Sweetened non-alcoholic drink, often carbonated

Soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink (see <a href="#Terminology" target="_blank">§ Terminology</a> for other names) is a <a href="/en/Drink" title="Drink" class="wl">drink</a> that usually contains water (often <a href="/en/Carbonated_water" title="Carbonated water" class="wl">carbonated</a>), a <a href="/en/Sweetness" title="Sweetness" class="wl">sweetener</a>, and a natural and/or <a href="/en/Artificial_Flavoring" title="Artificial Flavoring" class="mw-redirect wl">artificial flavoring</a>. The sweetener may be a <a href="/en/Sugar" title="Sugar" class="wl">sugar</a>, <a href="/en/High-fructose_corn_syrup" title="High-fructose corn syrup" class="wl">high-fructose corn syrup</a>, <a href="/en/Fruit_juice" title="Fruit juice" class="mw-redirect wl">fruit juice</a>, a <a href="/en/Sugar_substitute" title="Sugar substitute" class="wl">sugar substitute</a> (in the case of <a href="/en/Diet_drink" title="Diet drink" class="wl">diet drinks</a>), or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain <a href="/en/Caffeine" title="Caffeine" class="wl">caffeine</a>, <a href="/en/Food_coloring" title="Food coloring" class="wl">colorings</a>, <a href="/en/Preservative" title="Preservative" class="wl">preservatives</a>, and/or other ingredients.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Sweetened non-alcoholic drink, often carbonated</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg/220px-Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="489" data-file-height="670" data-file-type="bitmap" height="301" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg/330px-Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg/440px-Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg 2x" alt="Tumbler_of_cola_with_ice.jpg"></a><figcaption>A glass of <a href="/en/Cola" title="Cola" class="wl">cola</a> served with <a href="/en/Ice_cube" title="Ice cube" class="wl">ice cubes</a></figcaption></figure>
<figure class="mw-default-size wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station,_Japan_-_コカコーラ_自動販売機.JPG" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station,_Japan_-_コカコーラ_自動販売機.JPG"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG/220px-016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG" decoding="async" data-file-width="805" data-file-height="805" data-file-type="bitmap" height="220" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG/330px-016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG/440px-016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG 2x" alt="016_Coca-Cola_vending_machine_at_Kyoto_Station%2C_Japan_-_%E3%82%B3%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A9_%E8%87%AA%E5%8B%95%E8%B2%A9%E5%A3%B2%E6%A9%9F.JPG"></a><figcaption>Soft drink <a href="/en/Vending_machine" title="Vending machine" class="wl">vending machine</a> in <a href="/en/Japan" title="Japan" class="wl">Japan</a></figcaption></figure>

Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" <a href="/en/Alcoholic_beverages" title="Alcoholic beverages" class="mw-redirect wl">alcoholic drinks</a>. Small amounts of <a href="/en/Alcohol_(drug)" title="Alcohol (drug)" class="wl">alcohol</a> may be present in a soft drink, but the <a href="/en/Alcohol_by_volume" title="Alcohol by volume" class="wl">alcohol content</a> must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink in many countries and localities<a href="#cite_note-ECFE-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-alcoholfree.co.uk-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a> if the drink is to be considered <a href="/en/Non-alcoholic_drink" title="Non-alcoholic drink" class="wl">non-alcoholic</a>.<a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> Types of soft drinks include <a href="/en/Lemon-lime_drink" title="Lemon-lime drink" class="mw-redirect wl">lemon-lime drinks</a>, <a href="/en/Orange_soda" title="Orange soda" class="mw-redirect wl">orange soda</a>, <a href="/en/Cola" title="Cola" class="wl">cola</a>, <a href="/en/Grape_soda" title="Grape soda" class="mw-redirect wl">grape soda</a>, <a href="/en/Ginger_ale" title="Ginger ale" class="wl">ginger ale</a>, and <a href="/en/Root_beer" title="Root beer" class="wl">root beer</a>.

Soft drinks may be served cold, over <a href="/en/Ice" title="Ice" class="wl">ice</a> cubes, or at room <a href="/en/Temperature" title="Temperature" class="wl">temperature</a>. They are available in many container formats, including <a href="/en/Soda_can" title="Soda can" class="mw-redirect wl">cans</a>, <a href="/en/Glass_bottles" title="Glass bottles" class="mw-redirect wl">glass bottles</a>, and <a href="/en/Plastic_bottles" title="Plastic bottles" class="mw-redirect wl">plastic bottles</a>. Containers come in a variety of sizes, ranging from small bottles to large multi-liter containers. Soft drinks are widely available at <a href="/en/Fast_food_restaurant" title="Fast food restaurant" class="mw-redirect wl">fast food restaurants</a>, <a href="/en/Movie_theater" title="Movie theater" class="wl">movie theaters</a>, <a href="/en/Convenience_store" title="Convenience store" class="wl">convenience stores</a>, <a href="/en/Casual-dining_restaurants" title="Casual-dining restaurants" class="mw-redirect wl">casual-dining restaurants</a>, dedicated <a href="/en/Soda_store" title="Soda store" class="mw-redirect wl">soda stores</a>, <a href="/en/Vending_machine" title="Vending machine" class="wl">vending machines</a>, and <a href="/en/Bar_(establishment)" title="Bar (establishment)" class="wl">bars</a> from <a href="/en/Soda_fountain" title="Soda fountain" class="wl">soda fountain</a> machines.

Within a decade of the invention of carbonated water by <a href="/en/Joseph_Priestley" title="Joseph Priestley" class="wl">Joseph Priestley</a> in 1767, inventors in Britain and in Europe had used his concept to produce the drink in greater quantities. One such inventor, <a href="/en/Johann_Jacob_Schweppe" title="Johann Jacob Schweppe" class="wl">J. J. Schweppe</a>, formed <a href="/en/Schweppes" title="Schweppes" class="wl">Schweppes</a> in 1783 and selling the world's first bottled soft drink.<a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-Atlantic-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> Soft drink brands founded in the 19th century include <a href="/en/R._White's_Lemonade" title="R. White's Lemonade" class="wl">R. White's Lemonade</a> in 1845, <a href="/en/Dr_Pepper" title="Dr Pepper" class="wl">Dr Pepper</a> in 1885 and <a href="/en/Coca-Cola" title="Coca-Cola" class="wl">Coca-Cola</a> in 1886. Subsequent brands include <a href="/en/Pepsi" title="Pepsi" class="wl">Pepsi</a>, <a href="/en/Irn-Bru" title="Irn-Bru" class="wl">Irn-Bru</a>, <a href="/en/Sprite_(drink)" title="Sprite (drink)" class="wl">Sprite</a>, <a href="/en/Fanta" title="Fanta" class="wl">Fanta</a>, <a href="/en/7_Up" title="7 Up" class="wl">7 Up</a> and <a href="/en/Campa_Cola" title="Campa Cola" class="wl">Campa Cola</a>.

A soft drink is a drink that usually contains water , a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute , or some combination of these. Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives, and/or other ingredients. Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink in many countries and localities Types of soft drinks include lemon-lime drinks, orange soda, cola, grape soda, ginger ale, and root beer. 