Today's blog post is about Cactus Cooler.
I first heard of Cactus Cooler while reading Peanuts. I used to see Snoopy's cousin, Spike, (who lived in the desert) drinking something called a "Cactus Cooler" when I was a kid. But I never thought it was a real drink.
I essentially forgot about it until I moved to California and one day saw a can of Cactus Cooler in a soda machine. Wow, it existed!
Turns out the reason I had never seen it is that it is mainly a Southern California drink, sold mostly around here and in a few surrounding states.
A little googling reveals the drink actually came from the Flintstones - I now vaguely remember Fred drinking a "cactus cooler," but his was in an actual cactus.
Looks like the people who live up in the foggy north do not get Cactus Cooler, and want some! This is a website petitioning Cactus Cooler to return to Northern California. http://rspress.home.comcast.net/~rspress/cactuscooler.html
Even around here, they are hard to find. Here's a website talking about the rarity of Cactus Cooler.
http://www.retroland.com/cactus-cooler/#.UEdqmanhA6g
Check out the much cooler graphics on the original can.
Or maybe THIS is the original can. I am not even sure how one would OPEN this can!
I just had to include this photo I found of a guy's lunch. It says "carne asada fries with a Cactus Cooler." Can you believe the carne asada fries? I am doubtful the guy survived this lunch.
