Shasta

The Shasta Soda Pop Compnay began life in 1889 as the 'Shasta Water Co.' They bottled, of course, mineral water. Their first foray into sugared water was 'Pale Dry Ginger Ale', first produced in 1931.

It was Shasta who first offered drinks in cans (then steel or tin, now aluminium), and the first compnay to offer 'diet' version of its product.

They are only of only two soda companies in North America that offer drinks in 3-litre bottles.

The big 'ol flavour list. Courtesy of ShastaPop.com:

• Black Cherry
• Diet Black Cherry
• Caffeine Free Cola
• Diet Caffeine Free Cola
• Cherry Cola
• Diet Cherry Cola
• Club Soda
• Cola
• Diet Cola
• Cranberry
• Creme Soda
• Diet Creme Soda
• Dr. Shasta
• Diet Dr. Shasta
• Fruit Punch (non-carbonated)
• Ginger Ale (My Favourite!)
• Diet Ginger Ale
• Grape
• Diet Grape
• Guava Passion Fruit (Hey, it's GPF!)
• Horchata
• Jamaica
• Kiwi Strawberry
• Diet Kiwi Strawberry
• Mango
• Manzana
• Moon Mist
• Orange
• Diet Orange
• Pineapple
• Pineapple Orange
• Piña
• Raspberry Creme
• Red Pop
• Root Beer
• Diet Root Beer
• Ruby Red Grapefruit
• Diet Grapefruit
• Sangria
• Strawberry
• Diet Strawberry
• Strawberry Peach
• Diet Strawberry Peach
• Tamarindo
• Tonic Mix
• Twist Lime Lemon
• Diet Twist Lime Lemon
• Zazz

...and for a while in my youth I know they produced, for a short time, a concotion called 'Chocolate Soda'. It wasn't popular for obvious reasons.

And of course Shasta was the boy in A Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis, a fair-haired slave boy among the Calormenes. It turned out that he was the missing Prince Cor, and therefore heir-apparent to the throne of Archenland, a position he was much reluctant to take up. Eventually he married his fellow escapee, the Tarkheena Aravis.

Shas"ta (?), n.

A mountain peak, etc., in California.

© Webster 1913.