The "Dry" in the brand's name refers to not being sweet, as in a dry wine. When John J. McLaughlin, who first formulated "Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale", originally made his new soft drink, it was far less sweet than other ginger ales then available; as a result, he labelled it "dry".[4]
When McLaughlin began shipping his product to New York, it became so popular that he opened a plant in Manhattan shortly thereafter. After McLaughlin's death in 1914, the company was run briefly by his brother, Samuel McLaughlin. P. D. Saylor and Associates bought the business from the McLaughlin family in 1923 and formed Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Inc., a public company.[1]
Canada Dry's popularity as a mixer began during Prohibition, when its flavor helped mask the taste of homemade liquor.[8] In the 1930s, Canada Dry expanded worldwide. From the 1950s onward, the company introduced a larger number of products.
In 2019, Canada Dry faced false advertising lawsuits from a few consumers who requested class action status.[13] Although the ingredients included a natural flavour extract made from ginger root,[14] the plaintiffs said the drink did not have enough ginger flavor for people to be able to taste it, and that they thought the advertising slogan indicated that the drink was "made by chopping or powdering the root of the ginger plant", instead of using a small amount of liquid extracted from a ginger root.[13] To settle this lawsuit, the company decided to stop making this claim in the US and to offer between US$5.20 and $40 to affected US consumers.[13][15]
In early 2019, a class-action lawsuit was requested in Canada,[16] where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulations specify that ingredients in food may be described as "real" if that ingredient "is present in the food, regardless of what form (e.g., frozen, powdered, ground, concentrated, etc.)".[14] In a settlement, Canada Dry Mott's Inc. agreed to pay $200,000, inclusive of all expenses and fees, plus disbursements of $18,607.61, but it did not require the defendant to change its product labelling or advertising for products marketed in Canada. The settlement amount was to be distributed to the class members by way of cy-près donation to the Law Foundation of British Columbia, while two lead plaintiffs, Victor Cardoso and Lionel Ravvin, received $1,500 each.[17][18]
The subjectivity of how much ginger is necessary before a product can be fairly described as being "made from real ginger" prompted one author to quip that "The truth is in the lie of the beholder".[14]
Diet Canada Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale (rebranded in as Canada Dry Cranberry Zero Sugar)
Canada Dry Blackberry Ginger Ale
Canada Dry Lemon Ginger Ale
Canada Dry Sparkling Seltzer Water (unflavored and mineral free)
Canada Dry Flavored Sparkling Seltzer Water (Lemon Lime, Mandarin Orange, Raspberry, Triple Berry, Pomegranate Cherry, Peach Mango and Cranberry Lime; all available in low sodium and sodium free varieties) [20]
Brands with limited availability in the United States include:
Canada Dry Pineapple
Canada Dry Peach
Black Cherry Wishniak
Island Lime
Wild Cherry
Vanilla Cream
Blackberry Ginger Ale
Cranberry Ginger Ale (nationwide; however, only sold during the Christmas season)
Canada Dry Bold Ginger Ale
Canada Dry Winter Variety Pack- (Club channel only during Winter months)- Canada Dry Ginger Ale Regular, Canada Dry Ginger Ale Cranberry Regular, and Canada Dry Blackberry Ginger Ale Regular
Canada Dry Summer Variety Pack- (Club channel only during Summer months)- Canada Dry Ginger Ale Regular, Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Lemonade, and Canada Dry Ginger Ale and Raspberry Lemonade
Cranberry Ginger Ale (Canada during the Christmas season, although also available in the United States during the Christmas season)
Blackberry Ginger Ale (Canada, spring 2016, summer 2022 & 2023; also sold in some U.S. stores as 20 oz. bottles, but not all stores that sell Canada Dry sell the Blackberry variant)
Canada Dry Pineapple (U.S.)
Canada Dry Peach (U.S.)
Black Cherry Wishniak (U.S.)
Island Lime (U.S.)
Wild Cherry (U.S.)
Vanilla Cream (U.S.)
Pomegranate (Canada spring time 2023)
Marketing
Nylon Studios produced the song used in the Rabbit's "Jack's Farm" commercial featuring Canada Dry Ginger Ale.[23] A Cantonese version of the ad was also produced.
^Witzel, Michael Karl; Gyvel Young-Witzel (May 1998). Soda pop!: from miracle medicine to pop culture. Town Square Books. p. 68. ISBN978-0-89658-326-9.