Vanilla Cream Soda
Sparkling water, real vanilla, and cream — E.M. Sheldon's 1852 soda fountain cream soda elevated by real Mexican Vanilla planifolia over commercial vanillin.
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Vanilla Cream Soda is a non-alcoholic celebration of the cream soda tradition that dates to 19th-century American soda fountains, where pharmacists and soda jerks experimented with carbonated water combinations to create novel beverages. E.M. Sheldon of Michigan is often credited with an early cream soda recipe from 1852, and the vanilla-flavored carbonated drink became one of the most popular soda fountain options of the late 19th century. The artisanal cream soda format — using high-quality vanilla extract or fresh vanilla bean rather than the artificial vanilla of commercial sodas — became a craft beverage category in the 2000s alongside the broader premium soda movement. Fresh vanilla's complex floral and woody character, from the Vanilla planifolia orchid native to Mexico, elevates the drink far beyond what artificial vanillin produces.
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