Cream soda is a sweet carbonated soft drink. It varies from country to country, but its most usual property is its vanilla flavoring. Its name originated, at least in the United Kingdom, from "ice cream soda" as it was traditionally served with a dollop of ice cream floating in it.
The first patent for Cream Soda was granted in Canada to James William Black of Berwick, Nova Scotia on July 5, 1886. The recipe had whipped egg whites, sugar, lime juice, lemons, citric acid, flavouring, and bicarbonate of soda. Today, Canadian cream soda is often pink and has a unique taste somewhat reminiscent of grenadine.
But clear versions of cream soda can also be found in Canada. In Quebec pink cream soda is very rare or non-existent. The first patent for cream soda in the United States was granted to Francis John Higgins in Chicago.
He later sold his company to Hires Root Beer, who wanted his recipe for cream soda. In the U.S. market, cream soda is often clear or colored light brown and vanilla-flavored, but pink, red, and blue are also relatively common. In addition, in some places in the U.S. where the drink is made on location, especially in cafes, cream soda consists of soda water, vanilla syrup, and cream or half and half.