Jolt Cola (bottle)

When I was growing up in the 80s, I remember drinking Jolt in massive quantities, completely convinced that it was the greatest cola ever made. In reality, I'm sure it was their slogan "All the sugar and twice the caffeine" that I liked, as well as their sweet logo and the quick burst of caffeine. Over the years, Jolt got harder and harder to find until now, when all you can get are those ugly Energy Drink cans that make you doubt there is cola inside.

Or so I thought, until I watched Basket Case 2 and developed a serious need for a Jolt. Some quick internet searching revealed that they do still produce some glass bottles for sale on the west coast. I grabbed a bunch and sat back ready to revisit the past... but as usual with this sort of thing, I ended up disappointed.

It is a straight-forward cola, with less carbonation than Coke. It is not bad, but it is about as generic a cola as you can imagine. It is so non-descript there really isn't much to say about it.

I have to believe that what I am drinking is not the original formula... I know they reformulated at one point to replace sugar with corn syrup, but if I remember right, I still really enjoyed it after that change. The bottle doesn't say "Power Cola" or whatever stupid shit they are putting on their packages these days, so I can't be sure whether this is the classic formula or not. I also cannot really speak to the burst of caffeine, because I am an all-day coffee drinker these days and it doesn't really affect me much anymore.

I may try to get some of the classic cans that seem to be available, since that is the way I originally enjoyed it, but I doubt that will make much of a difference since in my experience the glass bottle is always the best way for me to enjoy soda.

All told, disappointingly average like so many other beloved things you try to recapture from your childhood.

5/10