It's hard to find a person who has never heard of sodas like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, etc. They are huge brands and dominate the soda industry.

Never heard of Dr. Enuf before?

I'm not surprised. You typically can't find it outside of Northeast Tennessee (though it is sold in a few parts of southwestern Virginia and North Carolina).

A Childhood Favorite

When I was a kid growing up in East Tennessee I remember getting a glass bottled drink called Dr. Enuf. I'd sit outside on the back porch with an icy cold bottle of Dr. Enuf on hot summer days. The glass was green colored and I'd always save the bottle because I thought it was pretty.

Dr. Enuf is described as a lemon-lime soda but to me it reminds me more of ginger ale. I know a lot of people drink it to help an upset stomach. It's also suppose to be a healthier alternative to energy drinks because it has vitamins said to give you energy.

If you've ever had Mountain Dew, it was also developed in my hometown by a company called Tri-cities Beverage. The original developers of Mountain Dew also owned the Dr. Enuf brand. Mountain Dew was more widely popular and ended up being sold to Pepsi while Tri-Cities Beverage kept Dr. Enuf a local brand.

The product description says it contains 80% of the daily vitamins a person needs like Vitamin B1, B3, potassium, and iodine. There are herbal flavors that have ginseng and guarana in them. The drink was originally developed to have lots of vitamins to compete as a healthy alternative to sugar filled sodas bad for peoples' health.

Dr. Enuf is very popular where I live. You can get it at Cracker Barrel restaurants and also a local fast food joint called Pals. Not everyone loves it because of the ginger ale type taste. Even though it is lemon-lime flavored it is nothing like Sprite or 7-Up. It's very unique and reminds me a bit of taking vitamins (the flavor of the vitamin pill). I grew up drinking it so I love it but my husband who isn't from here hates the taste.

When my best friend moved from East Tennessee to Chicago I would mail her bottles of Dr. Enuf for Christmas and her birthday. She loved it so much that she'd buy several months worth when she visited home on vacations. The soda isn't for everybody but we locals love it.

Have you ever heard of Dr. Enuf? Do you have any local foods not found everywhere?

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