The Accidental Zima

Anyone remember Zima? While much maligned by many in its prime, in hindsight I contend that Zima was a revolutionary beverage. Now...put aside your preconceived notions based on your view of it at the time. It was cool to hate the 'un-beer' of the early 90's, but clear your mind and consider Zima from a different perspective. Zima was the 'Jolt Cola' of alcohol. I consider Jolt to be the first energy drink. With its classic slogan, 'All the sugar and twice the caffeine,' Jolt presaged the advent of Red Bull, Monster, and the host of other drinks capitalizing on their increased caffeine when compared with Coke and other mainline soft drinks. Similarly, Zima truly tried to be 'Zomething Different'. In a world dominated by beer, wine coolers, and the wretched toxins that passed for late-80's wines, Zima stood out as a truly unique beverage. It was, in essence, a cocktail in a bottle--an attempt to break free from stereotypes and emerge as a new type of beverage. Much like Jolt, it found only a niche market. Had it been presented today, it might have fared better. A few years ago while touring the Coors plant outside Denver, I asked about Zima, only to learn that it was still in decline. After scrapping the original flavor and trying others, Coors was still fighting a losing battle against the unpopular image Zima received in its early years.

You may ask what sparked these thoughts about Zima...

I have been experimenting with 1980's retro wine cocktails. While attempting to create a 'wine cooler' (the cocktail ancestor of the ubiquitous bottled drink), I realized I was out of the traditional source of carbonation, ginger ale. The closest substitute I had on hand was Fresca, which I always stock as a diet alternative to Squirt for palomas (If you don't know, I would explain...but that's another blog entry). I mixed the following:

6 oz Fresca (grapefruit soda)
4 oz white wine (light and unoaked)
1/4 oz homemade grenadine
ice

Much to my surprise, not only did I have a nice, refreshing wine cocktail...I also detected a taste I had not experienced in years. Oddly enough, the grapefruity citrus of the Fresca, the smooth tart of the homemade grenadine, and the fruit and alcohol of the wine combined to make a taste that reflected what was good about Zima. This drink, however, was fresh and delicately sweet, not artificial and cloying. If any of you have and secret good memories of Zima (you know who you are!), give this cocktail a try.