Why Is Vernors Ginger Ale Such a Big Deal in Michigan?

Ask someone from outside Michigan to name a ginger ale and they’ll say Canada Dry. Ask a Michigander and they’ll look at you like you’ve lost your mind, because the only correct answer is Vernors — and it’s woven so deeply into Michigan life that people treat it as both a beverage and a medicine.

Here’s what makes it a genuine “everybody knows it but doesn’t know the facts” topic. Vernors is, by most accounts, one of the oldest surviving soft drinks in the United States — it traces back to Detroit pharmacist James Vernor, with the popular story being that he created it around the time of the Civil War and that it developed its distinctive flavor while aging in an oak barrel. (The company long promoted the barrel-aging origin story, though one of Vernor’s own sons later said the recipe more likely came together after the war; historians treat the exact 1860s timeline as company legend rather than firmly documented, but the drink is unquestionably very old.) It’s a “golden” ginger ale — darker, sweeter, and much stronger and spicier than the pale ones, with a ginger bite so sharp it can make your nose tingle and your eyes water on the first sip.

And then there’s the medicine thing. For generations, Michigan parents have given flat, warm Vernors to kids with upset stomachs or colds — the way other regions reach for ginger tea or 7-Up. There’s even a beloved Michigan treat called a Boston Cooler: not from Boston at all, but a blend of Vernors and vanilla ice cream, like a ginger-ale float, believed to have originated in Detroit.