Monday, January 7, 2013

10 Pops That Got Dropped

Soda, pop, coke, call it what you like, it's the drink of choice of our generation.  Probably the previous generation as well, but I can say with certainty that it's been my go-to beverage choice for the vast majority of my life.  I blame my fatness and even more so for my general toothlessness on drinking pop.

Now let me clear this up real quick.  I'm from Michigan originally, so I say pop.  I've found myself not saying pop so much now, but more often I just say "drink."  Now that I'm away from home, no one calls it pop here in Tennessee.  I don't know what they call it, perhaps soda?  There are even some folks who refer to all pop as Coke, despite it not actually being Coke brand.  Like saying "what kind of Coke did you get?  Oh, Orange coke, that's a good one."  The reasoning is partially because Coca-Cola was based out of Atlanta, so it's been the dominant brand in the south since forever.  Also, in the same way we say Jacuzzi or Frisbee  that's what they call pop.  That's okay after it was explained to me, but I couldn't do that.  There is a handy dandy website someone created which told you what parts of the nation call it pop or soda or coke.  It's pretty interesting.

But what you call it, that's not at all what I'm here to discuss, believe it or not.  No, I want to talk about all the drinks you can't get anymore, and surely you and I remember and miss them.  Some drinks played a pivotal part in my development as an adult, as they were an important part of my daily routine at one time or another.  Taste is a very important sense, and perhaps only second to smell, the best source of nostalgia you can find.  When you haven't tasted something for a long time, and then you taste it again, it's magical what happens.

So I present you with some soda pop that has been discontinued (or just hard to find).  Heck, I'll even present it in list form, since that's what the internet does so well these days.  Hey, maybe I'll even name this "Top Pops That Got Dropped?"  Maybe...You would think that if I did that, I'd delete this line, no? (no)

10. Dr Pepper Berries and Cream

This is actually the best tasting pop you can't buy anymore, I think.  If someone at the Dr Pepper company reads this, THIS POP WAS REALLY GOOD AND YOU SHOULD BRING IT BACK.  There was also a Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla that was out around the same time, but the Berries and Cream was way better.  I'm a little lad that love Berries and Cream!  Here's the commercial.


Dr Pepper Berries and Cream Commercial by dampier

 (upon further review, that last line is a reference to a Starburst commercial.  Oh well, it still applies.)

9. Faygo Honeydew Mist/ Faygo Morning Mist

As I said above, I grew up, and lived the first 26 years of my life in Michigan, so we had a lot of Faygo and Shasta drinks going on.  With the increased popularity of the Insane Clown Posse in the late 90's, it brought with it a renewed love and respect for the many wonderful flavors of Faygo.  So me and my friend Chris made an effort to try all the different flavors that Faygo made.  My personal favorite was Morning Mist.  Morning Mist was a grapefruit flavored pop that was pink.  I used to drink a 2 liter of that every day, no joke.  And when I drank 10 of them, I'd return the bottles and get a free one.  I was wearing braces on my teeth at this time, and wasn't that disciplined in brushing my teeth every night before bed, so I developed a lot of cavities due to Morning Mist addiction, but it was worth it at the time.  I'd do just about anything to taste that flavor again.  There really isn't that much information around about Morning Mist, except it appears on a list of discontinued Faygo flavors.  I couldn't even find a picture of the label or bottle on Google.  I have a lot of memories.  Oh and Honeydew Mist was good, too.  Could only find that at Econo Foods in Marquette in 20oz bottles.  I remember drinking Honeydew Mist while playing the first Silent Hill game in the summer of..1999?  That sounds about right.  Anyways, let's move on to...

8. Slice

As I Tweeted on Saturday, I hadn't even realized they stopped making Slice, and they stopped making it in 2000...what, 13 years ago, now?  They phased it out and brought in Sierra Mist.  I wonder if it's the same thing.  I don't know I had just completely forgotten about it,  There was the classic lemon-lime one, and of course orange Slice.  I just can't believe it's been that long already.

7. A Thousand Stupid Mountain Dews

Seriously, no one makes more new flavors that Mountain Dew.  I stopped paying attention after Live Wire, which...do they even make that anymore?  Man, I remember my brother drinking that a lot back in like 2007 or something like that.  I'm short on the details, as this isn't a post giving you facts, this is a post reminding you of the flavors you miss.  But yes, I do believe that became a permanent flavor in 2007.  So then they had the DEWmocracy thing where they put out three flavors and people voted on which one to keep.  I never tried any of them.  But hey, remember Mountain Dew Pitch Black?  The sour grape one?  That was the best!   I'll give Mountain Dew credit for putting out new flavors all the time.  I'm a fan of something new.  Which is why I drank a lot of...


6. C2 and Pepsi Edge

This was one of those times when one cola company put out a product, so the other one put out their version, as they have done so many times for so many years.  This one I remember well because I was like 19 or 20 at the time, at the height of my pop purchasing days.  I'm a Coke guy, let me say that first and foremost.  I remember either posting on Livejournal or Myspace about how Pepsi Edge wasn't terrible.  I remember my review saying something along the lines of "Regular Pepsi tastes like dog shit, and Pepsi Edge tastes like dog shit, but with half the sugar."  I was pretty proud of that line.  For those who don't know, the idea of C2 and Pepsi Edge was a cola with half the sugar as regular.  This was them trying to bridge the gap between people who wanted a less sugar choice and didn't want to drink icky diet pop.  Flop flop flop.  I remember the finale of the Apprentice on NBC had the contestants designing a new bottle for Pepsi Edge.  Goddamn I remember the stupidest shit, don't I?

5. Pepsi One

This is one that hung around a lot longer than you probably even realize, because I didn't realize that it's actually still around.  It was introduced in the late 90's as the one calorie cola.  Who gives a shit if it has one calorie?  Just take out the one calorie and make it zero calories.  Why does it have to have one calorie? Just one calorie, not evil enough.  Marketing, man.  Some of the strangest shit works sometimes.  I remember it just tasted like eating a packet of Sweet & Low.  And they still make this?  How did this stick around when other ones that were way better get shut down?  I'm sorry to include this in my Pops that got Dropped post, because this didn't get dropped yet.  Oh well, I;m pretty sure the next one did...

4. Diet Coke Plus

The cola companies are always messing around with their diet pops, aren't they? Remember Diet Coke Plus?  There was nothing special about the taste of the pop, but they added vitamins and minerals to it to make it healthier.  First off, you don't get your goddamn vitamins and minerals form pop.  You get it from plants.  People think you can just drink a can of Diet Coke Plus (or take a multivitamin for that matter) and you're good to go, you're not going to die now.  Okay, good luck trying that out.  Well I guess no one actually did try that out because it got shit canned.  I did find a listing on eBay for a sweet Diet Coke Plus t shirt that I'm considering buying.  That would be hilarious.  Diet Coke Plus came out during an exceptional flurry of new variations of old classics, around 2005-2006, something like that.  Around that time, they also released Diet Coke w/Splenda.  It tasted like a sweeter Diet Coke, and that's fine and dandy,  I just don't like Splenda.  It was also around this time they released Coke Zero, which I have to admit to you all is my absolute #1 go-to choice drink today, and has been since it was released in 2006.  I'm probably going to get cancer.

5. Pepsi Blue

I know a lot of people would expect this list to include Crystal Pepsi, but man, I don't really think that matters much on this specific list because it's been well documented what Crystal Pepsi was and how much people want it back for the ultimate nostalgia it provides.  However, Pepsi Blue is another story.  I remember when it came out, they were selling 20oz bottles of it at the grocery store for dirt cheap.  I bought one when I first saw it, but that was all I needed to have.  I never bought it again because it was really gross.  I think I remember Danny Featherstone buying it a bunch because of the price.  I wouldn't drink that crap if it was free, now or then.  It was terrible. But it was like a blue...cola...thing?  Was it supposed to taste like cola at all?  Because it didn't , in my opinion.  It tasted like that cheap Blue Drink you can get in the gallon jugs.  I'll say this about Pepsi Blue, it most definitely blew.

4. Pepsi Twist and Coke/Diet Coke with Lime and/or Lemon

This was was pretty popular if I recall.  I remember it being around a lot, people enjoying it regularly.  I'm pretty sure it was around for a lot longer than some of these other drinks that I've mentioned above.  Oh, and now that we've reached number four, you may be asking yourself, "Is this list in any particular order?" and my answer to that is no, it's not.  I'm really just writing this in list form because, like I said, the internet loves them some lists.  You can just scroll down and read what's next to the number and read the description if you want to.  Obviously if you've read this description, you're thinking, WTF is he talking about anyway?  I don't know man, it's like almost five in the morning at this point.

3. Surge and Vault

Man, this is the real reason I even started thinking about discontinued pop in the first place.  I remember when Surge came out, there was a big cooler at the local gas station that was full of cans of Surge for a quarter each.  I used to go load up on Surge on the cheap.  It was pretty good, but not my favorite ever.  I always like the can, with all the green and red.  It was so bright and eye-catching.  But everyone remembers Surge and that can't get it anymore.  Did you know you can't get Vault anymore?  Yeah they discontinued that a few years ago, too.  I hadn't noticed, which is probably why it got discontinued.  It seems like Coke has spent a lot of time over the years trying to compete with Mountain Dew, and just can't seen to get it right.  I personally think that Mello Yello is better than Mountain Dew.  I've always felt that way.  But then again, I'm not a huge Mountain Dew fan in the first place.  Call me crazy, but that's just how I feel.

2. Coca-Cola Blak

This was apparently so popular in France, they decided to launch it in the States.  It was not very good.  it was a small little bottle and that made it feel like it was really special, because you were only allowed to have this little tiny bit of it.  I'm glad it was so small because it was not good and you didn't have a giant drink to throw away.  I don't remember where I heard it, but it was on TV, a comedian of some sort, describing the taste of the drink as "you left your cup of coffee on your desk all weekend, and someone accidentally spilled some of their coke in there." I put that in quotes, but that was paraphrasing   But that's exactly right, that's what it tasted like.  Like old, cold coffee that you mixed some leftover coke into.  Not good.  Not good at all.

1. Vanilla Coke and Pepsi Vanilla

This is the only instance on this list where I'm putting one of the drinks into a specific spot.  The thing is, it's not really all that discontinued.  I mean Vanilla Coke, that is.  I could go to the store and buy some today if I wanted to.  And you know what, I just might.  But once upon a time you could buy this in 20oz at every corner store in America.  Now it's only available (at least that I'm aware of) in 12 packs.  I don't know if you guys know, but I used to drink a lot of pop.  I used to drink a 12 pack a day at my worst, in a week if I was really nursing it.  But my go-to as a new adult was Vanilla Coke.  And in the summer of 2003, I made the switch to diet pop, I switched to Diet Vanilla Coke, and later Diet Pepsi Vanilla because it was cheaper at my local grocery store.  When Bethany and I moved in together in the summer of 2003 (10 years ago, btw.  I've lived with the same woman for 10 years) we drank a lot of Diet Pepsi Vanilla, or as we called it for short, "DPV."  And one day, we just couldn't find it anymore, along with Toffee Butter Act II microwave popcorn.  I want those days back!  Oh, how delicious that time was.  We ate a lot of Tuna Helper, too.  We were kids, what else do we eat and drink when we're on our own?  I used to claim that Vanilla Coke was my hangover cure.  That and those BK Back Porch Griller sandwiches they had for a while there from Burger King.  Big ol' burger and a vanilla coke.  Maybe it worked, maybe it just tasted so good I forgot how shitty I felt.  Either way, I can still taste that, and by default, feel those days.  It wasn't that long ago to me, proving how fast life moves along.  That was only like, 10 or 11 years ago.

So in conclusion, there were other drinks that had come out before the late 90's and 2000's, but I really don't remember them.  I was too young.  But these, I tried all of them, and only a few were worth it.  I've always been afraid that delicious, delicious Coke Zero would end up on a list like this, simply because it's not one of the "regular or diet" options that are going to be around forever.  But coke Zero had done well, and it seems to be safe for now.  I'll keep buying it just in case they decide to pull it one day, for whatever reason.  Oh, yeah, they also made a Vanilla version of Coke Zero.  That was awesome.  I remember having that for the first time in 2007 when I was on my trip to Washington DC.  That was like the best of both worlds situation, right there.  Bring that back.  Also, I really hope that Pepsi is smart enough to release something under the name "Pepsi Perfect" in or around 2015.  That's what Marty McFly orders in the Cafe 80's in Back to the Future part 2.  I'd buy it.  I know this post is just dripping with nostalgia, and sometimes it's not a good idea to just dwell on the past, only focus on how good it used to be.  If you don't pay attention to how good it is right now, you won't have any new memories to miss later.  So stop to remember the delicious pop you once drank, but try a new one as well, so you can talk about it with your grand kids or whatever.  Something as simple as a flavor can bring back a flood of memories, and I think it's pretty cool that we humans can do that.  I'm going to go grab a pop and think about what it reminds me of, and I want you to do the same.  Enjoy your beverage, my friends.  And have a great day.


(this post is really scatterbrained, and I apologize for it.  Mostly this post was well-intended, but I think the execution is a bit off.  Sorry, I'm not good at staying on a topic or at making a point when there is not really much of a point to be made.  This is why I know I'm not a good writer.  Also, I've obviously never heard of drafts or editing.)

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