Blenheim Ginger Beer

Personal Collection - Blenheim Ginger Beer

12 FL OZ - Pre-2003

Blenheim is renowned of course for their fine Ginger Ale, but did you know they also made a Ginger Beer? While Blenheim currently produces only 3 varieties of Ginger Ale (#3, #5, and #9 - diet) Blenheim Ginger Beer seems to have still been in production as late as

Blenheim Wooden Sign

Personal Collection - Blenheim Wooden Sign

24"x24" - Date Unknown 

Blenheim fans know it's always worth a stop whenever they see a sign proudly proclaiming 'WE SELL GOOD OLD Blenheim Ginger Ale'. That phrase is retro advertising at its best - simple, straight to the point, and highly effective. Blenheim resellers have long been using signs like this to draw in crowds of thirsty souls. More commonly seen though are smaller plastic signs, similar in design, last produced by Blenheim in the 80's (as I was told by a SOTB employee).  This sign is painted on plywood that shows some serious age. And yes, it's also the same sign used on the header of the blog. If anyone has a clue to its age, please drop me line.

Blenheim Ginger Ale (Black Printing)

Personal Collection - Blenheim Ginger Ale

12 FL OZ - Black Printing - Date Unknown (1990's?)

This is a very interesting bottle for several reasons. For one, the printing is entirely black. This configuration is today reserved for Blenheim's diet variety, however this bottle is clearly not diet. The absence of both a barcode and nutrition facts label to me indicates this bottle predates Blenheim's current offerings, or that this bottle was not labeled for individual sale. (This however is not indicated anywhere on the bottle.)

Blenheim Factory Tours

Apparently it is possible to arrange a factory tour of the Blenheim bottling plant and Danielle O. of the always amazing roadsideamerica.com has a review for us.  This comes as quite the surprise to me because on my recent trip through South of the Border, it seemed pretty clear that visitors weren't permitted....guess it never hurts to ask!

Pre-1915 Mouth Blown Blenheim Bottle

Personal Collection - BLENHEIM BOTTLING WORKS BLENHEIM, S.C.

 Maker unknown - Pre-1915 mouth blown

Bottle is undated, however key bottle characteristics place it between 1890 and 1915.  We all know Blenheim has only been a Southern Tradition since 1903, so this is one of the earliest if not the very first Blenheim bottle design. I would love to know if there is anyone actually at Blenheim that could confirm this. My requests to the company for assistance have thus far gone unanswered and unfortunately I get the sense they may not have very good records from before the time of the Schafer family.

1965 6 1/2 oz Vintage Ginger Ale Bottle

Personal Collection - BLENHEIM GINGER ALE 6 1/2 FL OZ  

 Laurens Glass Works, Laurens, SC - dated 1965 

ACL two tone red and yellow printing

Blenheim Grape Cap / Blenheim Flavors

Personal Collection - Vintage Blenheim Grape Bottle Cap by BLENHEIM BOTG WKS - Date Unknown.

I am guessing it is from the same era as the 6 1/2 oz. bottle from the use of the Palmetto logo. At one time Blenheim produced a whole line of flavored sodas including (but not necessarily limited to) grape, cherry, orange, and strawberry. Whether they came in both 'Hot' and 'Not as Hot' varieties is unclear. If anyone is aware of any other flavors produced by Blenheim or has actually tried any of these flavors, let me know in the comments.