Ultimate liquid padkos: Frankies old-fashioned soft drinks, fresh outta KZN

Swiggy, is what I'd call Frankies old-fashioned soft drinks. Deeply swiggy, icy and refreshing. These nostalgic home-style cool-drinks, made at Newstead Farm in the KZN Natal Midlands, are just the ticket on the long, dispiriting, end-of-holiday drive between Harrismith and Jo'burg (and, my goodness, those last few hours are dire, aren't they?)

Have you noticed how, when you're driving towards the coast, everything looks so sparkly and beautiful? The fields of nodding pink-and-white cosmos? The golden folds of grass? The achingly beautiful blue smudge of high Berg on the western horizon? And how, on the way back home, the landscape looks so drab and flat and yellow, the sky so glittery? And how your heart (and your tummy) flops miserably around in your lap as you approach the big Jozi smoke-dump?

A clutch of Frankies sodas (really yeasty ginger beer, old-style root beer, cloudy lemonade, and proper cream soda - clear, not neon green) certainly kept my spirits up and my eyelids perky on a recent drive Jozi-wards. Much as I love and adore Coca-Cola, to hell with the devil-in-a-bottle. My liquid padkos of choice in the future is any soda made by Frankies.

You can buy the sodas at selected outlets on the road home - I got mine at the wonderful Mooi River butchery (just a hop and skip from the toll gate). I wouldn't have bought them if this gorgeous promotional poster next to the cashier hadn't caught my eye: here it is (above), emailed to me by Frankies' Mike Schmidt. I am hoping that these lekker sodas find their way into some of my local delis and supermarkets soon. If you're interested in stocking them, contact newsteadfarm@mweb.co.za, or take a look at the about-to-be launched website.

And a big thumbs-up to Frankies for coming up with an original and quirky new food product.

I'll be featuring more home-made and artisan food products in the weeks to come.

Poster image © Frankies Soft Drinks

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