If you pore over the many Hi-C commercials on YouTube, you’ll not find one that mentions Citrus Cooler. I’ve found evidence to support the claim that it existed throughout the ‘80s, but by then, it was clearly not one of Hi-C’s “favored flavors.” What’s murkier is the more recent history of Citrus Cooler. In that world, “green orange juice” hardly seemed odd. If you’ve ever skimmed through cookbooks from the ‘60s or ‘70s, you know that old ideas about fancy food are best described as “strange and gaudy.” People would mix three types of meat into the rough shapes of human heads, and then suspend ‘em in tomato gelatin. At the time of its debut, weird green juice blends were actually in fashion, with several different beverage companies offering up their own versions. Still, there’s an undeniable lineage here, and it’s impossible to look at Citrus Cooler as anything but the Goldeen to Ecto Cooler’s Seaking.Ĭitrus Cooler debuted in 1969, and remained a fairly popular flavor throughout the 1970s.

Hi-C also once had a totally separate tangerine flavor, so it’s possible that our dear Ecto was a weird amalgam of those two beverages. I can confirm that Citrus Cooler was an orange/lemon blend for at least a good long while, forgoing the tangerine additive that made Ecto Cooler so distinct. Now, was it exactly the same as Ecto Cooler? Until I find a label from a late ‘80s version of Citrus Cooler, that’s impossible to know. Yes, long before Ecto Cooler, there was Hi-C Citrus Cooler Drink. Stock up while it lasts!īut here’s something that most of you don’t know: Ecto Cooler’s termination marks the end of a Hi-C flavor that can be traced back as far as the 1960s! Before Ecto Cooler, there was Hi-C Citrus Cooler.Īs most of you know, Ecto Cooler has retired again, with the remaining stock from its summer run now being liquidated at dollar stores and discount shops.

Hi c ecto cooler dino drac