Ale-8-One

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Ale 8 One

Official Ale-8-One Logo
Type	Soft drink
Manufacturer	Ale-8-One Bottling Company, Inc.
Origin	United States
Introduced	July 13, 1926 (100 years ago)
Flavor	Ginger ale, lemon-lime
Variants	Ale-8 Zero Sugar Caffeine Free Ale-8 Zero Sugar Cherry Cherry Ale-8 Zero Sugar Orange Cream Soda Strawberry Watermelon Blackberry Peach Roxa-Cola Roxa-Cola Zero Sugar Pawpaw
Website	ale8one.com

Ale-8-One pronounced as A Late One,^[1] colloquially Ale-8, is a ginger-ale soft drink bottled by the Ale-8-One Bottling Company in Winchester, Kentucky, United States. It is distributed primarily to retailers in Kentucky.^[2]

The formula for Ale-8-One was developed by soda bottler G. L. Wainscott in the 1920s.^[3] Wainscott, who had been in the soda business in Winchester, Kentucky since 1902, had developed Roxa-Kola, his previous flagship product, in 1906. In creating the formula for Ale-8-One, Wainscott drew upon his knowledge of ginger-based recipes acquired in northern Europe.^[3]

Wainscott began bottling Ale-8-One in 1926, and sponsored a naming contest for the drink. "A Late One" was chosen as the winning entry, suggesting that the product was "the latest thing" in soft drinks, and shortened to "Ale-8-One".^[3][4]

In 1935, Wainscott purchased a livery stable in Winchester and converted it to a bottling factory to expand his operation.^[3] Upon Wainscott's death in 1944, half of his company stock went to his wife; the other half was divided among his employees.^[3] When his wife died in 1954, her stock was left to her brother, Frank A. Rogers.^[3] Rogers bought the remaining company stock in 1962 and incorporated the Ale-8-One Bottling Company.^[3] He named his son, Frank Rogers Jr., manager of the new company.^[3]

The Ale-8-One Bottling Company constructed a new plant in Winchester in 1965.^[3] It ceased production of Roxa-Kola in 1968 and by 1974, had halted production of all its other drinks to focus on Ale-8-One.^[3] The company remains under the control of the Rogers family.^[3]

A limited edition reissue of Roxa-Kola was released in November 2023, and re-released for a long term run in 2024.^[5][6]

The Ale-8-One recipe is a closely guarded family secret.^[2] Reportedly, only former company president Frank A. Rogers III and his son, current president Fielding Rogers, know its exact composition.^[7] Scientific studies have proven that Ale-8-One has less caffeine than Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or Mountain Dew.^[2]

In 2003, the company announced limited distribution of Diet Ale-8,^[8] its first new product since the introduction of the original Ale-8 in 1926. Diet Ale 8, which was renamed Ale-8 Zero Sugar in 2020, contains 44 mg of caffeine and no sugars. The diet variety is sweetened with a mixture of acesulfame potassium and sucralose.^{[citation needed]} Caffeine Free Diet Ale 8 (now Caffeine Free Ale-8 Zero Sugar), sweetened with Splenda, followed in March 2011.^{[citation needed]}

In 2018, Cherry Ale-8 was released. It was first available exclusively in fountain drink form, then it became available in bottles.^[9][10][11] A zero-sugar version of Cherry Ale-8 became available in 2020.^[8] In April 2019, Ale-8-One announced a new orange cream soda flavor to be available in early May of that year.^[12] In May 2022, Blackberry Ale-8 was released to the public, in a bottled form. In May 2023, Peach Ale-8 was released as a limited edition.^[13] In July 2024, StrawMelon Ale-8 was released as a limited edition.^[14] In August 2025, PawPaw Ale-8 was released as a seasonal edition.^[15]

For much of its history, Ale-8 was only available in central and eastern Kentucky. In April 2001, the Ale-8-One Bottling Company expanded its distribution to areas of southern Ohio and southern Indiana through an agreement with Coca-Cola Enterprises. Later, distribution expanded to East Tennessee and western Virginia.^[when?] It is also available in some parts of West Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2015, Ale-8 announced plans to expand distribution into Indianapolis.^{[needs update]}

In 2016, Cracker Barrel began distributing the drink nationwide in all of its locations.^[16][17] In 2017, The Fresh Market began distributing Ale-8 and Diet Ale-8 in their stores in the eastern and Midwestern United States.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, the Ale-8-One Bottling Company introduced Ale-8-One Salsa, which was available as an experimental product, but became a permanent item at Kroger stores and on the company's online store. The salsa was inspired by a Sullivan University student who won a contest commemorating the company's 80th anniversary by making a salsa dish with Ale-8-One as an ingredient.^[18] Shortly after,^[when?] Ale-8-One Barbecue Sauce was introduced.^{[citation needed]}

• Craft soda

Works cited

• Walton, Riley Rogers (1992). "Ale-8-One". In John E. Kleber (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Associate editors: Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0. Retrieved 27 May 2019.

• Official website
• Review on BevNET.com
• Sauceman, Fred (September 30, 2005). "Kentucky's Ale-8-One Soon to Turn 80" WETS-fm Public Radio site.
• Lomax, Rebecca (July 18–24, 2002). "The Latest Thing." (Cincinnati) CityBeat.