Samsry
Samsry, also called Oriental Sproke, Eastern Sproke, and 中國碳酸飲料混合物, is a Chinese-made alternative to Sproke first invented by Qing Dynasty alchemist Soyi Lentu in 1902.
Creation
After having returned from a vacation to Paris, where Lentu was first able to purchase and try Sproke, the young Chinese alchemist was ecstatic. He knew the recipe like the back of his hand, having studied its specific properties and qualities immensely on his trip back to China, but as he entered his lab, eager to produce his first batch to sell in Beijing, he realized that his resources were limited. The ruling dynasty, after the Boxer Rebellion, did all that it could to circumvent the production or importing of Coca Cola and Sprite products in China, knowing that the West had the potential to enslave the whole empire’s population once and for all if Sproke’s addictive flavor struck its streets. Albeit, Soyi had a trick up his sleeve.
A knock-off of Coca Cola, Sam’s Cola, sold by a local Wal-Mart (Sam Walton was actually much older than you think, and yes Wal-Mart did exist in China), alongside the newly-released experimental beverage Starry, would be Soyi Lentu’s answer to this conundrum. Having bought several cans of either beverage, he began experimenting on the different mixtures he could make, until finally, he settled on the perfect-tasting ratio, just like Sproke; 1-1. But what would be it’s name? Lentu thought hard, but finally, he knew it. A combination of “Sam’s” and “Starry”: Samsry.
An excerpt from Soyi Lentu's journal reads:
<这种饮料类似于我在法国喝过的美味著名的苏打水，但它的味道更让我想起柠檬。明星饮料胜过可乐。尽管如此，山姆先生的可乐还是给这款明星饮料带来了更甜的味道。
Translated into English, the text, cleaned of Soyi's grammatical errors, reads:
>Similar to the Sproke that I tasted in Paris, albeit it seems to produce a more lemonish taste, with the Starry naturally overpowering Sam's Cola to a slight degree. However, the Cola provides a base for the Starry that makes the taste sweeter.
Success
Samsry was an instant success as it began being sold on the streets of Chinese cities. The ease of creation allowed for people to make and produce their own homemade Samsry, and Soyi Lentu would die a famous man four years later after drowning in a vat of his own creation while experimenting with the possible opening of a Samsry Official Swimming Pool (these plans would never come into fruition).
Sproke, while dominating the West with its exceptional flavor and usage in treatments from famous medical professional Dr. Soyberg, would never see much popularity in the East due to a continued ban on its manufacturing and shipping in China for many decades after the Qing had fallen. Similarly, Samsry was consumed so much by the Chinese that it became the national beverage of at least sixteen warlord territories during the Chinese Warlord Era following the fall of the Qing, leaving nearly none of it to be shipped to the coasts of Western countries.
Samsry Today
Today, Samsry has been lightly introduced to the West, but has largely fallen out of popularity ever since Sproke was unbanned in a controversial move by the Chinese Communist Party. Today, it is still popular in nations like Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Laos, alTHOUGH it has never recovered from the 2005 Sproke Unbanning Act, which almost completely eliminated it from Chinese markets.
