A soda fountain from decades gone by was a very different experience than picking up a favorite pop bottled and ready to go at any corner store. At the fountain, you'd sit at a counter to be served by a jerk who would mix carbonated water and syrup. That's the era of Detroiter Cola. A pop made clearly by the name, in Detroit for the people of Detroit.
However, this Michigan-made pop, unlike brands like Faygo and Vernors, appears totally lost to time.
A Detroit area resident discovered a true antique - a bottle of Detroiter Cola syrup and shared the find on Reddit.
READ MORE: Michigan's Faygo Red Pop - What Really is the Flavor?
The person who found and posted the bottle says,
Found it the other day at a yard sale. One city down from Detroit. They didn't know anything about it either. Cut label reads RRIS Extract Company Detroit Michigan.
The label implores soda drinkers to 'Demand' Detroiter Cola. It's described as a 'deliciously flavored syrup' made with cane sugar and flavoring materials.
The question is, does anyone know anything about the brand? A Google search turns up nothing (except the reddit post and, now, this article). Neither does a search for relics on eBay. Same nil results when checking out the digital archives of Michigan newspapers held by Central Michigan University.
It would be quite the rare find in the internet era for a nostalgic brand to have fully slipped our collective consciousness. But that may just be the case with Detroiter Cola.