GREENSBURG At the counter of a downtown eatery, cola giants take a back seat to sodas that pack hometown appeal. The beverages of choice are Double-Cola and citrus-flavored Ski, sipped from the bottle to wash down slaw burgers at Brendas Place. Its a completely different taste, said Jeff Matney, a loyal Double-Cola drinker since childhood. Theres more flavor. That kind of devotion is what keeps 75-year-old Greensburg Bottling Co. afloat, despite the dominance of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Company President Joe DeSpain jokes that the cola giants probably spill more soda every year than his company sells. Were an aberration, DeSpain said. A family-owned bottling business is just a rare bird anymore. DeSpains father took over the south-central Kentucky plant in 1961 and now he and his three brothers own it. Greensburg Bottling is the only Kentucky bottler of Double-Cola and Ski, flagship brands of Double-Cola Co.-USA, based in Chattanooga, Tenn. Double-Cola dates back to the early 1930s. Its name signified a perceived advantage over other colas of the times Double-Cola was sold in 12 ounce bottles, double the size of competitors. Ski was first produced in 1956, a blend of orange and lemon flavorings. The Kentucky Headhunters paid tribute to the citrus drink in the song Dumas Walker, singing:Come on down with my baby and me,Have a slaw burger, fries and a bottle of Ski. Greensburg Bottling packages several other soft drinks, but Double-Cola and Ski remain the most popular. It is one of the longest affiliations that Double-Cola has, said Jim Hoffman, regional sales manager for the soft-drink company. While bottlers closed in several other Kentucky towns, Greensburg Bottling has doggedly kept alive traditions from a bygone era. For one, it still uses glass bottles and it operates one of only two returnable-bottle lines left in Kentucky. The other is the Ale-8-One Bottling Co. in Winchester. Its a matter of tradition, DeSpain said. Thats the way the soft-drink industry started, and its just an issue of taste. People who grew up with returnable bottles will say the taste is better. Another tradition Greensburg Bottling cant seem to shake home deliveries, a personalized touch that helps maintain the devotion of local customers. Jean Blakeman, 73, has had Ski delivered to her home for 48 years. While her three children were growing up, her family went through a case every two weeks. Now she drinks about a six-pack each week. I just call when I am running out and they deliver it, she said. I really appreciate it. If shes home, she pays the delivery man. If not, she sends a check. At Christmas she always get a free case of Ski delivered a gesture of appreciation for her business. The company puts soft drinks only in glass or plastic bottles, resisting another industry trend packaging drinks in cans. Its main building itself is even a throwback a stone facade built in 1938. A faded red sign proclaims its ties to Double-Cola and Ski. The family added warehouse space in the 1970s.The lone production line methodically chugs with machines that are mostly relics from 40 years ago. Moving along a conveyor belt, the plastic or glass containers are filled with soda, capped and boxed. A few workers stand watch, lending an occasional hand to the automation. In terms of contemporary bottling operations, this is museum kind of stuff, DeSpain said over the industrial din. Upstairs, in a room filled with a syrupy aroma, another worker mixes up a batch of Ski. He pours five-gallon containers of thick concentrate into a huge steel vat. Corn syrup and water are pumped into the mixture. Another tradition is replayed each spring, when school groups tour the plant. Each youngster gets a bottled soft drink and a pencil. You can talk to people my age who remember that as a highlight of the year, said DeSpain, 58.It was such nostalgia that prompted a group to tour the plant as part of its 30-year high school reunion last year. Just as they did decades earlier, the returning graduates sipped sodas and took home pencils. DeSpain said it was a testament to the plants staying power. Theres a certain fondness and attachment to the bottling company.