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Champagne cola, Kola Champagne, or Champagne soda is a sweetened carbonated beverage produced mainly in the tropics of Latin America, former British West Indies, and Pakistan. Kola Champagne was invented in Puerto Rico by Ángel Rivero Méndez.[1] Rivero Méndez was a Captain in the Spanish Army during the Spanish–American War. In 1902, a few years after the end of the Spanish-American War, Rivero Méndez founded El Polo Norte Fábrica de Sodas (the North Pole Soda Factory) where he created the Kola Champagne, which became, and still is, a popular soft drink in Puerto Rico. While elaborating the drink he worked on his book, Chronicle of the Spanish-American War in Puerto Rico.[1][2][3]
It is typically dark yellow to light brown in color, with a flavor comparable to bubblegum or cream soda, with no connection to cola. Like Champagne wine, it is carbonated, typically with a yellow color, and in many countries, "cola" is used as a general term for all soft drinks, granting it the name of "Champagne cola". Similar products include the Peruvian Inca Kola and the Scottish Irn Bru.