Good Old-Fashioned Soda Company Visits Sewickley Candy Store

It was another humid Saturday, but those who attended Natrona Bottling tasting chilled out with refreshing, effervescent flavorful sodas from the local bottler -- and learned a thing or two about how the soft drinks are made.

Vito Gerasole, the new owner of Natrona Bottling, along with Village Candy proprietor kept busy pouring samples of a variety of soda flavors to a long line of customers waiting to taste-test and log their favorite onto a ballot. In addition to an abundant selection of old and new brands of candy, the sweet shop offers a variety of bottled sodas.

From Red Ribbon Cherry Supreme to Jamaica’s Finest Ginger Beer, Natrona Bottling did not disappoint with its unique blends.

“It’s a very good product. It’s fresh yet simple,” Gerasole said. “It’s very smooth and goes down easy.”

Gerasole, who comes from a family of Shadyside restauranteurs, bought Natrona Bottling in Harrison Township more than a year ago, acquiring the second-oldest continuously run soda bottler in the country.

What makes this Natrona-based soda bottler special from others is its technique of soda production -- a process called pinpoint carbonation with dry ice. Gerasole said it creates a more natural CO2 that is then mixed with purified water, allowing for a smoother soda.

“It’s a completely different process than other bottling companies,” Gerasole said. “We also use 100 percent pure cane sugar, and all of our sodas are caffeine free.”

When he talks about the various soda flavors, Gerasole’s face lights up.

“Take our grape, for example," he said. "A lot of people are afraid of grape soda because it tastes manufactured, but ours tastes and smells like grape.”

The ginger beer is made with pure ginger root oils, he said, and nothing beats the Pennsylvania punch made from a recipe dating back to 1924.

Gerasole said he hopes to make the hometown appeal and natural quality of Natrona Bottling's sodas more appealing to larger stores.

He’s also busy working on new flavors. Two that are soon to debut are almond crème and vanilla crème soda, with more flavors coming within the next year.

“We are a blast from the past,” Gerasole said, smiling. “Our goal is to make sodas that nobody else does or would think to do.”