Best European alternative to Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola has been the world's default fizzy brown drink since 1886. Almost every country in Europe has at least one homegrown answer to it. Most of them have a cult following the size of which is wildly disproportionate to the country's GDP.
The Czechs are fiercely loyal to Kofola — even though (because?) it was invented in the 1960s as a Soviet-bloc workaround for not being able to import Coke. The Slovenians treat Cockta the same way. The Swedes' Cuba Cola is older than most modern colas. Fritz-Kola is the hipster favourite of every Berlin bar. And in Austria, ordering an Almdudler instead of a Coke is basically a national identity statement.
Below: ten European alternatives to Coca-Cola. One per country. Vote for the one you'd reach for in a hot afternoon.
Almdudler
What it is: Austrian herbal lemonade — 32 alpine herbs and grape juice in a fizzy soda. Tastes a bit like an alpine ginger beer but smoother.
Where it's from: Vienna, 1957. The name means 'yodelling in the alpine meadows' which is the kind of detail you can't make up.
The case: Austria's national soft drink and a near-mandatory order in any Austrian Heuriger or Almhütte. Pair it with vodka for the Austrian classic 'Vodka-Almdudler'.
https://www.almdudler.com
Chinotto
What it is: Dark fizzy soda made from chinotto (bitter myrtle-leaved orange). Tastes vaguely cola-coloured but bitter — like Coke's hipper Italian cousin.
Where it's from: Liguria, Italy, late 1800s. Brands include San Pellegrino Chinò, Lurisia Chinotto, and the legendary Brio.
The case: The drink Italian grandfathers order to avoid sweet sodas. Once you acquire the taste, you can't go back to Coke. (Try anyway.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinotto_(drink)
Cockta
What it is: 11 herbs, rosehip, lemon, orange. No caffeine, no phosphoric acid. Tastes nothing like Coke and that's the entire point.
Where it's from: Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), 1953. Predates the arrival of Coca-Cola in Yugoslavia by years. Slovenia country page coming soon on Euronomy.
The case: 'The drink of your and our youth' is the slogan. Yugoslav nostalgia in a bottle. The most herbal cola in Europe by a wide margin.
https://www.cockta.eu
Cuba Cola
What it is: Old-school Swedish cola — sweeter, lighter colour, less aggressive carbonation than American colas.
Where it's from: Sweden, 1953. Founded as Cuba-Cola in Stockholm, predates Pepsi's serious arrival in Europe. Now owned by Carlsberg Sweden.
The case: Europe's oldest still-produced cola. The drink Swedish midsummer parties run on alongside snaps. Underrated, distinctively Swedish, criminally rare outside Sweden.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba_Cola
Fentimans Curiosity Cola
What it is: Botanically brewed cola — real ginger root, juniper, herbal extracts, fermented for 7 days. Comes in a glass bottle that costs about £2.50.
Where it's from: Hexham, Northumberland, UK. Fentimans has been making botanical drinks since 1905; the cola arrived in 2002.
The case: The cola for adults who normally tell you they don't drink cola. Genuinely tastes like a craft drink rather than a fizzy syrup.
https://www.fentimans.com
Fritz-Kola
What it is: Premium German cola with extra caffeine (25mg per 100ml — almost double Coke). Real kola nut, less sweet, an extremely recognisable black-and-white label.
Where it's from: Hamburg, 2002. Founded by two university friends Mirco Wolf Wiegert and Lorenz Hampl when they couldn't get a beer for their party.
The case: The German cola of every cool bar in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. If you've ordered a 'craft cocktail' in continental Europe in the last decade, you've probably had it.
https://www.fritz-kulturwaren.de
Kofola
What it is: Czechoslovak cola made from KOFO syrup — 14 herbs and fruits, less sweet than Coke, served on tap in pubs like beer.
Where it's from: Czechoslovakia, 1959. Invented as a use for surplus caffeine extracted from coffee beans by a state research institute. The communist-era cola that outlived communism.
The case: Czechs will fight you over this. Beats Coke in Czech market share. You can order it on tap, freshly poured, in basically every Czech pub. That's a cultural achievement.
https://www.kofola.cz
Mecca-Cola
What it is: Cola that tastes broadly like the American competition, with 10% of profits going to humanitarian causes (initially Palestinian aid, now broader).
Where it's from: Paris, 2002. Founded by Tunisian-French entrepreneur Tawfik Mathlouthi as an explicit response to the 2003 Iraq war and US foreign policy.
The case: The cola you order to make a point. Available across Europe and the Middle East. The most political beverage on this list.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca-Cola
Polo-Cockta
What it is: Polish communist-era cola, re-released in 2002 with the original PRL packaging. Tastes more like Cockta than Coke (lots of herbs, less sugar).
Where it's from: Poland, originally 1972. Discontinued, then revived. Pure PRL nostalgia in a bottle.
The case: The Polish equivalent of finding your dad's old vinyl. Older Poles get genuinely emotional about it. Marketed entirely on remember-when energy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polo_Cockta
Vinea
What it is: Slovak grape soda — Pearl of Carpathians, made from real Slovak white and red grapes. Like the lightest, fizziest grape juice you've ever had.
Where it's from: Slovakia, 1973. Designed as an alternative to imported soft drinks during the Czechoslovak socialist era. Survived, thrived, exports across Europe now. Slovakia country page coming soon on Euronomy.
The case: Most non-Slovaks have never heard of it; most Slovaks would defend it with their lives. Pairs astonishingly well with Christmas dinner.
https://www.vinea.sk