Comments on: State of Maine Attorney General Bans Sale of Fentimans to Minors

By: dbujnak

dbujnak — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:31:34 +0000

Hi Angel,

The unfortunate issue about this matter is that Fentimans was punished for actually being truthful about its ingredients on our bottle labels. In actuality because we have less than 0.5% alochol by volume we are considered non-alcoholic and are thus not even required to print the 0.5% on our bottle, as every other soft drink company takes advantage of. There is more alcohol content in a bottle of 7-up than there is in Fentimans. We simply retained the UK’s labeling practice, which is far more strict.

By: Angel

Angel — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:11:28 +0000

I am from Maine and agree that this whole thing is ridiculous. I worry less about soda…especially the ones like yours with some actual healthful ingredients like ginger and more about energy drinks which kids seem to be addicted to. And also high fructose corn syrup as an earlier poster mentioned…which is prevalent in products in Maine and thoughout the US and is actully even on products labeled “All natural”. I’m sorry that you are having such trouble. I hope you fight it. Sounds like your product is worth having here in Maine.

By: Kerrie

Kerrie — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:23:14 +0000

I have noticed that the main page (www.fentimas.com) occassionally has a couple of ad-images that describe them as an “adult soft drink”. Perhaps that label scares some folks off?

Not me, though. I had heard about Fentimans Victorian Lemonade (can’t remember where), and when I saw it while visiting family in RI, I had to pick up one of each that they sold- the lemonade, Seville Orange Jigger, Curiosity Cola, & Dandelion & Burdock. Personally, I liked the lemonade & dandelion/burdock drinks best, & the cola as well, though it was rich for me. (Reminded me of the cola Bottlcaps candy- memories!) Haven’t been able to find it in Western MA or Brattleboro, VT yet, but will keep looking! (I will defnitely get more when I visit RI this weekend!)

I’m sure my husband & I will let our son drink Fentimans, once we allow him to drink soft drinks (he just turned 1 year old this month, so not yet)!

By: dbujnak

dbujnak — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:33:51 +0000

Hi Milan,

We sent samples to an independent lab for testing and shared the results with “The Colbert Report.”

I was not able to find any source online that listed actual trace alcohol amounts in sodas, though the FDA recognizes that many soft drinks contain traces of alcohol, and (as long as the amount is 0.5% or less) allows them to be labelled “non-alcoholic” but not “alcohol-free.”

I would be happy to send you a copy of the signed lab report with test results – just drop me a line at info@drinkfentimans.com

By: Milan

Milan — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:22:46 +0000

In the Colbert Report segment on this, several prominent soft drinks were named along with the alcohol percentages they contain.

Is this information available online somewhere, from a credible source?

By: rom

rom — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:01:37 +0000

It is exactly this kind of lack of common sense that is ruining western civilization. The individuals involved with prosecuting Fentimans should be fired without pension. That’s just my opinion.

By: Geoff Crowther

Geoff Crowther — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:24:40 +0000

Is there a distributor in Atlantic Canada? We are looking to add some specialty beverages in our tea room in Prince Edward Island, and after sampling your D&B I believe your products will fit the bill!

By: Hunter

Hunter — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:02:42 +0000

Banning this great brand of soft drink is absurd. I fell in love with Dandelion & Burdock when I was in the UK on holiday and when I got back to the states I found Fentiman’s. I called up the company, found a distributor and now I regularly order in cases of Dandelion & Burdock and Curiosity Cola. Two of the finest products I have had the fortune to purchase. Keep up the good work and keep the chin up. Maine just has no class.

By: Leslie May

Leslie May — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:31:26 +0000

I forgot to add that Tommy Fentiman was a very generous man. The only Xmas I was at the factory (1949) we all got double wages. For me that amounted to about £3 and eighteen shillings. A fortune for me then I can tell you.

By: Leslie May

Leslie May — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:09:09 +0000

I would just like to add to my earlier comment. Harry Forbes was the man in charge of the soft drinks machine keeping a watch in case there were any break down which happened from time to time. Harry was married I believe to one of Tommy Fentimans’s daughters. There were two elderly men one we called old Tom who may have been related to the Fentiman family. Tom was about seventy years old in 1950. There was another old timer Arthur a little bit younger who I believe lived near Stanley and a staunch supporter of a cricket team near where he lived. Johnny Mac’henry. John lived nearby in King street was the charge hand on the ginger beer and Hops where I worked and Bob filled the half gallon bottles. We filled a thousand bottles of ginger beer in the morning and five hundred bottles of hops in the afternoon. Some of the lads I recall were Billy Sharp who hailed from Birmingham, John Conlan, Billy Armstrong and his uncle Norman Armstrong. Billy Snaith on the soft drinks machine. I used to fill the crates after work time for one of the drivers Billy Bell and received two shillings which got me an hour on the snooker table after work at one of the only two snooker tables in Gateshead on Coatsworth road. One lad who worked with me and just lived yards away on Lobley hill road was Joe Appleby who was a amateur radio fanatic. Joe went into the RAF when he was eighteen and I haven’t seen him since. I hope he reads this and gets in touch.