coke is it

A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my friends about the demise of my favorite Coke product, Vanilla Coke. Once Coca-Cola announced they wouldn't make it any more, they introduced Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. I liked that combination so I didn't complain too loudly. Then that version disappeared too, leaving me with only Cherry Coke. I'm not a huge Cherry Coke fan but the taste of canned Coke is not my favorite so I deal with it.

Of course, fountain Cokes are by far the best drink in the entire world. Finding a restaurant with the perfect syrup to soda water ratio is like hitting the jackpot. It goes without saying that it must be actual Coke, no Pepsi products for this Southerner unless truly, truly desperate for caffeine. But I digress.

My friend asked me why I didn't just buy vanilla syrup and mix it with regular Cokes. I hadn't really thought about it, honestly, since I try not to drink Coke all that much as it is. Anyway, he and I are getting together for lunch and a movie tomorrow and I thought it would be fun to make "real" Vanilla Cokes. I set about searching for vanilla syrup. When I couldn't find it at Publix or Target, I went to the web. I found Torani syrups are sold at Fresh Markets in this part of Florida, so I made a quick trip out there this morning. No problem. Then I hopped across the street to a Publix to buy regular Coke. I headed down the Cola aisle and couldn't believe what I saw. Vanilla Coke. In cans. On sale even -- buy 3 get 1 free. So I bought 3 Vanilla Cokes and 1 regular (after all, I still had the syrup.)

I was excited until I started to think about it some. Were they purging the last of their stash? Was it actually available at stores other than the Publix I regularly shop at? I was curious, so I stopped by another Publix that was on my way home. Sure enough, they had boxes of Vanilla Coke. Now I know for a fact that my Publix doesn't carry them (occasionally I check, hopeful that it'll be there.) I hopped online when I got home and found out that Coca-Cola reintroduced Vanilla Coke back in May (they call it Coca-Cola Vanilla now.) May? Why is it taking so long to reach stores again? I know it's not just Gainesville. I travel quite a bit and would have noticed Vanilla Coke bottles in the gas stations around the state. Anyway, I suppose I shouldn't complain. I bought enough to last me well into the summertime and, well, Vanilla Coke is back!

But now having two different ways to make Vanilla Cokes makes me wonder which would be better -- Coke with vanilla syrup added at home or straight Vanilla Coke out of a can. Tomorrow we'll test it and see. I'm even going to see if I can scrounge up other Vanilla Coke contenders between now and then (definitely Sonic, although using fountain Coke will alter the outcome I think.) I'll report back with our results.

In the meantime, check out this graph. What do they call Coke in your neck of the woods?