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Fire in a bottle
Blenheim Ginger Ale, South Carolina’s native soft drink, has a spicy bite far more intense than most other ginger ales. First concocted in the 1890s, it’s sold today in original (pink cap), mild (gold cap) and diet (white cap) varieties, but never in a can.
Photo by Milton Morris
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Turning up the heat
The Carolina Reaper peppers being grown in Fort Mill today by Ed Currie and his team at PuckerButt Pepper Company are “quite a bit” spicier than the peppers that secured a Guinness World Record just four years ago. “It continues to get hotter as we refine our growing techniques.”
Photo by Jonathan Sharpe
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A class of their own
A small fleet of Sea Island One Design sailboats carries on the tradition of Lowcountry racing at the annual Rockville Regatta at Wadmalaw Island.
Photo by Mic Smith
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Built for speed
Robby Steen, behind the wheel of the world’s fastest golf cart, earned a Guinness World Record—118.76 mph—at Darlington Dragway in 2014, but he wants to go faster. “My eventual goal is to break 200 mph,” he says.
Courtesy of Plum Quick Motors
Chances are, you’ve already heard a thing or two about Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper, the world’s hottest chili pepper. But did you know South Carolina is also home to a unique class of sailboat, the world’s fastest golf cart and a soft drink once sold as a health tonic? Read on to learn more about these points of Palmetto State pride.
Blenheim Ginger Ale
South Carolina’s native soft drink—famously spicy Blenheim Ginger Ale—got its start quite by accident in the late 1800s. Marlboro County physician Dr. C.R. May often prescribed mineral water from a small spring located near the town of Blenheim as a stomach tonic, but his patients hated the taste. So, the good doctor began adding ginger and sugar to make the medicine go down easier.
People loved the concoction so much that May and a business partner revised the formula to make a soft drink and launched a commercial bottling operation in 1903. For decades, the zesty ginger ale won the hearts of South Carolinians, including one Alan Schafer, a Marlboro County businessman best known as the proprietor of South of the Border.
By 1993, Blenheim Ginger Ale had fallen on hard times and was producing fewer than 20 cases a week. That’s when Schafer bought the company and moved operations to a new bottling plant on the grounds of his famous roadside attraction. Today, some 100,000 cases a year roll out of the facility to satisfy a growing national and international demand, says Ryan H. Schafer, co-owner of the Blenheim Bottling Company.
“Blenheim has sort of a cult following,” he says. “We ship thousands of cases to Japan, England, India and to many other places around the world. And you can find Blenheim in upscale stores like Whole Foods and The Fresh Market.”
Blenheim Ginger Ale now comes in three varieties, each identified by a different-colored bottle cap—pink for the spiciest blend, gold for the regular and white for the diet version.
“It just continues to grow,” says Schafer. “We are constantly getting new customers. I guess people are just willing to pay for what is considered a boutique item.”
While the plant doesn’t offer tours, fans of Blenheim Ginger Ale can learn more about their favorite soda by calling (843) 774-0322 or visiting blenheimgingerale.com. —Tim Hanson
Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper
In the four years since Guinness World Records officially declared Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper the world’s hottest chili pepper, the bumpy, red firebomb bred and grown in Fort Mill has only gotten hotter—figuratively and literally.
Figuratively, in that production has quadrupled to keep up with international demand for Carolina Reaper organic pepper mash, used to spice up “sauces, salsas, ketchups, mustards, salad dressings, candy, chips, drinks—all sorts of stuff,” says Ed Currie, president, founder, mad scientist and chef at PuckerButt Pepper Company. “The Carolina Reaper has become a pretty mainstream thing.”
Literally, in that the peppers Currie and a team of 70 workers are growing and processing today on the nation’s largest hot-pepper farm contain even more of the tongue-torching capsaicin oil than ever. The peppers that earned the record in 2013 registered a blistering 1.5963 million on the Scoville heat-unit scale, or 300 times hotter than a jalapeno. Recent tests by Winthrop University show the current Carolina Reaper crop is “quite a bit” spicier, Currie says. “It continues to get hotter as we refine our growing techniques.”
While Currie is breeding other super-hot pepper varieties with an eye to one day setting a new world record, he’s content for now with the Carolina Reaper’s success and the attention it’s drawn to South Carolina.
“It’s Carolina grown, and we advertise that in everything we do,” he says. “That’s the reason it’s called the Carolina Reaper—to give pride to our state.”
Learn more about the Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper super-hot chili pepper at puckerbuttpeppercompany.com, or visit the PuckerButt Pepper Company store at 235 Main St. in Fort Mill. Phone: (803) 802-9593. —Keith Phillips
Sea Island One Design sailboats
This summer, a unique fleet of wooden sailboats that once seemed destined to fade away celebrated its 70th anniversary along the South Carolina coast.
Sea Island One Design boats were originally constructed from 1947 to 1952 and built exclusively for Lowcountry regatta racing. Reflecting the flat-bottomed workboats from that era, they are swift and nimble, measuring around 20 feet long with a 7-foot beam and tipping the scales at about 950 pounds. The overriding goal was to make the wooden boats uniform, so their races would measure sailing skills over boat quality and give crews true bragging rights after a win.
Of the nine Sea Island One Design boats racing today, four are considered original; the others were built to the class specifications as late as 2011. Each August, the entire fleet gathers at Sea Island Yacht Club on Wadmalaw Island for the state’s oldest sailing regatta. The Rockville Regatta competition is fierce as the three-person crews race across Bohicket Creek, but for club member Grayson Carter, who owns three of the original wooden boats, it’s all about sharing an old South Carolina tradition and engaging younger sailors.
“I have an enormous amount of pride watching my boats sail and seeing the enjoyment on the crews’ faces, knowing they are part of something very special,” he says. —Susan Hill Smith
The world’s fastest golf cart
The first time Robby Steen tried to set a record for the world’s fastest golf cart, officials at Guinness World Records rejected the attempt, even though his little buggy was clocked at nearly 100 mph.
“It was a single seater,” says Steen. “They said it needed to be the kind you normally see at golf courses.”
So, Steen—owner of the Fort Mill-based Plum Quick Motors, which specializes in outfitting high-performance carts—bought a conventional model with a bench seat, replaced the battery and motor, and filed the famously detailed Guinness application. Then, on Oct. 4, 2013, he hauled his golf cart to the quarter-mile strip at Darlington Dragway, strapped two full sets of clubs on the back and stepped on the accelerator.
No roll cage. No fire-suppression equipment. Just a helmet emblazoned with his company’s logo and a formidable dose of South Carolina grit. Moments later—documented by witnesses, multiple cameras and the track’s official timing equipment—Steen had his first record: 103.65 mph.
But it didn’t last long. A little more than a year later, Steen was back at Darlington with the same cart but a more powerful battery system and 80 pounds of counterweights to keep the front wheels from lifting off the track. Within seconds, the cart’s tires were screaming, and the walls on either side of him passed in a blur as he struggled to control the vehicle. When his speedy ride finally coasted to a stop, Steen stepped gingerly back onto solid ground, his knees literally shaking.
“Man,” he said. “That was scary.”
And then someone told him he had set a new record of 118.76 mph.
As you can guess, Steen isn’t finished. He’s working on a new golf cart—this one with all the proper safety equipment—and aiming for speeds of 150 mph or better.
“My eventual goal is to break 200 mph,” Steen says with a steady, unflinching gaze. “Now that would have a ‘wow’ factor.” —Tim Hanson
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Related stories
Some like it hot – Writer Tim Hanson explores the curious connection between a popular roadside attraction and Blenheim Ginger Ale.
Man on fire –"Smokin' Ed" Currie holds the Guinness World Record for his insanely hot Carolina Reaper chili pepper—and he's just getting started.
The stars of Rockville – Go behind the scenes of the state’s oldest annual sailboat race to watch the Sea Island One Design fleet in action.
Only in South Carolina – Grab your camera phone, and gas up the car. We’re going on a road trip to our state’s one-of-a-kind destinations and attractions.