If you know me, then you know one thing I love is Ginger Ale. I’m not talking that Canada Dry BS. I’m talking about craft brews, where the beverage is treated like a beer more than a soda, although alcohol can be completely gone. It’s all about the ginger! So, as I’m sure you can guess, when I found out that I was close to the spring that was the original main ingredient of Blenheim Ginger Ale, I had to stop by.
Let’s rewind to 1781 where Patriot soldier by the name of James Spears was fleeing from troops during the American Revolutionary War. According to legend, Spears lost his shoe while trying to escape and went back later to find it in a hole filled with water in Blenheim, South Carolina. He drank some of the water and found it had a heavy mineral flavor. The springs soon became an attraction, drawing visitors who wanted to try it for themselves.
In the 1890s, Dr. Charles R. May was advising his patients to drink the water from the springs as a cure for stomach aches. After several patients complained about its heavy, iron-like taste, May added Jamaican ginger and sugar to make it more palpable. In 1903, May and a partner began bottling the sweetened, spiced mineral water. Built next to the spring, the Blenheim Bottling Company quickly gained fans with its ginger ale, which offered a unique spicy kick.
After the company changed ownership and the bottling facility burned down in 2008, production of Blenheim ginger ale has moved to an amusement park in Hamer, South Carolina.
Let me be the first to tell you that this ginger brew is absolutely delicious. The pink capped bottle labeled “Fire” was my favorite with a healthy kick of ginger accompanying each delicious gulp.
Closest Supercharger Florence SC 36 mi
Blenheim, SC 29516
