Gatorade has been around pretty much my entire life, and while it’s not trying to “find itself” in an era where we realized it’s sugar that’s killing us, back during my summer vacations, we drank it like it was water.

In hindsight, it was probably not the smartest nor healthiest thing for us, but we thought it was healthy. You drink Gatorade and you’re immediately able to do feats of strength and athleticism that you couldn’t previously do. Most of my favorites no longer exists so lets look back on Gatorade of the past.

1)Michael Jordan’s Favorite Flavor

This was technically called Citrus Cooler, but the bottle had big claims saying it was Michael Jordan’s #1 Flavor, and what a gimmick it was because we bought it just for that reason. Throughout most of the 1990’s Michael Jordan was the king of all sports. He had a cartoon made by Dic called ProStars, he has various McDonalds promotions, he made Space Jam, his sneakers were must have (still are, I had first run Jordan 11’s in junior high) and of course he had his #1 Gatorade Flavor.

2) Lemon Ice

I still remember when Lemon Ice came out in 95. It was a totally clear Gatorade that tasted like a watered down lemonade, and it was DELICIOUS. This was the coolest flavor to get and we guzzled it like it was going to disappear in a few years. Which it did.

3) Gator Gum

Technically not a drink, but we still treated it as Gatorade regardless. We could be near dying of thirst during a marathon game of flashlight tag in the summer, but all you need was to chew half a pack of Gatorgum and you’re back in the game. No need for water or a Kool-aid burst, we had all the hydration we need in the form of gum. It felt as if it was from the future.

4) Gatorade SunBolt energy drink.

In 1994, Gatorade released an energy drink way ahead of it’s time. It was called SunBolt and it was citrus flavor, but opaque like Sunny-D. There was a version with caffeine and one without. I was 12, and that summer it came out, my friend and I would make early morning trips to the Texaco mini-mart for our SunBlot (it didn’t hurt that they put a Duncan Donuts case in either) I remembered getting this drink even the following summer. Couldn’t remember the name but finally tracked it down on Consumer Time Capsules Youtube, I embedded below

5) Iced Tea Cooler

I saved the absolute BEST for last. In 1993, Gatorade released an Iced Tea flavor that was nothing short of divine. Being an Iced Tea fanatic, this flavor truly appealed to me in that I could do the smallest amount of physical activity and use it as an excuse to go pick up a Gatorade, meanwhile I was just chugging Iced Tea! I really wish the big G would bring this one back. Maybe one day!

That's all about Retro Gatorade, Sorry it took so long to get this blog done, but more are coming on a regular basis.

What is your favorite off this list? let me know in the comments below

-RK