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Ginger Ale on the Web • Images of Canada Dry Ginger Ale

Around 1851, the first ginger ales were created in Ireland.

John McLaughlin invented the modern Canada Dry version of Ginger Ale in 1907. Canadian, John McLaughlin graduated from the University of Toronto in 1885 with a Gold Medal in Pharmacy. By 1890, John McLaughlin had started in the soda pop business by opening a carbonated water plant in Toronto, Canada. He sold his product to local drugstores that used the carbonated water to mix with fruit juices and flavoring to create delicious sodas to sell to their soda fountain customers. John McLaughlin began making his own soda drink recipes and created McLaughlin Belfast Style Ginger Ale in 1890. McLaughlin also developed a method of mass bottling his Ginger Ale leading to successful sales. Each bottle of McLaughlin Belfast Style Ginger Ale had a map of Canada and a picture of a beaver (the national animal of Canada) on the label.

By 1907, John McLauglin had refined his recipe by lightening the dark color and improving the sharp taste of his first Ginger Ale. The result was Canada Dry Pale Dry Ginger Ale which John McLaughlin patented.

On May 16, 1922, "Canada Dry" Pale Ginger Ale was trademark registered. "The Champagne of Ginger Ales" is another famous Canada Dry trademark.

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