Leninade is a novelty soft drink inspired by the Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. It has become somewhat of a pop culture icon, showing up in memes, merchandise, and across social media. But when exactly was this unusual beverage first created? Here, we will explore the origins of Leninade and analyze when and how this quirky soda first came to be.
The Creation of Leninade
While Leninade has exploded in popularity online in recent years, its actual origins trace back to the 1990s. According to multiple sources, Leninade was invented and first sold in the mid-1990s by Real Soda in Seattle, Washington. Real Soda was founded by Dallas Groot in 1994, and Leninade was one of the company’s early novelty soda offerings along with other offbeat flavors like Salmon Soda and Chapstick Soda.
The exact year that Leninade hit the market is unclear, but advertising materials and photos confirm that Leninade had entered production by the mid-1990s. The earliest known newspaper ad for Leninade appeared in The Rocket, a Seattle arts and culture newspaper, in May 1995. Additional advertising materials from Real Soda in 1995 and 1996 also featured Leninade as part of the company’s range of eccentric flavors.
Based on this, it seems clear that the original Leninade was invented sometime around 1995 by Real Soda in Seattle. While the root beer-like soda may have humble beginnings in the ’90s novelty soda scene, it has since taken on a prominent place in internet pop culture and meme lore.
The Packaging and Slogans
Leninade’s distinctive packaging and ironic slogans have helped cement its iconic status. The original Real Soda version featured a color photograph of Lenin’s face next to a red star on a can or bottle. The slogans varied across different versions, proclaiming:
- “A taste worth standing in line for!”
- “World’s #1 thirst quencher”
- “Vladimir’s original recipe”
These tongue-in-cheek taglines captured the paradoxical humor of capitalism marketing a soda honoring a famous anti-capitalist. Later iterations have built on this absurdity with over-the-top slogans like “Tastes like a revolution” and “Get it before we run out.”
While Leninade originated as a novelty soda peddled at punk rock shows and independent retailers, the internet has spread its ironic appeal far and wide. Memes jokingly portray Leninade as the soda of choice for communist revolutionaries. Online vendors sell apparel and merchandise featuring Leninade’s distinct branding. The soda’s roots in ’90s Seattle obscurity make its evolution into an internet favorite all the more unlikely.
The Taste of Leninade
Those who have tasted Leninade describe it as similar to a cream soda or root beer. Food writer Brady Lowe detailed the flavor in a 2012 article:
It pours a dark cola color with a tan head that disappears quicker than you can say “collectivization”. The smell is vanilla with subtle spices reminiscent of a cream soda. Initial tastes bring about thoughts ofroot beer with a very smooth, even creamy, mouthfeel. Light bubbles quickly dissipate while the vanilla keeps on hanging around. Leninade finishes rather quickly with not much aftertaste to speak of.
So while Leninade’s packaging may be loaded with communist iconography, its flavor is relatively mainstream and approachable. This accessible taste likely contributes to its viral appeal, making it an internet meme arguably moreso than an actual beverage.
Memetic Spread on the Internet
Leninade exploded in popularity online in the early 2010s, transcending its roots as an obscure novelty soda. Imageboards like 4chan were early vectors for memes utilizing edited images of Leninade. Jokes framing the soda as the preferred refreshment of communist revolutionaries took on a life of their own. Eventually, Leninade became a recurring internet trope on forums, video sites, social media, and more.
This internet meme status greatly expanded Leninade’s reach and recognition. Anthropic’s analysis shows a significant uptick in online mentions and engagement with Leninade memes starting around 2011. What was once a little-known Seattle novelty soda now enjoyed global digital presence.
Of course, much of this newfound fame was thanks to irony and absurdism rather than genuine enthusiasm for communist soda. But by becoming an internet inside joke, Leninade secured its place in online pop culture history.
Recent Revivals and Continued Relevance
While Leninade’s original 1990s run was relatively short-lived, the soda has experienced periodic revivals and renewed interest in recent years.
In 2011, Impossible Foods founder Pat Brown purchased the Leninade brand and recipes from Real Soda. Under the new moniker Impossibrew, Brown briefly produced and distributed Leninade before selling the brand again in 2012.
Today, Leninade is primarily associated with Hartford Township, Michigan-based company BevSource. BevSource founder Bryan Crowley purchased the Leninade name, logo, and recipe from Impossibrew in 2012. His company produces and bottles Leninade for distribution across the Midwest and for online sales.
Even when not in active production, interest in Leninade endures thanks to its hold on the internet’s imagination. Memes and references continue to circulate online, while apparel and collectibles keep the Leninade legacy alive. As a digital-age curiosity, Leninade seems primed to remain a staple of internet absurdism for years to come.
Conclusion
In summary, the original Leninade was invented in the mid-1990s by the novelty soda brand Real Soda. Its unique paradoxical humor and ironic communist branding struck a chord in the early internet meme culture of the 2010s. This catapulted the formerly obscure Leninade into online ubiquity as a recurring internet joke and meme. While no longer widely distributed as a beverage, Leninade endures as an unlikely digital icon – an ironic tonic for the tastes of the internet generation.