Haunting the shelves again like a rerun of your favorite television show from your youth is Hi-C Ecto Cooler. That’s right, Slimer’s favorite refreshment is, yet again, within reach. It is no coincidence either that the citrus flavored juice drink is available to sneak into movie theaters for Ghostbusters.

Some of us remember when Hi-C Ecto Cooler was always on the grocery shelves and the commercials with Slimer convincing small children across the world to drink it.

 

We remember asking Mom or Dad if we could get a pack of Hi-C Ecto Cooler, explaining how essential it was to be included with our school lunches. When the answer was no, some of us would tell ourselves that we would buy as much as we wanted when we were grown up. That time has come!

If it has seemed like forever since it has been out, it is because it has. Hi-C Ecto Cooler was last stocked 15 years ago, nearly half our lifetime since our childhood beverage (oh, what about Kool-Aid and Squeeze-Its?) was more than just a fond memory. The juice box was introduced in 1987, a year after The Real Ghostbusters hit the Saturday morning line-up. The cartoon series rode the coat tails of the original Ghostbusters movie staring Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis.

However, Hi-C Ecto Cooler found its own success, surviving long after the cartoon series was ended in 1991. Slimer remained a fixture on the juice box for another five years and the drink, Ecto Cooler, remained until 2001 when Minute Maid (a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co.) changed the drinks name to Shoutin’ Orange Tangerine. In 2006, it became Citrus Cooler before being discontinued for good in 2007. Fans began to concoct imitation recipes, much like homebrewers do with discontinued beers, and shared them on the internet.

We have that very fanbase and Sony Pictures to thank for Hi-C Ecto Cooler’s return. After much lobbying by fans for a decade a half and Sony Pictures’ interest in the product after producing Ghostbusters, The Coca Cola Company finally saw fit for the drink’s return. As stated by Charles Torrey, vice president of Minute Maid/Hi-C Brands, Coca-Cola North America, in The Coca Cola Company blog, Coca-Cola Journey, “Hi-C Ecto Cooler fueled a pop culture phenomenon that is well-remembered and beloved by fans to this day,” Torrey continued, “Sony Pictures was extremely enthusiastic about bringing it back for this special occasion, and the timing of the upcoming Ghostbusters film made this the exact right time.”

Now, it’s time to put those fan-made recipes to the test. Hi-C Ecto Cooler doesn’t pour. It does, still, abruptly squirt from the white straw when you grab the box too quickly, much like when we were kids reaching for it off the countertop. If you were one of the curious kids, you opened the box and poured it into a tumbler to reveal an ooze/slime green-colored liquid. The aroma is well, nonexistent through a paper carton. However, as you squeeze the box to get the last drops out, puffs of orange peel scented air hits your face. Sucking the ooze through a straw fills your mouth with a soft citrus flavor that is reminiscent of childhood joy and carefree afternoons on the bicycle.

Hi-C Ecto Cooler has been stocked at your nearest grocer and most retail stores since May 30th. I am said to say, Slimer did not make it back on the box for this run. However, it is still the drink you remember. Hi-C Ecto Cooler is available in 10-pack 6 oz. juice boxes, 6-pack and 12-pack 11.5 oz. cans that turn into a haunted shade of slime green when cold.

Ghostbusters hits theaters today, July 15, 2016. Like many of the nostalgic sequels and remakes, Ghostbusters will have a lot to live up to. It has been 32 years since the original Ghostbusters movie hit theaters and 30 years since the Saturday morning cartoon, The Real Ghostbusters. That means Ghostbusters fans have had a lot of time to either build up their favorite movie in their minds or forget too much of it to really compare. Either way, know this, you can once again enjoy Ghostbusters like you did as a kid, with a carton of Hi-C Ecto Cooler in one hand and a bucket of popcorn in the other. You just might have to sneak one of these in.

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