I've written about Hi-C Ecto-Cooler around 700 times now, but despite my glowing praise, a few readers have pointed out a very dark fact: In an early X-E article, I said that Ecto-Cooler was a putrid, vile concoction that became successful only on the merits of having Slimer on its packaging.

I was exaggerating for humor's sake at the time, because saying things in extreme terms is hilarious. Still, Ecto-Cooler was far from my favorite Hi-C flavor, and it's also true that I never would've wanted it had Ecto-Cooler not been thematically tied to Slimer. I was always more of a Ssips Iced Tea kinda guy, anyway.

But on the heels of Ecto-Cooler, King Hi-C realized that some of his other flavors stood to benefit from goofy mascot characters. Slimer's success paved way for a parade of insane mascots and flavor names that took Hi-C far, far away from the "natural" themes of its earlier offerings. One of my favorites from this new frontier was a bright red, strawberry-flavored ditty called "Boppin' Berry."

As a firm believer that anything made to taste like fake strawberries is better than anything not made to taste like fake strawberries, Boppin' Berry was totally up my alley. It was really about the flavor -- a gorgeous, overly sweet juicy juice packing jusssst enough tart to follow each sip up with a pleasant lip smack. Still, I don't think Boppin' Berry's mascot hurt matters any. Take a look at that guy -- an anthropomorphic strawberry, wearing sunglasses, rooted in a bed of piano keys. Wasn't that one of the bosses from Nintendo's Stinger?

Eh, in truth, I think my palette (not in the food sense) has needed to mature over the years to truly appreciate the Boppin' Berry Piano-Playing Strawberry-Head for the god that he is. Doubt that I was totally in love with the guy in my youth, mainly because I was already past the age where it was acceptable to find cartoony mascots "cute." Now I'm older, and I know better. I won't go so far to say that the Boppin' Berry Piano-Playing Strawberry-Head has the makings for a perfect tattoo, but that's only because I know it's an idea I should keep to myself.

As for the drink itself, it was pretty phenomenal. And very, very red. Much redder than the photo suggests, as you're seeing food dye that's had almost fifteen years to lose its luster. The "fifteen years" thing also explains my hesitance to try Boppin' Berry one last time.

PS: Don't ask me why I have a sealed 9-pack (well, 8-pack now) of Boppin' Berry leftover from 1995. I don't have to explain myself to you. Especially when I'm ticked that I can never watch The Golden Girls again.

Posted by Matt on 07/22/2008. E-mail me!