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A trailer containing bottles of Dr. Enuf

Dr. Enuf is an American brand of soft drink bottled by Tri-City Beverage in Johnson City, Tennessee.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] It is a lemon-lime flavored drink (though its taste is different from common lemon-lime sodas such as Sprite or 7 Up), and is fortified with several water-soluble vitamins. Its marketing slogan is "Enuf is Enough!"

Dr. Enuf's origins date back to 1949, when a Chicago businessman named William Mark Swartz was urged by coworkers to formulate a soft drink fortified with vitamins as an alternative to sugar sodas full of empty calories. He developed an "energy booster" drink containing B vitamins, caffeine and cane sugar. After placing a notice in a trade magazine seeking a bottler, he formed a partnership with Charles Gordon of Tri-City Beverage to produce and distribute the soda.[8]

Early product heritage with Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew was first sold commercially at Johnson City, Tennessee in 1954 by Tri-City Beverage.

Early in its development, Dr. Enuf was reported to have several therapeutic effects, including the easing of stomach pains, relief from hangovers and a clearing of the mind. One of the early advertised uses of Dr. Enuf, curing hangovers, coincided with Tri-City Beverage's other soft drink at the time, a drink mixer called Mountain Dew. Tri-City Beverage later sold the rights to Mountain Dew to Pepsi, but kept the Dr. Enuf brand.

The drink is still produced to this day by Tri-Cities Beverage. Dr. Enuf is available in original, Diet, Herbal and Diet Herbal varieties. A bottle of any of the varieties contains at least 80% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement of thiamine (Vitamin B1), niacin (Vitamin B3), potassium and iodine. The herbal varieties also contain ginseng and guarana, and are cherry flavored.

Availability

Dr. Enuf is widely distributed in the Bristol-Kingsport-Johnson City region of Northeast Tennessee, plus parts of southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina.[9][10]

While hard to find, Dr. Enuf is available in select locations[vague] throughout the Southeast as well as at many Cracker Barrel locations throughout the country. It is also available at Pal's restaurant locations.[11] As of 2022, Dr. Enuf is also available in Eastern Kentucky.

References

  1. ^ "Herbal drink joins energy drink range", Beverage Daily, June 24, 2002.
  2. ^ "Dr Enuf gives a 'new age' boost – with nutrients", The Roanoke Times, June 18, 1997.
  3. ^ "Vitamin-Enriched Dr. Enuf Trying to Give Boost to Soft Drink Market", Los Angeles Times, November 2, 1998.
  4. ^ Dr. Enuf turns 60, TriCities.com, November 6, 2009.
  5. ^ "Tri-City's Diet Dr. Enuf and Diet Herbal Dr. Enuf beverages have been reformulated", Beverage Industry, September 2004.
  6. ^ "Dr. Enuf", Now and Then, 5 (3), 1988, Since Dr. Enuf was introduced in 1949, it has become a part of the folklore of Upper East Tennessee.
  7. ^ Edge, John T (2007), Southern belly: the ultimate food lover's companion to the South, Algonquin Books, pp. 248–49, ISBN 9781565125476.
  8. ^ Sauceman, Fred W (2009). The Place Setting. Mercer University Press. pp. 89–97. ISBN 9780881461404. According to corporate lore, Bill Schwartz [sic], a Chicago chemist, developed the formula after hearing his co-workers complain of lethargy..
  9. ^ Krouse, Peter (June 16, 1997), "Old-time Tennessee soft drik pops up with Carolina debut", News & Record, News bank.
  10. ^ Cavender, Anthony P (2003), Folk medicine in southern Appalachia, University of North Carolina Press, pp. 75–7, ISBN 9780807854938.
  11. ^ Pal's Sudden Service, retrieved September 18, 2023

External links

Citrus soft drinks
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