 | This page is about the soft drink. For the pre-War company, see Sunset Sarsaparilla Company. |
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A Fresh Delight!
”— Sunset Sarsaparilla sloganSunset Sarsaparilla is a consumable item in Fallout: New Vegas.
Background[]
Beverage of the West Coast
”— popular phrase[1]The Sunset Sarsaparilla Company was founded in 1918,[2] making it 126 years older than the Nuka-Cola Corporation. According to Festus, a small town saloon owner decided one day to brew a new type of soft drink. He asked his usual patrons what flavor they would want it to be, but they were of no help. However, a stranger at the end of the bar suggested he make a sarsaparilla flavored drink, and would give his family's recipe to the saloon owner if he got to sample a bottle whenever he wanted to make sure the recipe was being followed to the letter. The saloon owner agreed, thinking it would make him rich. The stranger then left to meet him the next day at sundown. The next day, the saloon owner was told by the sheriff that the stranger was killed by bandits on the side of the town road. Cursing his luck, the saloon owner closed his store early that day, just as the sun began to set. But after he locked the doors, he found a bottle with a note under it sealed with blue wax in the shape of a star. Opening it, he found the recipe of a sarsaparilla-flavored drink. After sampling the contents of the bottle, and finding it singularly delicious, he began selling Sunset Sarsaparilla and even paid for the stranger's funeral, believing that it was the least he could do for his mysterious benefactor. To this day, some bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla have a bottle cap marked with a blue star that some say the saloon owner mandated, while some say it is the stranger continuing to sample the bottles like he was promised.[3]
After years of selling their beverage and becoming known and loved across the West Coast, the company soon decided to invest into automation and robotics, specifically with the help of RobCo Industries.[4] While the custodial staff reaped the benefits of automation,[5] the regional distribution network unfortunately suffered replacement at the hands of an experimental robot.[6][7][8]
By 2077, the company had continued to boom, although they struggled with sales in the Northwestern region, they sold more in the Northern and Midwestern United States, continuing to sell extremely well in the American Southwest.[9] However, by sheer luck, a rumor of a contest surfaced, telling of the Company having a contest to redeem starred bottle caps for prizes. Despite the complaints of staff,[10] the Company decided to promote the contest rather than denounce the rumor, due to 300% increases in sales.[11] The company also went as far as to install an automaton in the lobby of their headquarters, as well as creating an advertisement campaign heavily based on cowboys.[12] The star cap story began as a simple promotional story before the Great War, yet the automaton Festus kept the story alive by motivating survivors to collect Sunset Sarsaparilla bottle caps, and as the years went by, a new legend began to circulate around the bottling headquarters in Las Vegas, which in turn led to the announcement of the running "Legend of the Star" collection campaign.[1] Stories of the contest became very distorted following the Great War, and the actual simple prize (which consisted of a retelling of the fictitious story by the company spokesbot and a small metal Sunset Sarsaparilla deputy badge) became a bloated tale of pre-War technology, weapons caches, and all sorts of other amazing loot.[13]
Characteristics[]
Sunset Sarsaparilla is a sweet carbonated sarsaparilla-based beverage that is found around the Mojave Wasteland. With its easy availability and low cost, Sunset Sarsaparilla is an excellent consumable that provides a high health regeneration effect. Thanks to these factors, it supplants the stimpak as a primary healing item in the Mojave.
In the company's "Silly Ol' Advisory", Festus provides a comical list of potential side effects, which include "kidney damage, nausea, digital numbness, anxiety, loss of visual acuity, dizziness, occasional nosebleeds, joint inflammation, tooth decay, sore throat, bronchitis, organ rupture and halitosis". In order for those effects to happen, Festus says you must drink "a helluva lot".[14] However, you can have as many drinks as you want, and not suffer from those side effects in-game. Only while playing in hardcore mode does drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla have any negative effect – consumption produces mild dehydration.
With each bottle you drink, the bottle cap has a 5% chance of being a Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap which can be collected for the quest The Legend of the Star. Otherwise, as with Nuka-Cola, when you drink a Sunset Sarsaparilla, you get a normal bottle cap. Though oddly enough, the Pip-Boy icon and texture of said caps always depicts them as Nuka-Cola caps.
Crafting[]
With the Honest Hearts add-on installed, the player can obtain a recipe and make a home-brewed version of the drink. This is identical to the standard variety.
| Components | Requirements | Products | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Sunset Sarsaparilla |
Variants[]
Locations[]
- Goodsprings - sold by Trudy in the Prospector Saloon and found in multiple Sunset Sarsaparilla crates surrounding the Goodsprings general store and the Prospector Saloon. Also found within the Prospector Saloon in Sunset Sarsaparilla crates. Most of these will lower your karma if taken. Out in front of the gas station in Goodsprings, there is a Vending Machine with 3 to 4 Sunset Sarsaparillas inside. Taking these will not affect your karma.
- Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters - found in numerous vending machines and Sunset Sarsaparilla crates throughout the entire building.
- Boulder City - sold by Ike in the Big Horn Saloon. Also, found in Sunset Sarsaparilla crates and on shelves near and behind the bar.
Notes[]
Sales figures for the USA and Canada.
- The in-game explanation to why there are no Sunset Sarsaparillas in Fallout 3 is that sales in the northeastern USA were virtually zero.
- The story Festus tells you about the origins of Sunset Sarsaparilla does not fit with the information he gives you. He tells you that before Sunset Sarsaparilla was invented, the main choices people had for drinking was water or Nuka-Cola. Nuka-Cola was founded in the year 2044, but according to the large bottle at the entrance of the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters, Sunset Sarsaparilla was founded in 1918, over 125 years before Nuka-Cola was. This may be due to the fact that Sunset Sarsaparilla was a family recipe before a corporately sold beverage, and was first made by the stranger's family in 1918.[3]
- Unlike Nuka-Cola, drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla will not give you Rads. The only exception to this rule are the irradiated Sarsaparilla bottles found in Camp Searchlight and The Courier's Mile.
- After completing the quest The Legend of the Star, any Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap that you obtain from drinking a bottle will be added to your inventory as normal bottle caps, and will not show up as a star bottle cap.
- As with Nuka-Cola, you do not keep the empty bottle after drinking it.
Behind the scenes[]
- Sarsaparilla is a type of bitter root found in Central America which was originally used for medicinal purposes; owing to the root's bitterness, it was combined with sweetened water to make dosing more palatable. In America, the bark and oil of the sassafras tree was added to the formula; this "root beer" eventually became a popular drink in the late-19th-century Old West. The similarity of the two roots' names led to the informal nickname of "Sasparilly."
Bugs[]
The healing buff the drink gives, depending on unknown circumstances, will never disappear and provide constant healing.
Gallery[]
Pre-War ad
Pre-War ad
Pre-War ad
Pre-War ad
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.308-309: "[2.17] Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters
The old headquarters of the well-known and loved "Beverage of the West Coast," this structure features a many-faceted glass bottle of the company's signature drink, Sunset Sarsaparilla. Before the war, an urban legend circulated that if you collected bottle caps marked with a star, you could send them in to the Sunset Sarsaparilla Headquarters and receive a prize. Now, this legend has taken on a life of its own; crazed individuals stalk the Wasteland searching for "SSSs" (Sunset Sarsaparilla Stars), a fact exacerbated by an automated robotic attendant, Festus, who prompts people with an option to present their Sunset Sarsaparilla Stars. Dare you find out the truth?
Festus
Sitting in his rundown saloon, Festus is the mascot for the old Sunset Sarsaparilla Company, and here to bring you great news of a competition, and the official word on that health advisory (keeps asking!). Requesting information on Star Bottle Caps begins Side Quest: The Legend of the Star. Returning with 50 or more Star Bottle Caps starts Side Quest: A Valuable Lesson. You can also play Lucky Horseshoes (speak to Festus about the rules)."
(Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition Tour of the Mojave Wasteland) - ↑ File:Sunset Sarsaparilla Logo.png
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Courier: "<Deposit your Sunset Sarsaparilla Stars in the slot.>"
Festus: "Wahoo, you did it pardner! Bully for you! Ol' Festus knew you could do it. I suppose you'll be wanting that prize now. Well then, hold onto your hat, because it's a doozy. Not many people have heard the true story behind Sunset Sarsaparilla. It's a right honor. And now, without further ado, your prize - The Legend of the Star... Looooong ago, people didn't have a heap of choices when it came to soft drinks. It was either water, or Nuka-cola. Now, the threat of legal action forces me to say that Nuka-cola is a swell beverage, but sometimes people just wanted something different, you know? So one day a man, a saloon owner in a small town, decided to make a new type of soft drink, and asked his patrons what flavor they'd like it to be. After getting no help from them, a stranger at the end of the bar suggested the man make a sarsaparilla flavored drink. The stranger said he would happily share his family's recipe for the drink, on one condition. The condition being that the stranger would be allowed to sample a bottle whenever he liked, to ensure the recipe was being followed to the letter. The man happily agreed, thinking the drink would make him rich, and the stranger promised to meet him by sundown the next day. The next morning, the sheriff stopped by and reported that the stranger's body was found on the side of the town road. He'd been killed by bandits. The man, cursing his luck, closed the saloon early that day, just as the sun began to set. But after he had locked the doors, he turned around to find an unfamiliar bottle on the bar, with a note beneath it. The note was sealed with blue wax in the shape of a star. Opening it, the man found it contained a recipe for a sarsaparilla-flavored drink. Sampling the bottle's contents and finding it singularly delicious, the man gave silent thanks to his mysterious benefactor, wherever he was. Being an honorable man, the saloon owner paid for the stranger's funeral, thinking it was the least he could do to repay him. The saloon owner went on to become rich selling the new drink, and to this day some bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla have a blue star under their caps. Some say the saloon owner ordered it done, in honor of the stranger. Others say it's the stranger, sampling the bottles like he promised. And that's the Legend of the Star. Hope you enjoyed it, and hope you continue enjoying Sunset Sarsaparilla!"
(Festus' dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas)) - ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#How's your new toy?
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#Great Job
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#Check message
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#Check draft
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#RE: How do you like your new toy?
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#Terminal 3
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#What contest?
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#RE: What contest?
- ↑ Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters terminals#While the iron is hot
- ↑ The Courier: "What's so special about these caps?"
Malcolm Holmes: "There's an old wasteland legend that says somewhere out there is a fabulous treasure from before the war. Those caps with the blue star on them, the tale goes, are the key to that treasure. They're called Sunset Sarsaparilla Stars."
The Courier: "What kind of treasure are we talking about?"
Malcolm Holmes: "No one knows. Money? Weapons? Water? It is, or maybe was, something of value, and that's enough to get people motivated."
(Malcolm Holmes' dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Silly Ol' Advisory."
Festus: "While Sunset Sarsaparilla is perfectly safe, a recent independent study - whose validity is currently being challenged - revealed the following: Excessive ingestion of sarsaparilla can lead to deleterious effects including, but not limited to: kidney damage, nausea, digital numbness, anxiety, loss of visual acuity, dizziness, occasional nosebleeds, joint inflammation, tooth decay, sore throat, bronchitis, organ rupture, and halitosis. Note that you'd have to drink a heap of Sunset Sarsaparilla to match the quantities used in the study. How much, you ask? A lot. A whole helluva lot. In fact, you'd have to get full as a tick on Sunset Sarsaparilla to even come close. Anyway, thanks for stopping by, partner! And keep drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla!"
(Festus' dialogue (Fallout: New Vegas))
