If you are to believe this Surat’s own soft drink Sosyo was born in 1927 during the ‘Swadeshi’ movement when Mahatma Gandhi called for a ban on imported products. Mohsin Hajoori introduced it as an Indian option to UK drink ‘Vimto’, which the company founder Abdul Hajoori was marketing in India since 1923.

Originally called ‘Whisky No’, to attract both alcoholics and teetotallers, it was sealed with a marble in a Salabatpura factory set up by Hajoori and Sons. This popular drink later derived its present name from the Latin word ‘socious’, since it became a social drink.

‘Whisky No’ was derived from the fact that Sosyo tasted like alcohol. “It is the only non-alcoholic beverage that tastes like a perfect mix of whisky, rum and soda,” says Dhiren Shah, a die-hard Sosyo fan.

“It is my favourite non-alcoholic cocktail,” gushes Usha Kapadia, who has been relishing it for past 52 years.

Sosyo is a heady mixture of grape and apple cider with some ingredients that are imported from Germany and Italy, including a blood building agent. About 50 million bottles of Sosyo are consumed every year, mainly in Surat and parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra where bottling plants are located. It is exported as far as UAE, South Africa, New Zealand, UK and USA. The exported bottles are marked as ‘An Indian Drink’ with a tri-coloured backdrop. Now wouldn’t Bapu be turning in his grave to hear that he inspired a cocktail of all things!