The Soda Jerk #5

POLAR BLAST HAWAIIAN PUNCH

You're going to find sizeable jugs of Hawaiian Punch in every grocery store that you go to. They're usually scattered around the floor layout in random spots, and sometimes, they'll be displayed at the end of an aisle. You'll even find them in the soda section in can form. The standard fruit punch flavor is delightful, but up until recently, I had never tried any of the other flavors. To my surprise, there is a manifold assortment of different types of Hawaiian Punch. This edition of The Soda Jerk will project a blinding floodlight in the direction of Polar Blast, a berry variant on traditional punch.

Blue drinks are either hits or misses. In my experience, most blue drinks have been flagrant misses. It is with cagey caution that I approached Polar Blast. It looked too damn appetizing to be appetizing. There had to be a catch. My first swallow brought Glacier Freeze Gatorade to mind. To be more specific, it tasted like a mix between Glacier Freeze and Riptide Rush. It didn't taste like punch at all. It didn't have a strong blueberry flavor either. That's a plus for me, as I'm not a big fan of blueberry-flavored beverages.

No, this was more of a laid back lemonade. The aftertaste came close to being pungent, but it died off before it became unpleasant. So what was my first impression of Polar Blast? I liked it! This is a damn good drink. However, it must be served cold. The flavor itself is inherently icy, so it tastes a little weird if it's been sitting for awhile. It's not like Vanilla Coke where it's still somehow refreshing three hours later. Keep it refrigerated. It's more enjoyable without ice. Of course, I can't compare it to other Hawaiian Punch flavors, but it matters none. If you dig juices and sports drinks, you'll probably dig Polar Blast.

I wish I could show you the label, but every image I found was small and/or pixelated. Now, you may have trouble locating Polar Blast Hawaiian Punch. I've only seen it at Wal-Mart. They do have it on Amazon, if I'm not mistaken. It's available as a powder if you're into that sort of thing. Try snorting it. Tell me how that goes.