Muddy’s Blog

boylan: finally a soda worthy to accompany your muddy's!

If you're a loyal veteran customer of the original Muddy's store, you may have noticed a few new faces in our soda line up at that location. Of course if you've come to see us at Muddy's Midtown, you already know them well, but in any case we want to say, "Welcome, Boylan sodas, to our Sanderlin store!"

Now get in our bellies!

Of course, you may be wondering, "Why Boylan? What's so special?" To answer that question, I sat down with Jake, Muddy's Midtown's resident soda enthusiast, for a very passionate interview on the topic.

So Jake, how long have you been drinking soda? 
As long as I can remember. My parents let me drink soda growing up. I think we all got to try it as toddlers. I learned to enjoy in moderation, no more than one a day, you know.

And when was the first time you had a Boylan soda?
Boylan?s I first tried at Muddy?s Midtown. Kip brought in a couple for us to sample early on, and the first I tried was the Ginger Ale. We started with a different line up than we have now.

How did Muddy's decide on its line up today?
Well, it?s been trial and error seeing what our customers like, and what we like. Stephen, Drew, and I will have at least three or four sodas a week (we buy them of course). My bank account shows the same small charge to Muddy's over and over again. And one time, Steven and I split a case. Boylan's is just so good!

And just what is this Boylan line up we keep talking about? What flavors are available at Muddy's now?
We always have Birch Beer, Cane Cola, Ginger Ale, Grape, and Root Beer. Sometimes you may find Shirley Temple or Cream Soda. We didn?t have Grape or Birch Beer at first, but when we sampled them, we found everyone loved them.

And why Boylan's? What so special?
Plain and simple, they are good sodas. They are craft sodas made with only real cane sugar, and only made in small batches, something they are very proud of. The small batches mean you get a much fuller flavor. The flavors are less spread out. Boylan's has been made that way since 1891, when they started out with their birch beer. 


Tell me about this Birch Beer stuff. I had never heard of it before.
I had never heard of it before, either, but I have found that it's much more popular up north. Here in the south, we love our root beer, but it's very similar. Most customers who pick up a root beer, I suggest the birch beer. It's made the same way, just with a different plant. Boylan's
 Birch Beer is made with real herbal extracts from birch bark. At one point in history, it was made with oak bark, but they went back to birch because it has a minty, crisper taste. You know root beer has almost a mintiness that sets it apart from Coke. Birch beer is like root beer, but it has even more of that crisper bite to it. But it?s not as sweet. It has enough sugar to go down easily, don't get me wrong, but it definitely has a pleasant bite.

And it's no secret what your favorite Boylan soda is, but our readers don't know. Tell me all about it.
Well, first I will say that I have yet to have tasted a Boylan that I haven't liked. But Grape is my personal favorite, and I would love to tell you why. 


It's a really light grape soda. I've always thought most grape sodas were too syrupy and heavy, but Boylan?s is different. The Concord grape flavor is delicious and not overbearing. It doesn?t taste like candy--well it does because it?s soda--but I?ve not seen anyone try it out of the fridge and have that reaction: ?Ah.? Every time I take a sip of Boylan's Grape soda, I feel like I?m tasting it for the first time. I forget what it was like, just how good it was, and then I taste it. You know, you don?t see grape sodas too much on tap because they come off as cheap. But Boylan has managed to make it upscale without making it snooty. It?s refreshing, and you don?t feel like you have a cavity when you?re done.

Anything else you'd like to say about Boylan's soda, Jake?
They come in glass 12-ounce bottles, so you've really got the nostalgia factor going on. There?s nothing better than drinking a soda from a glass bottle. It makes you feel like you?re spoiling yourself and drinking something fancier than you even are. Seriously, everyone should give a Boylan soda a try next time they come in for a cupcake, cookie, or muffin!


Hold up, one of these things is not like the other. Do I see... a Cheerwine?
Yes! We've supplemented our amazing Boylan line up with Cheerwine. It's a Cherry cola (more cherry than cola) from North Carolina that everyone LOVES. And like Boylan's sodas, it's made with real sugar!