Like most pharmacists in the late 1800s, Caleb Bradham experimented with a variety of drink mixtures at his New Bern, North Carolina, soda fountain. One customer favorite was known simply as “Brad’s Drink,” made from a combination of carbonated water, caffeine-rich kola nuts, vanilla, and other essential oils. In 1898, Bradham decided to rename the recipe “Pepsi-Cola,” incorporating a reference to the digestive enzyme pepsin, which gave the...Continue Reading