Although the Feigensons were unwilling to share any of their pop recipes, Rock & Rye was a particular secret. Perry Feigenson personally brewed batches of the beverage into the 1960s. One day the aging Feigenson decided it was time to share the formula with the firm’s “senior flavorist.” The flavorist, a chemist, took notes while shaking his head over the old man act, which included “a lot of mumbo-jumbo,” and “waving a towel over the bottle.” After several months of trying to duplicate the formula “scientifically” the flavorist gave up – it just didn’t taste right. He adopted Feigenson’s technique, mumbo-jumbo and all, complete with the towel waving.
