15 Vintage Drinks That Disappeared from Store Coolers
Here's a colorful lineup of vintage sodas, juices, and novelty drinks that once ruled the coolers but have since fizzled into history.
- Alyana Aguja
- 4 min read
Drinks are cultural artifacts in a bottle, and every generation has its own flavor. These 15 vintage beverages weren’t just thirst-quenchers; they were moments in time, capturing trends, tastes, and sometimes outright oddities. Their disappearances mark the end of niche marketing experiments, changing health standards, or simply fading popularity, but their legacy lives on in nostalgic hearts and online wishlists.
1. Crystal Pepsi
Image from Wikipedia
When Crystal Pepsi hit shelves in the early ’90s, its clear look felt like the future. Pepsi without the caramel color was a wild concept, and people were equal parts fascinated and confused. It vanished almost as quickly as it arrived, becoming a fizzy relic of an experimental era.
2. Orbitz
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Orbitz wasn’t just a drink, it was a science experiment in a bottle. Released in the late ’90s, it was a fruit-flavored beverage suspended with floating, gelatinous balls that looked like tiny lava lamp blobs. Most people remember the texture more than the taste, which might explain why it quietly disappeared.
3. Pepsi Blue
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Pepsi Blue launched in 2002 with a neon hue that seemed more at home in a slushie machine than a soda bottle. It had a berry-cotton-candy flavor that split opinion right down the middle. It faded fast, but it left behind a cult following that still petitions for its return.
4. Fruitopia
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A product of the ’90s, Fruitopia came with psychedelic ads and names like “Strawberry Passion Awareness.” It was Coca-Cola’s bid to capture the health-conscious New Age crowd, but the flavor didn’t always match the lofty branding. Eventually, it was rebranded or discontinued in many regions.
5. Slice
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Before Sierra Mist and Starry, PepsiCo had Slice, a citrus soda line introduced in 1984. It once boasted real fruit juice and had several varieties like Cherry-Lime and Mandarin Orange. Over time, it lost market share and quietly fizzled out, but many still remember it as the cooler cousin to Sprite.
6. Surge
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Coca-Cola launched Surge in the late ’90s as its answer to Mountain Dew, with a similar citrus kick and extreme-sports energy. It had a loyal fan base but got overshadowed by the competition. Despite small comebacks, it never regained its original momentum.
7. Tab
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Tab was Coca-Cola’s original diet soda, born in the 1960s and instantly recognized for its pink can and slightly bitter taste. It was a cult favorite among those who didn’t mind the artificial sweetener tang. After decades on the fringe, it was officially discontinued in 2020.
8. OK Soda
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OK Soda was Coca-Cola’s short-lived experiment in 1993 to appeal to Gen X with irony and blandness as its brand. The gray can, cryptic messages, and cynical vibe were way ahead of their time. It flopped commercially, but in retrospect, it feels oddly prophetic.
9. Josta
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Released in 1995, Josta was the first energy soda from a major brand, made by PepsiCo. It contained guarana and had a spicy, berry-like taste that didn’t quite match anything else on the market. It was too strange for the mainstream but too memorable to forget.
10. Hi-C Ecto Cooler
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Created as a tie-in with the Ghostbusters franchise, Ecto Cooler turned a standard citrus Hi-C flavor neon green. Kids loved it even if the color made parents pause. After the movies faded, so did the drink, although it briefly resurfaced with the reboot.
11. Clearly Canadian (Original Formulation)
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Before it was trendy to drink flavored water, Clearly Canadian brought clear, sparkling fruit drinks to the shelves. In the ’90s, its glass bottles and clean flavors like Wild Cherry and Mountain Blackberry were everywhere. It faded in the early 2000s but has had limited revivals with slightly altered formulas.
12. Citra
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Coca-Cola’s Citra was a grapefruit-flavored soda released in the late ’90s, aiming to take on Squirt and Fresca. It had a crisp, slightly bitter bite that was refreshing in small sips. Ultimately, it was rebranded and then dropped altogether, unable to find its niche.
13. Vault
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Vault promised to “drink like a soda, kick like an energy drink,” making it a hybrid ahead of its time. It had a citrus flavor and a neon-green look, making it hard to miss in vending machines. Despite a strong start in 2005, it was shelved just a few years later.
14. Pepsi AM
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Pepsi AM tried to push soda into the breakfast market in the late ’80s by upping the caffeine content. It was targeted at people who didn’t like coffee but needed a morning jolt. Unsurprisingly, the idea didn’t stick, and the product quietly disappeared.
15. New York Seltzer (Original Run)
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With retro glass bottles and pastel labels, Original New York Seltzer was a fizzy drink that skipped the artificial coloring. Flavors like Root Beer and Raspberry added personality, making it a favorite in the mid-’80s. It vanished for decades before staging a small comeback in the 2010s.