you will notice most of the bottles above are of that type.  Straight walls are the earliest bottles to bear the Coca-Cola script, and were used from about 1900 through the early 1920's.  They were replaced by the famous trademark bottle, the design officially known as the "Hobbleskirt".

Dan, that sounds great--feel free to post anything.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 10, 2010, 10:50:47 PM
Nice collection of Coke stuff, Stephen.  I remember in my youth going to the Coke machine with my buddies.  Molded into the glass bottle on the bottom was a City and State.  We'd each buy a Coke and the guy with the bottle that was closest to where we lived had to buy the other guy's drinks.  I think they were a dime a bottle at that time for the 6.5 oz bottle.  I have several of those myself.  I know collecting Coca-Cola stuff is an never ending venture, similar to phone collecting as there are so many different things to collect.

Attached are a couple photos of my largest Coca-Cola artifact.  It's a Cavalier CS-64, circa 1965.  
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jester on January 10, 2010, 11:22:21 PM
That's a very nice vending machine, Dennis--and still has the wire rack for the empties, too!  I've wanted something like that or the old coolers for years, but never had the extra cash or room to put it.  As I was writing my initial post, I couldn't help thinking about the younger guys on the forum that never scrounged the roadsides as a kid for discarded bottles so they could buy an afternoon snack with the deposit money.  I even found a few "keepers" in the ditches while doing this.  And just like phone service changing when cell phones became prolific, I can't help thinking that we "accepted" the change in taste that aluminum cans & plastic bottles cause that was never an issue with glass.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 10, 2010, 11:41:29 PM
I thought it was just my memory from childhood that made me think the Coke tasted better then.   But I think it was the fact that usually we drank it from the bottle and it WAS better.  And yes, 2c a bottle for the return was great incentive for my friends and I to pick up the bottles and drag them to the store.  If we were lucky, we got enough to buy another bottle.

I spent my younger years growing up in Alabama and Florida.  There was nothing better than an icy cold Coke on a hot summer day.  I remember those large Coke coolers, one in particular that sat outside of a small marina on the dock.  It had block ice inside (no refrigeration) with bottles of all different kinds of soft drinks.  Nothing was colder than pulling out a bottle from that cooler.  Ah, the good ole days! :)

Thanks for the compliment on the Coke machine.  I was in the right place at the right time when it was time to get rid of that machine.  As I said, it was 1981 and I paid $100 for it.  I don't know what it's worth, but probably that much.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: benhutcherson on January 10, 2010, 11:59:56 PM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on January 10, 2010, 11:41:29 PM
I thought it was just my memory from childhood that made me think the Coke tasted better then.   

Dennis,

I certainly don't have your memories, but coke today is made with high fructose corn syrup instead of sugar.

There definitely is a difference in taste. If you ever go to Europe, where the coke is still made with sugar, you'll find that it tastes better.

There is a plant down around where my Grandfather lives, in West Jefferson, NC, that makes all of their soft drinks with sugar also(and bottles everything in glass bottles). Unfortunately, they don't make coke, just Dr. Pepper, Mt. Dew, and a few others.

The Coke items presented here are definitely interesting. That's a hobby that I've never pursued, as I have enough hobbies already. I'd definitely a coke drinker, though-no Pepsi for me.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jester on January 11, 2010, 12:48:37 AM
Ben,
You are correct in pointing out that cane sugar does change the taste of things in comparison to other sugars.  The container also can change this, too.  Fortunately, you are too young to remember summer of 1985--when "New Coke" debuted.  Everybody's STILL wondering how Coca-Cola Co. escaped filing bankruptsy after that fiasco!!
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: McHeath on January 11, 2010, 12:56:49 AM
In these parts you can still buy Coke in a glass bottle made with real sugar, and not the high fructose corn syrup formula.  The stuff is made in Mexico and imported to serve the large immigrant population who don't like US coke in plastic bottles or cans with the changed formulation.  Most of the stores in my area carry the glass bottled Mexican Coke, as well as many of the restaurants, along with the US Coke formulas.   

To my taste buds the Mexican Coca-Cola is much better, it tastes like I remember a Coke tasting like as a kid, it also has a better "finish" to borrow a wine term.  The glass leaves a cleaner taste as well, and has more "bite" to it.  The bottles are standard size, like they used to be, and not those little novelty bottles that you can get once in a while which still have the high fructose corn syrup formula.

Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 11, 2010, 08:24:31 PM
Dennis, nice machine. It is worth about $400-$500. I have a Cavalier USS-64. Mine is a little newer. It dispenses bottles and cans. We use it everyday in our house.

Speaking of "sugar" vs High fructose corn syrup, Pepsi has come out with  three throwback formulas , pepsi throwback, mountain dew throwback, and heritage Dr. pepper. All have sugar in them and are excellent.
All pop in a glass bottle is better. Sam's club sells the mexican cokes (12 oz glass) for about $16 a case. 75 cents is worth it for a cold sugar coke in a glass bottle, and your machine would dispense them nicely.
(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/dvortv/popstuff001-1.jpg)
(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/dvortv/popstuff002.jpg)
(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/dvortv/popstuff003.jpg)
(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/dvortv/popstuff004.jpg)
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 11, 2010, 10:24:26 PM
Thanks, Dan for the info.  Your display is excellent. 
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Phonesrfun on January 11, 2010, 10:39:14 PM
Excellent display of machines.

-Bill
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jester on January 12, 2010, 12:51:47 AM
Very nice display, Dan--I love the old signage.  Here's a few more shots.

1)  The only old sign I own is this store thermometer, dated 1932 on the back.

2)  My collection of Biedenharn Candy Co. bottles.  The story goes that a very young Joseph Biedenharn decided to mix Coca-Cola & bottle it for a July 4 picnic, & it became popular enough that he asked Asa Candler, the president of Coca-Cola Co., for permission to bottle the product regularly.  He is credited as being the drink's first authorized bottler.

3)  A mixture of straight walls from both hand detailed & machined castings.  There are two from Louisiana & two from Peoria, Illinois.

4)  This shot includes a bottle from Birminham, AL , a syrup testing bottle, & a straight wall from Charleston, SC.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Greg G. on January 12, 2010, 05:40:04 AM
Quote from: Jester on January 11, 2010, 12:48:37 AM
Ben,
You are correct in pointing out that cane sugar does change the taste of things in comparison to other sugars.  The container also can change this, too.  Fortunately, you are too young to remember summer of 1985--when "New Coke" debuted.  Everybody's STILL wondering how Coca-Cola Co. escaped filing bankruptsy after that fiasco!!

Too bad somebody can't use the REAL original Coke recipe that was made with cocaine!
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 12, 2010, 07:58:27 PM
Great bottles Stephen. The old Hillbilly Mountain Dew bottles are going for $15 each. I can't believe how many of those I could've had.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jim Stettler on January 12, 2010, 09:23:10 PM
Quote from: Dan on January 12, 2010, 07:58:27 PM
Great bottles Stephen. The old Hillbilly Mountain Dew bottles are going for $15 each. I can't believe how many of those I could've had.

"Yaa-Hoo, Mountain Dew"

Technically, " I'm a Pepper"

Dallas bottling makes the best Dr. Pepper. It still tastes right. After reading some of these postings, I suspect that the Dallas Authority  bottles it for the border market.

  I first tried Dr. Pepper was in the Summer of 1968 at the Black Forest Glider Port , Colorado Springs,, CO

The glider port was quite an experence to a 6 year old, and so was Dr. Pepper.

Jim S.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jester on January 12, 2010, 09:57:05 PM
Quote from: Dan on January 12, 2010, 07:58:27 PM
Great bottles Stephen. The old Hillbilly Mountain Dew bottles are going for $15 each. I can't believe how many of those I could've had.

I know what you mean.  The small church I grew up in had a Pepsi machine that dispensed 10 oz. bottles, & Mountain Dew was one of the choices.  Not being a Pepsi drinker(I made my mind up on this very early in life), I generally tried to get the Mountain Dew before it ran out after children's choir practice.  I've drunk from many a bottle with that hillbilly on the front.  That stuff sure had a bite--I remember snorting some back through my nose after getting the giggles while trying to drink! :o :o  I thought I'd never be the same.

As for prices, I remember the price I paid for most of my "D" Coke bottles--$1.00.  That was almost thirty years ago, now.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jim Stettler on January 12, 2010, 10:40:09 PM
I remember Mountain Dew up the nose. It was perrty much a given , unless you were careful, kids weren't.  I think it was over-carbonated on purpose.
It probably had the highest sugar and caffeine content at that point.    It was enough to get a kid high.
Those were simple times.
Yaa-Hoo,
Jim
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: benhutcherson on January 13, 2010, 12:51:08 AM
I know of a few people around here who make their own variety of "mountain dew" at home.

I've never tried any of it(nor do I have the desire to), but I understand it's pretty potent stuff.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Bill on January 13, 2010, 11:51:50 AM
Anybody remember

"Pepsi-Cola hits the spot
Twelve full ounces, that's a lot
Pepsi is the drink for you
Twice as much for a nickel, too!"

Or am I dating myself more than I should?

Bill
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 13, 2010, 01:24:04 PM
I don't remember that Pepsi jingle, Bill.

Here's a couple from You-tube, since we're on the topic.

Dr Pepper (Some Nice Pull-top cans here):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1gZkf_-UyI&feature=related

Mountain Dew:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokH3a63bEk&feature=related

Pepsi Cola:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4vUwl7YGes&feature=related

Coke (Lots of Coke Ads on You-tube):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Azrgloa5wY

Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: jsowers on January 13, 2010, 03:05:12 PM
Does anyone remember seeing a Coke machine that was horizontal instead of vertical? My dad's workplace had one for many years when I was a kid. This was in the 60s but I think the machine was from the 50s or maybe late 40s.

You put your money in the slot, turned a crank, a circular piece at the top moved until it stopped. Then you opened the small lid inside that circle and pulled out your 6 oz. Coke.

It had VERY cold water circulating inside and a bin on the right for larger size drinks like my favorite, Bubble Up. Anyone remember that? Sort of like Sprite or 7Up but with a little more kick. Here's a picture of a machine like it, a Vendo V-59.

http://soda-machines.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=569&Itemid=14 (http://soda-machines.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=569&Itemid=14)

I also remember the cork liners inside the bottle caps and fishing through all those sticky caps for prizes when they had a game.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 13, 2010, 03:41:25 PM
Jonathan, I do not recall every seeing one of those.   That is a very nice site.  I book-marked that...have to go back there.  I too remember the cork linings.  Would you believe I still have a few of those in one of my treasure boxes?  At one time Coke was putting the helmet logo of all the NFL teams under the corks.  One had to be careful not to scratch away the printed helmet under the cork when prying it out of there.  I MIGHT have a bunch of those in my vault too!

I remember another type of machine from the mid to late 1960's.  The cooler wasn't very large, maybe 4 feet wide and a couple feet deep.  It also sat horizontal.  When the top was lifted there were rails going from left to right spaced just far enough apart for a bottle lip to slide on them.  So the top was visible but the bottle was below the rails.  The bottle was slid to the left where it was placed in a "port".  Once a dime was inserted the locking mechanism released and the bottle could be lifted straight up.  Worked pretty slick.

In about 1964 when living in Alabama (age 9) the downtown movie theater, The Lyric Theater let kids in on Saturdays for 6 R.C. Cola bottle caps.  We used to bug the guy at the local grocery store to open up the machine and give us the caps that fell into the can when people bought a drink.  He'd get a small brown paper bag and dump all those sticky caps inside.  My buddies and I would go outside the store and divide them up.  We'd spend all day at the movie watching it over and over.  It ran non-stop, not like today.  About 5:00PM we'd put a dime in the pay phone and then call the operator.  When she answered we got our dime back.  "This phone ate my dime" we would say and she would place our call home so that someone's mother or father would pick us up.  That was a cheap date!
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 13, 2010, 05:58:08 PM
Dennis, the horizontal machine you are describing is known to machine collectors as a "slider" machine. Here's a beat up ole pepsi..


(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/dvortv/slider.jpg)

I think the one Jonathan is referring to is a Vendo 39 (held 39 6 and 1/2 ounce cokes). My barber had one. His was broke, so you handed him your quarter, stuck your hand in the door and MANUALLY pushed the drum to expose a cold pop. Always good and always with a little ice on it.

(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt253/dvortv/vendo39sodamachine.jpg)
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 13, 2010, 10:47:22 PM
Dan, that is similar to what I was talking about but the one I remember was just a bit different.  I'll look around that vending machine site and see if I can find it.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Jim Stettler on January 14, 2010, 12:20:15 AM
Quote from: Dan on January 13, 2010, 05:58:08 PM
Dennis, the horizontal machine you are describing is known to machine collectors as a "slider" machine. Here's a beat up ole pepsi..


I remember using 1 slider at a local surplus store. They had cheap pop for years, it was re-fridgerated. I have only 1 experience with an ice water slider. It was at a back-road gas station. I was young . Probably 1970'ish.  These were both large horizontal ,machines.
Jim S.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 14, 2010, 10:42:21 AM
I never got to use a slider, but I loved the putt-putt mini golf because they had a 10 ounce (not 6 1/2 )  coke in bottles.  40 cents, I believe (1972 or so)
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: jsowers on January 14, 2010, 12:09:09 PM
Quote from: Dan on January 13, 2010, 05:58:08 PM
I think the one Jonathan is referring to is a Vendo 39 (held 39 6 and 1/2 ounce cokes). My barber had one. His was broke, so you handed him your quarter, stuck your hand in the door and MANUALLY pushed the drum to expose a cold pop. Always good and always with a little ice on it.

Sorry, Dan, a V-39 is a vertical machine and looks nothing like what I was referring to. Did you click the link I provided? The one I remember was a horizontal machine exactly like in the picture in the link. It was only about three or four feet high and when you lifted the right-hand lid, you could see the water circulating and stick your hand in it to get a bottle. There were hundreds of different models of Coke machines and that site has a whole lot of them.

My mom grew up working in my grandparents' general store and they had a Coke machine that had circulating cold water. She said the water had to be changed every once in a while because it got dirty.

Does anyone remember Caravan Ginger Ale? Now that would just about take the lining from the inside of your mouth! Or Blenheim Ginger Ale? Strong stuff. Burning hot on the tongue, with a lot of ginger.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 14, 2010, 08:49:09 PM
I didn't click on your link, sorry. I think that one is called a spin top. I have seen a few @ coin-op auctions.

There is a place called jungle jims close to me. They sell Blenheim's. I drank one a few months ago. It is very hot!
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Bill on January 15, 2010, 12:10:36 PM
Quote from: jsowers on January 13, 2010, 03:05:12 PM
Does anyone remember seeing a Coke machine that was horizontal instead of vertical? You put your money in the slot, turned a crank, a circular piece at the top moved until it stopped. Then you opened the small lid inside that circle and pulled out your 6 oz. Coke. It had VERY cold water circulating inside
http://soda-machines.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=569&Itemid=14 (http://soda-machines.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=569&Itemid=14)
Oh my, I do remember something like that. It was a big rectangular tub with very cold water in it, the whole thing covered with a sheet-metal plate. There was a metal "track", for want of a better word, in the plate. The track was actually a serpentine slot, with the bottle necks poking up through it. The bottles sat upright in the water, of coursde, and you would slide them (all of them!) around the track until the one you wanted was in a gate. Then insert a coin, the gate would open, and you could pull the bottle up through it.

Not very handy to use, but boy did the soda taste good!

Bill
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: talkingtime on January 25, 2010, 03:56:09 PM
speaking of old bottle caps
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dennis Markham on January 25, 2010, 04:04:14 PM
Great photo.  I recognize a lot of those flavors from my youth.  It looks like the making for a good jig-saw puzzle.

Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: jsowers on January 25, 2010, 04:39:06 PM
Some great caps, talkingtime. I remember when Tab and Fresca were new and they both tasted very different from what we were used to. One cap I don't see is Cheerwine. Do you have one? It's bottled in Salisbury, NC just to the west of where I live. The Peeler family has owned and run it from the beginning. I probably have some of those caps somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Cheerwine is a black cherry soda sort of like cherry cola. It's a really unique flavor and very carbonated. I use it in the family punch recipe I make every Thanksgiving and Christmas for a crowd of 50+. Turns it a nice dark red.

They still make Cheerwine in bottles with regular caps.

Here's a link to what I suppose is their site. http://www.cheerwinecorp.com/ (http://www.cheerwinecorp.com/) It looks a lot more hip than I would have thought. Cool merch?
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: benhutcherson on January 25, 2010, 05:12:26 PM
My Grandfather lives in West Jefferson, NC, and I was introduced to cheerwine while down there.

A couple of years ago, the local grocery stores started carrying it, although in cans rather than bottles.

It's definitely one of my favorite soft drinks, though. I especially enjoy getting it down there, where it's bottled locally(at West Jefferson Dr. Pepper).

Speaking of regional soft drinks-is anyone familiar with Ale-8-1? It's made just down the road here in Winchester, Kentucky. It's sort of a ginger ale flavored drink, but with a much stronger ginger flavor than the typical ginger ale, and a whole lot of caffeine.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: talkingtime on January 25, 2010, 06:10:26 PM
Quote from: jsowers on January 25, 2010, 04:39:06 PM
Some great caps, talkingtime. I remember when Tab and Fresca were new and they both tasted very different from what we were used to. One cap I don't see is Cheerwine. Do you have one? It's bottled in Salisbury, NC just to the west of where I live. The Peeler family has owned and run it from the beginning. I probably have some of those caps somewhere, but I'm not sure where. Cheerwine is a black cherry soda sort of like cherry cola. It's a really unique flavor and very carbonated. I use it in the family punch recipe I make every Thanksgiving and Christmas for a crowd of 50+. Turns it a nice dark red.

They still make Cheerwine in bottles with regular caps.

Here's a link to what I suppose is their site. http://www.cheerwinecorp.com/ (http://www.cheerwinecorp.com/) It looks a lot more hip than I would have thought. Cool merch?
not sure but I don't think I have that one
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: talkingtime on January 25, 2010, 06:19:23 PM
here is a few more, some with different  design change over the years but all cork lined.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: talkingtime on January 25, 2010, 06:27:51 PM
Quote from: Dennis Markham on January 25, 2010, 04:04:14 PM
Great photo.  I recognize a lot of those flavors from my youth.  It looks like the making for a good jig-saw puzzle.


Yes, I thought the same thing and I once had a pocket watch 500 piece jig-saw puzzle that kind of look like this layout. Man it took awhile to put that sucker together. It was my first and only puzzle to date.
Title: Re: DIE-YET COKE?!
Post by: Dan on January 25, 2010, 08:51:29 PM
Quote from: benhutcherson on January 25, 2010, 05:12:26 PM
My Grandfather lives in West Jefferson, NC, and I was introduced to cheerwine while down there.

A couple of years ago, the local grocery stores started carrying it, although in cans rather than bottles.

It's definitely one of my favorite soft drinks, though. I especially enjoy getting it down there, where it's bottled locally(at West Jefferson Dr. Pepper).

Speaking of regional soft drinks-is anyone familiar with Ale-8-1? It's made just down the road here in Winchester, Kentucky. It's sort of a ginger ale flavored drink, but with a much stronger ginger flavor than the typical ginger ale, and a whole lot of caffeine.

Ale-8-1 is here in cincy in cans or bottles. Great ginger-ale.