The World's Most Popular Sodas — That You've Never Heard Of

The rise of popular American brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola inspired entrepreneurs around the world to create their own sodas using local ingredients. Today, pop and fizz is a universal language.

One of the most popular drinks in Scotland, Irn-Bru is a bright orange soda noted for its high sugar content (23.6 grams per 8.5 ounces). The drink is also widely considered an excellent hangover cure.

Originally a medical soda, Ricqlès is a mint-flavored soda noted for its refreshing quality; others (including this writer) think it tastes like liquefied gum.

Always one step ahead, the Chinese have dubbed their most popular soft drink Future Cola. It was introduced in 1998 with the tagline: "The Chinese people's own cola." Feel like you're missing out over here in the States? It's sold as China Cola here, or you can just mix Coca-Cola with Pepsi, which is how people have described it.

If any country is inventing/creating/drinking milk soda, it's South Korea because of its love of all things quirky. This interesting beverage launched back in 1989 and is available in six flavors: classic, orange, strawberry, mango, melon, and banana.

Made in Iran, but popular around the Muslim world, Zamzam is a cola drink that gets its name from the Well of Zamzam in Mecca, which is noted for being sweeter than most colas and not as refreshing.

You may remember this very popular caffeinated cola beverage if you've watched Eat, Pray, Love in which the heroine, Liz, enjoys a Thums Up with Richard while staying at an ashram. Thums Up has less intense bubbles and a complexity of spices.

As you may have guessed, this is a cola from Turkey, but you may be surprised to learn that Chevy Chase made several commercials for this soft drink, which stirred up some controversy as not only were there strong ill-feelings towards the West, but also, well, just watch the commercial.

This fruit-based soft drink, which comes in grapefruit, orange, lemon, apple, and bitter (not a fruit, but who's counting?), is best known in Spain and southern France for mixing well with alcohol.

Sure, the name says "cola," but this drink, described as "sweet" and "fruity," isn't the classic brown color — hence its advertising moniker, "The Golden Kola." The beverage's main ingredient is lemon verbena, and many outside of the region say if the color doesn't turn you off, the "acquired taste" will.

Started in 1918, Foxton Fizz is one of the last independent soda companies left on the archipelago and proudly declares it's "Kiwi owned." With its retro packaging and flavors like raspberry, lime, lemonade, deluxe cola, and creaming (no, that's not a misspelling), this is what New Zealanders reach for in the fridge.