Blenheim comes to us from Hamer, South Carolina. The current owners claim this to be the oldest independent bottler in America. I find this claim to be dubious since their bottling only began in 1903 and there are some independent sodas still with us from the late 1800's, such as this one. However, this is yet another of the old bottlers that began with the healing waters bubbling up from a local spring. These sodas are direct descendants of the mineral spring phenomenon, and some of that history is explained in one my earliest posts about Moxie. As with many mineral waters, early consumers did not always care for the taste so various flavorings were added. In the case of Blenheim C.R. May added Jamaican ginger root to create a natural ginger ale soda.
The scent is like am ambrosia of ginger, very nice, and with an attractive champagne color. Wow does this pack a wallop. The very first sense was smooth and cool. That gave way very quickly to a sharp kick of heat to the back of the mouth. It's very strong and should really be called a ginger beer, rather than a ginger ale as the ales are typically less intense. Although a modern rarity among bars, ginger ale is a classic mixer. This would pack one hell of a punch if used as a mixer with vodka or rum. As someone who doesn't like spicy foods, I won't even be able to drink a quarter of this bottle. But if you fall into the niche of people that like spiciness this may be up your alley.
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