I had read that there were bottlers in some regions that were still using cane sugar. When the "Classic Coke" was reintroduced, they all switched to high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). There were rumors that whole "New Coke/Classic Coke" campaign was part of a ploy to completely remove real sugar and replace it nationwide with HFCS.
According to Coca-Cola's announcement in 1984, and according to the Sugar Association and confirmed by the director of public affairs for Coca-Cola USA, they were using 100% HFCS in Coke as of 1984, the year before New Coke was introduced.
The thing that got so many people to notice it when "Coca-Cola Classic" came out in 1985 several months after New Coke came out, was the labeling change, i.e., it now said "high fructose corn syrup and/or sucrose" in the ingredients list whereas it had previously said "sugar," even in 1984 and early 1985 before New Coke came out while they were already using 100% HFCS (the Sugar Association pointed that out too:
"At no time during this five-year period did the company advertise these changes to the consumer or indicate them on the Coke label.")
As WarrenPeace noted above, the only way now to experience the original Coke made from real sugar and available in glass bottles is if you can find a store that sells Coke imported from Mexico.
That's a different thing entirely. It's very good, and I've bought it quite often for many years (I have some of them in the refrigerator right now), but American Coke never tasted like it, at least not the American Coke that was sold in my neck of the woods (Maine). That's not surprising since even the taste of American Coke varies depending on the bottler. I first noticed that when I was in my late teens, on a plane from Dallas to Tucson, and I got a can of Coke from the flight attendant. It tasted really weird compared to the Coke I'd been drinking daily for years in Maine.
The best tasting Coke IMO is fountain Coke from McDonald's or Burger King. It's better than Mexican Coke even, even though it uses HFCS. On the other hand, the worst Coke I ever had was fountain Coke from a coin-operated vending machine located at a place I used to work in the early 2000s. It was terrible; so bad that, even though I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Coke drinker, I'd choose something else when buying soda from that machine.
I'm not even convinced that anyone could tell the difference between HFCS and sugar in a blind test, assuming everything else was equal. Anyone could tell the difference between Mexican Coke and American Coke, but that has nothing to do with it having sugar rather than HFCS.
The whole "original formula" thing is just marketing; there are lots of different formulas around the world, and even around the country. For example, it's very easy to prove that Mexican Coke is a different formula than American Coke (in more ways than just sugar vs. HFCS) just by comparing the labels:
12-oz. (355ml) Mexican Coke
Serving size: 1 bottle
Calories: 150
Sodium: 85mg
12-oz. (355ml) American Coke
Serving size: 1 can
Calories: 140
Sodium: 45mg
It's obviously impossible for 12 ounces of Mexican Coke to have 10 more Calories and nearly twice the amount of sodium as 12 ounces of American Coke, while still being the same formula aside from containing sugar instead of HFCS.
I also have an empty 12-oz. (355ml) Canadian Coke can here:
Serving size: 1 can
Calories: 160
Sodium: 40mg
Carbohydrates: 42g (vs. 39g for both American and Mexican Coke)
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