I'm curious, is something like Fanta or (carbonated) Ice Tea ever considered a coke?
To me—not a native english speaker—coke means Coca Cola Coke, Pepsi Coke, or Dr Pepper. That is, it's synonymous with the French word 'coca' or the Dutch word 'cola'.
But yes, a Fanta or Sprite could be a coke. A Pepsi could be a coke.
I noticed that in Wisconsin tea is sweetened or unsweetened; whereas, when I was in Florida the tea was sweet or unsweet.
I also noticed that they make Old Fashions with whiskey rather than brandy. And if you order a brandy sour, it can take the bartender up to 5 minutes to find some Brandy... While attempting to be polite I learned they do not know what gesundheit means either.
My brother and I used to argue about whether Orange Fanta counted as a coke. He thought it wasn't, because it was orange soda and not cola. I thought it was, because it was sugary carbonated soda.
My wife refers to them all as soda or pop. The industrial name for them all is "soft drink", which I think means they don't have alcohol in them.
It's a very regional, kind of random thing.
"Do you want a drink?" "yes" "What kind?" "Fanta"
or
"Yall want a drank?" [see above]
Where in the US is this?
You are right, its used for alcoholic beverages and non alcoholic beverages so context is key. Ive never encountered a problem with any confusion. Usually when its used, its clear whether alcohol is meant.
Alcohol: "Were going out for drinks" "We have a few drinks with dinner"
Non-Alcohol (Coke/Pop/Soda) "We got some drinks at the gas station on the way over" "Will you get me a drink while you are in the kitchen?" "We have drinks in the fridge"
I think most people that use it would answer "Coke" if asked because thats what southerners are supposed to say, but informally "drink" gets used quite often.