Those Gen X drinks back in the day just hit different. If you’re a kid who grew up in the ’80s or early ’90s, you know what I mean.
I had a paper route starting age 12. Every afternoon, after school, I would deliver the Wakefield Daily Item to subscribers in my neighborhood of Greenwood. The Item was published daily, five days a week, and a weekly subscription for home delivery cost $1.65. Every Thursday, I would collect from my customers, and almost all of them would tip me. Some gave me $2 ($0.35 tip), others gave me $3 ($1.35 tip!) Usually, I’d clear about $30 in tips. $20 would go in the bank, and $10 would go in my pocket.
That’s a decent amount of walkin’ around money for a middle-schooler. And I spent a decent amount of it at the Greenwood Pharmacy. They had a Slush Puppie machine that we abused so egregiously (2 pumps in a medium? Try 5!) that they finally moved it behind the counter. Luckily, a Pump’n Pantry had recently opened on the other side of Main St., so my friends and I took our business there. Because their Slush Puppie machine was still ripe for misuse and abuse.
Gen X Drinks: Which One Did You Love as a Kid?
By the time I became a regular at Pump’n Pantry, I had graduated to more mature libations. What was better back in the day than walking around town with an IBC Root Beer? It looked like you were drinking an *actual* beer! And remember OK Soda? The quintessential Gen-X soft drink. Those two are in the mix for this week’s 12-Inch Poll, alongside a bunch of other throwback beverages. Refresh yourself with a selection of back-in-the-day refreshments, vote for your favorite, then hit the ROCK 92.9 Facebook or
From New Coke to Crystal Pepsi, we have 21 beverages that defined Generation X.
So which one's your favorite? https://t.co/iF1EhEaMWG
Capri Sun
🎶It’s great-tasting fun when you punch open one!🎶
Clearly Canadian
New York Seltzer for the more sophisticated Gen X palate.
Fresca
Fresca’s popularity dates back to the ’60s, but I remember getting cans out of the soda machine at the Wakefield Bowladrome in the late ’80s.
Fruitopia
I mean, they got Kate Bush sign off on the commercial, so that’s a win, right?
IBC Root Beer
IBC knew their bottles looked like beer bottles. And they smartly played into it.
Icee
Like a Slurpee, but you can only get it at the movie theater!
Jolt Cola
100% the sugar, double the caffeine. Children should not have been allowed to drink this.
Little Hugs
For ’80s, and ’90s kids, this is the taste of summer.
New Coke
A marketing disaster. The ultimate Gen X “you had to be there” moment.
New York Seltzer
These were SO GOOD. Black Cherry and Lemon Lime, in particular.
OK Soda
The quintessential Gen X soft drink. Marketed and sold.
Slurpee
A staple for any Gen X kid who grew up with a 7-11 in their ‘hood.
Slush Puppie
Then there were those of us who grew up on Slush Puppies. Fun in a cup!
Snapple
The Snapple Lady! A ’90s legend!
Sobe
The lizard told me to be myself and also to drink Sobe beverages and who am I to argue with the lizard?
Sunny D
Or “Sunny Delight,” if you’re old enough to remember.
Surge
The unofficial beverage of rap-rock and nu-metal.
Tang
The Boomers that raised us were all: “we drank Tang growing up so you will, too!”
Veryfine Juice
From right here in Massachusetts!
Yoo-hoo
Another soft drink that transcends generations. But Generation X drank our fair share.
