The Soda Jerk #9

OCEAN WATER

What the hell is Ocean Water? It's a tropical fountain soda that can only be found at Sonic, everyone's second favorite retro fast food joint (sorry, but Checkers edges it out for the top spot). To be perfectly honest with you, I'm not big on Sonic. The food is average, the carhop service is hardly novel and the prices are inflated. I'm shocked that they are still in business. When you break it down to brass tacks, Sonic has two claims to fame. First, you've got your hit/miss commercials. Secondly (and more importantly), you've got a sweet selection of beverages to choose from.

Ocean Water was introduced years ago. Like any decent menu item, it disappeared for awhile, but from what I understand, it's now considered to be a Sonic staple. The recipe is achingly simple. It's basically Sprite augmented with coconut flavoring and blue food coloring. You can't buy it in stores, but you can make it at home with relative ease. I imagine that you could use any lemon-lime soda as a substitute for Sprite (now that I think about it, a Sun Drop experiment may be in order). Until today, I had not imbibed Ocean Water for what seems like an eternity. Was it as refreshing as I remembered it being?

Pretty much. The Sprite had a bitter aftertaste, but I chalk it up to a flawed fountain system. Certain drinks have different qualities when they come from different sources. In my experience, Sprite is going to taste funny if you order it from Wendy's or Burger King. Then again, I have a flighty, coquettish tongue. It cannot be trusted. If you enjoy the occasional Pina Colada, you're bound to dig Ocean Water. Ironically, the opposite holds true. I don't care for coconut(s) at all, and I get enough of a kick out of this stuff to write a column about it. That should tell you something.

Plus, it's blue! How can you turn down a blue beverage? It's worth noting that I couldn't find a satisfactory image of Sonic's Ocean Water, so I settled for a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog drowning in an oceanic body of water. It was either that or a shot of me pissing on a Sonicare toothbrush.