Pommac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pommac is a Swedish carbonated soft drink made of fruits and berries and matured in oak barrels for 3 months. The first pommac was made in 1919. The name comes from "Pomm" as in pomme, apple in French, and "ac" as it is matured on oak barrels like cognac. The recipe is kept a secret.
In 1919, Anders Lindahl, a failed businessman from Hudiksvall moved to Stockholm, Sweden, and founded Fructus Fabriker and began to make Pommac. The recipe was made by a Finland-Swedish inventor. The drink was made for the upper classes as an alcohol free substitute for wine.
Dr. Pepper distributed a formulation of it in the US as a diet drink from 1963 to 1969 in six-and-a-half- and ten-ounce bottles. It took a while for people to become accustomed to the taste, so sales were slow. When sales remained stagnant after six years, and its sweetener, sodium cyclamate, was banned, Dr. Pepper discontinued the product.
Some of its loyal (particularly younger) fans thought of it as "near beer." Pommac is also served as ersatz champagne for teetotallers and car drivers on public celebrations.
In late 2004, Carlsberg in Denmark announced that they were going to cease production of Pommac due to economical reasons. However, after overwhelming public demand (including a petition tallying over 50,000 signatures) was raised in response, the company decided to keep marketing Pommac.
