The original coke. The best soda there is out there. Dr. John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist based in Atlanta in 1886 knew this well. What started off as a medicine for the sick turned into a billion-dollar company with 136 years of new flavors added, but nothing beats the original. 

Everything that comes after the original was because of the original. 

Cherry Coke? The sweet taste gets boring, and I like my sodas to be strong in flavor. As soon as you crack open a bottle of that delightful, chilling Coke and get just a sip, you can feel the euphoria running down your throat.

Personally, I like my coke to be straight out of the fridge, or poured with some ice. However, room temperature Coca-Cola is not as bad as one may think. Cherry Coke, on the other hand, could not relate less. The sweet taste added by the cherries makes it taste like those blueberry hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works – that is not a compliment. 

As someone who is a cashier at a grocery store, I rarely ever see someone buying any form of Cherry Coke. It is either regular Coke 80% of the time or the usual outlier buying Diet Coke.

Have you ever wondered why the shelves are always stocked mostly with the original? Because more people like the original. 

Now I must admit, I myself have dabbled in the taste of Cherry Coke, and must I say this dabbling has been recent. Before you erase everything I said before, I wanted to see if it could change my regular habits. Safe to say, it did not. It is too sweet and not strong enough.

From the iconic packaging to the satisfying taste, I think it is valid to say that the original Coca-Cola is the best Coke out there. No matter how many other flavors the company tries to put out to see if they will dethrone the original, it will never work.

So take it from me, the original is always best.