Louisville chef’s pick brings fresh attention to a flavor developed with Kentucky State University researchers

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Pawpaw Ale-8 has won a fan in the pages of Southern Living. Asked to name a favorite regional soft drink, Louisville chef Lawrence Weeks chose the seasonal flavor developed in collaboration with Kentucky State University researchers.

“My favorite Southern soda is Ale8, specifically the pawpaw flavor,” Weeks, chef and owner of Murray’s Creole Pub, told the magazine. He described its banana and ginger notes and recommended serving it as an ice cream float. Read the Southern Living feature.

The selection places Pawpaw Ale-8 alongside such longtime regional favorites as Dr Pepper and Cheerwine. For Kentucky State, it also puts a familiar taste in front of readers who may be discovering pawpaw for the first time.

“Pawpaw can surprise people when they first taste it,” said Dr. Kirk W. Pomper, professor of horticulture and curator of Kentucky State’s clonal germplasm repository for pawpaw. “When a chef chooses this drink as a favorite, it tells us the flavor can reach people who might never have encountered the fruit in an orchard or at a farmers market.”

Pawpaw is the largest edible fruit native to the United States. Often called the “Kentucky banana,” its flavor is commonly compared with a blend of banana, mango, and pineapple. Pawpaw Ale-8 brings that tropical character to the Winchester company’s signature ginger and citrus soft drink. After its 2025 debut, the limited-edition beverage returned for a second summer this year.

Kentucky State began formal pawpaw research in 1990 and now operates the world’s only full-time pawpaw research program. More than 2,000 trees representing material collected from 17 states grow on 12 acres at the University’s Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm. The work ranges from preserving genetic diversity and improving orchard practices to studying fruit storage and developing varieties suited to commercial production.

That work continues to grow. Five recently published studies include research on flowering, disease management, postharvest storage, and seedling establishment. Kentucky State has also brought its pawpaw expertise to growers and festival audiences across the region.

“An 1890 land-grant university should put its research to work for the people and businesses it serves,” said Dr. Marcus K. Bernard, dean of the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources and director of Land Grant Programs. “Seeing a Kentucky chef champion Pawpaw Ale-8 in Southern Living shows how a partnership rooted in research can introduce more people to this native fruit.”

Learn more about Kentucky State’s Pawpaw Research Program, including growing information, publications, and recipes.