‘Squirt’ burst onto the soft drink scene in 1938

Warmer weather calls for cool and refreshing beverages. Raise the curtain on Squirt – America’s favorite grapefruit-flavored soft drink.

 

Surely, you remember the cool green bottle with the wavy swirls…and the adorable chap, “Lil’ Squirt,” who served as the company mascot.

 

Squirt was invented by a pair of grapefruit orchard growers near the White Tank Mountains in Maricopa County, west of Phoenix, Ariz.

Edward Walsh Mehren created a non-carbonated grapefruit soda product in 1936 that he had labeled “Citrus Club.”

With input from Mehren’s business partner H.B. “Herb” Bishop, the drink was improved with carbonation, requiring less fruit and less sugar. The beverage was rebranded in 1938 as Squirt, because Bishop thought the drink “tasted like a slice of grapefruit exploding in the mouth,” with “grapefruit squirts” becoming the “freshest, most exciting taste” around, he said.

 

Squirt contains only a minimal amount of grapefruit juice – less than 2% of its total composition – but just a little packs a big taste punch.

Mehren and Bishop leased a five-story factory – constructed in 1906 as a sugar beets processing plant – in Glendale, Ariz. They made Squirt concentrate from the juice and oils of Arizona-grown grapefruit and shipped the concentrate in bulk to as many as 385 North American bottling companies.

 

“Squirt’s staying power stems from its distinct taste – sharper than lemon-lime sodas, mellower than pure grapefruit juice,” commented Tyler Muse of HistoryOasis.com. Squirt developed an instant following, especially in the American Southwest and along the West Coast.

 

Mehren and Bishop understood the need for promotion and advertising to compete in the soft drink marketplace. In 1941, they created a likable character named Lil’ Squirt to personify the brand and become Squirt’s official ambassador.

The character of Lil’ Squirt was designed by Bruce Bushman, a layout artist with Walt Disney Studios and the son of silent-film star Francis X. Bushman.

(While at Disney, Bruce Bushman helped develop Disney’s signature theme park, Disneyland. He designed the Fantasyland Castle and the overall layout of the park itself. Later, he served as art director for a new Disney TV show – The Mickey Mouse Club.)

 

Squirt grew market share during World War II, because its low sugar content was an asset to bottlers restricted by sugar rationing. After the war, Squirt continued to experience an uptick in popularity.

Kids weren’t the only ones drinking Squirt. During the 1950s, bartenders discovered Squirt’s potential as a cocktail mixer. The bright, grapefruit flavor enhanced both classic and innovative drinks, “transforming Squirt into a vital ingredient behind the bar.”

It was especially popular in Mexico, where Squirt became the key ingredient of the legendary Paloma cocktail. It’s quite a simple blend of tequila, Squirt, fresh lime and salt.

 

Robert Simonson, a contributor to Imbibe magazine, which promotes “liquid culture,” said Squirt print advertisements in the 1960s were rather direct, pitching: “Squirt treats whiskey, gin and vodka with respect, gentles them with the fresh, dry taste of sun-ripened citrus.”

Amy McCarthy (shown below), who toils as a pop culture reporter at Eater.com, says: What emerged was a plethora of home recipes for cocktails like “the Squadka (Squirt and vodka) and the Squiskey or Squirbon, which, of course, is a combination of Squirt and rye whiskey or bourbon.”

 

“My favorite comfort cocktail is the Squirtarita,” McCarthy said. “Technically, it’s a simplified version of the classic Paloma, but the Squirtarita does not require juicing any limes.”

“All you need is a bottle of the fizzy, citrusy soda Squirt and some passable tequila. Pour over ice in the heirloom plastic cup (bearing the logo of your favorite sports team) and drink until….”