Starbucks North Carolina mug: Discovery Series

By The Starbucks Cups team · Last checked 2026-10-15 · How we make these pages

Starbucks Discovery Series North Carolina mug with a golfer, rafters, strawberries and seaside houses around the words NORTH CAROLINA — Front view · numbered markers match the list below Show markers

The North Carolina mug from Starbucks' Discovery Series sets NORTH CAROLINA in lavender capitals over a dark green circle, with a golfer, rafters in a rapid, strawberries, a red bottle and a row of seaside houses.

Series: Discovery Series
Place: North Carolina, USA
Type: Mug
Released: Not confirmed
Capacity: 14 fl ozstandard mug size
SKU: Not confirmed

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The sugar shortage that gave North Carolina Cheerwine

According to the company's own history, L.D. Peeler created Cheerwine in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1917, in the middle of a sugar shortage ^[1]. His drive to start a soft drink of his own led him to a salesman from St. Louis, who sold him a wild cherry flavor ^[2]. The burgundy-red color and cheery disposition gave him the name ^[3]. Demand grew until the company had no choice but to buy its first delivery truck. Before that, Cheerwine had traveled by train, horse and wagon ^[4]. Peeler died in 1931, and his son Clifford took over ^[5]. In April 2011, the Salisbury Post reported that company officials hoped to have Cheerwine in all 50 states by its hundredth anniversary ^[6]. It was then sold in 12 ^[7]. The tall red bottle at the lower left of the North Carolina mug (6) may be one of theirs.

The mug does not label its drawings, so connecting this one to the story is our reading.

What's on the mug

1
Lettering
NORTH CAROLINA in lavender capitals over a dark green circle, on two lines.
2
Golfer
A golfer in a red striped shirt and blue trousers holds a club at the end of a swing, at the right.
3
Rafters
Three people in red and blue life jackets paddle a raft through white water at the upper left.
4
Strawberries
Red strawberries sit at the top of the circle, with a larger one at its upper left.
5
Seaside houses
A row of red and blue houses on stilts stands along a shoreline at the bottom of the circle.
6
Red bottle
A tall red bottle stands at the lower left.
7
Red flowers
A cluster of red blooms and a red round shape rise at the upper right beside the handle.

The photo is low resolution and shows one side of the mug. The back and the area behind the handle are out of view.

Collector notes

The inside of the mug cannot be seen in this photo, so its colour is not confirmed here.
The golfer at the right and the rafters at the upper left bracket the lettering, so a photo from one side shows only one of the two.

Before you buy

The photo shows one side of the mug, and the inside color is not confirmed. North Carolina also appears in the Been There, Icon and You Are Here series, so check the series name before you order. The golfer (2) and the rafters (3) bracket the lettering, so a photo from one side shows only one of them.