After 86 years in business, Ale-8-One Bottling Company in Winchester could rightly be called a Kentucky treasure. With nearly nine decades under its cap, the tasty ginger- and fruit-flavored soft drink is still the beverage of choice for scores of Kentuckians.
It was invented right here in the commonwealth in 1926 by G. L. Wainscott, whose family still operates the business with hands-on efficiency from a modern plant just off the by-pass in Winchester.
Made from a secret formula, the ingredients in Ale-8-One are so closely guarded that only Fielding A. Rogers mixes up his great-great-uncle’s recipe, using the original handwritten notes. Rogers became president of Ale-8-One in 2009.
How did this favorite get its name? The innovative Wainscott sponsored a slogan contest at the Clark County fair. The winning entry, “A Late One,” proclaimed that the new drink was the latest thing. If you say the slogan quickly, you can see how the pun developed that became the beverage’s name, Ale-8-One.
With only 80 employees, the plant produces 8,000 bottles each day of operation. “We are one of the few bottling companies still producing returnable bottles,” said DeAnne Elmore, the company’s marketing director.
The returnable bottles, which account for 15 percent of the company’s business, are distributed within an 80-mile radius of Winchester. Many of the stores that sell the returnable bottles pay the 30-cent premium when empty bottles are returned. The plant also pays the premium for returnable bottles. Non-returnable glass bottles find their way to drink machines and stores throughout Kentucky and several counties in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. The newer offerings of Ale-8-One in aluminum cans and plastic bottles is produced under subcontract by a bottling company in Corbin. Large vans still transport the secret formula to Corbin so the quality of the beverage is guaranteed, Elmore said.
The company has responded to its fan base by expanding the product line to include Diet Ale-8-One, sweetened with Splenda and containing zero calories. People who need to limit both caffeine and calories – but not their taste for Ale-8-One – can now purchase a caffeine-free Diet Ale-8-One.
If you visit the Ale-8-One plant, you’ll be amazed at the many ways the company strives to be a good citizen. Check the Web site (www.ale-8-one.com) for information about donations, support for fund-raisers for churches or charitable organizations and a special-event wagon available at a modest charge within a 30-mile radius of Winchester.
Ale-8-One sends cans of the soft drink to soldiers from Clark County who are serving overseas. Much of the postage is paid by the Rowdy Golden Girls, a Clark County Extension Office homemakers’ club. Many Kentucky soldiers are very happy to get this taste of home. Troy Carter, a young Navy hospital corpsman from Winchester who is serving on the U.S.S. Denver stationed in Japan, recently took a tour of the bottling plant with his family while home on leave. He wanted to say “thank you” for the cases of Ale-8-One he was able to share with his buddies in Japan.
Free tours of the Ale-8-One plant are available during the summer every Thursday and Friday. Because of the volume of visitors, reservations are required. Each tour takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and each visitor receives an Ale-8-One of his or her choice at the end of the tour. There is also a gift shop that features logo T-shirts in all sizes and styles, logo caps and a wide variety of other items any Ale-8-One fan will enjoy. To arrange for a tour, call (859) 744-3484 or send an e-mail to tours@ale-8-one.com.
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