Kaine takes up the fight to resurrect Northern Neck Ginger Ale

Sen. Tim Kaine is wading into the battle to resurrect Northern Neck Ginger Ale, a soft drink produced in Montross for almost 75 years that has maintained a cult following in Virginia despite being discontinued in 2020. 

by Sarah Vogelsong, Virginia Mercury

In a letter to Coca-Cola, which produced the beverage and owns its recipe, Sen. Tim Kaine urged the company “to find a way to continue the production and sale of Northern Neck Ginger Ale in the region, whether it is restarting production, selling the brand to another company interested in producing it, or working with local stakeholders to find a producer able to license and distribute the brand regionally.”  Northern Neck Ginger Ale.

Asked by the Mercury if the senator was a drinker of the ginger ale himself, Kaine said the refreshment “has long been a staple of my wife’s family gatherings in Lancaster County and I can testify that there’s no better ginger ale on the planet.” 

Northern Neck Ginger Ale was first produced in 1926 by Arthur Carver in Montross, where it was subsequently made and bottled until 2001. In that year, Coca-Cola purchased the recipe and moved production to Sandston, outside Richmond. 

Then, in July 2020, News on the Neck reported the company had temporarily suspended the soda’s production, citing “industry-wide supply issues of cans” during the pandemic. Months later the company said it would retire the brand. 

In the wake of its demise, a vocal “Save Northern Neck Ginger Ale” group with thousands of members has sprung up, circulating petitions and purchasing a billboard in Richmond (which is not on the Northern Neck) that reads: “Northern Neck region, do you miss your ginger ale?” 

Former Gov. Ralph Northam, an Eastern Shore native, also reached out to Coca-Cola in 2020 in an effort to keep Northern Neck Ginger Ale in production, but his efforts were in vain. 

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sarah Vogelsong for questions: [email protected]. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.