The loganberry was created late in the nineteenth century, when horticulturalist James Harvey Logan, trying to breed a heartier blackberry, accidentally planted blackberry bushes near raspberries. The resulting hybrid was a fruit that is dark red, big and juicy, with a bright, tart flavor all its own. None of this history is very relevant to loganberry juice, which, despite its name, tends to be much more about the flavor of sugar or corn syrup than any berry nature has to offer. Little-known in most of the United States but popular at hot dog joints and fast food outlets in western New York state and up into Canada, loganberry juice (known to fans simply as loganberry) is bottled with and without carbonation and as syrup for do-it-yourselfers. Aunt Rosie’s, an uncarbonated brand made by Pepsi, has some real fruit flavor, and it is the drink of choice among charcoal-cooked hot dog aficionados at the legendary Ted’s of Buffalo, New York.
A charcoal-cooked hot dog in Buffalo, New York, is not complete without an accompanying cup of loganberry juice.