A soft drink (also called soda, pop, coke, soda pop, fizzy drink, tonic, seltzer, mineral, sparkling water or carbonated beverage) is a beverage that typically contains water (often, but not always carbonated water), usually a sweetener, and usually a flavoring agent. The sweetener may be sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, sugar substitutes (in the case of diet drinks) or a combination of these.
Soft drinks may also contain caffeine, colorings, preservatives and other ingredients.
Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast to "hard drinks" (alcoholic beverages). 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 if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic.
Widely sold soft drink flavors are cola, cherry, lemon-lime, root beer, orange, grape, vanilla, ginger ale, fruit punch, and sparkling lemonade.
Soft drinks may be served chilled or at room temperature. They are rarely heated.
Read more about Soft Drink: History, Health Effects
Famous quotes containing the words soft and/or drink:
“When as that Rubie, which you weare,
Sunk from the tip of your soft eare,
Will last to be a precious Stone,
When all your world of Beautie ‘s gone.”
—Robert Herrick (1591–1674)
“Other countries drink to get drunk, and this is accepted by everyone; in France, drunkenness is a consequence, never an intention. A drink is felt as the spinning out of a pleasure, not as the necessary cause of an effect which is sought: wine is not only a philtre, it is also the leisurely act of drinking.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)