You would never guess what a can of fruit drink from 1995 smells like, and now, thanks to us, you won’t have to.
The year was 1995. America Online had just started giving the masses unprecedented access to the internet as well as dozens of makeshift coasters. “Macarena,” “Cotton Eye Joe,” and “Scatman” were fiercely battling it out for the most annoying song of a generation, and a young Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson got married, which would soon trigger the cultural phenomenon of the celebrity sex tape.
And it was in the midst of this chaos that a single little can of Morinaga Nectar rolled off the line. Full of hope and a blend of 30 percent fruit juices, it headed to supermarket shelves with dreams of satisfying the thirst of some young child or hungover businessman.
But another fate was in store for this can. The path that led it to the Mono House (pictured below) 21 years later is unclear, but it was here that RocketNews24 writers P.K. Sanjun and Mr. Sato finally gave it a home. Purchasing it along with other items like a 6-year-old Cup Noodle and 27-year-old can of coffee, they brought it back to the RocketNews office.
The Cup Noodles were a disaster, but the coffee wasn’t all that bad. This fruit drink, however, had the potential to be really dangerous. Sure, it wasn’t 100 percent freshly squeezed orange juice, but it’s still fundamentally fruit. And if a regular cup of juice goes bad left out for a single summer’s day, who knows what heinous chemical reactions took place here.
Up first was a smell test. P.K. nervously took the can and popped open the slightly rusted tab.
Rather than the mellow sweetness of nectar, an intense sour smell struck him immediately. However, it actually wasn’t a disgusting smell much to his surprise.
It was sour, but not in a nauseous, lumpy milk kind of way. It reminded him of Bull Dog Sauce, which is a popular brand of barbecue and Worcestershire sauces in Japan. Of course, after prolonged smelling it wasn’t exactly like barbecue sauce, but the resemblance was definitely there.
Our researchers then poured out the mature nectar only to find that it even looked like Bull Dog Sauce, thick and deep brown. This was a stark change from the milky yellow hue Morinaga Nectar boasted on the can’s image.
With sight and smell observations out of the way, all that was left to do was drink the 21-year-old fruit nectar.
And in another unexpected twist, it actually tasted sweet! However, it was also absolutely disgusting. It was easily the worst fruit drink any of them have ever tasted, but it did taste like fruit. Of course, for safety reasons no one actually ingested the beverage — but they probably wouldn’t have been able to anyway.
Not much of the total liquid was tasted, so the remainder was transferred to a plastic bin for further analysis.
In conclusion, RocketNews24 has determined that 21-year-old canned fruit drink looks and smells like barbecue sauce, but tastes like rancid fruit juice. We now humbly submit this study to the The World Medical Journal if anyone there is reading this.
For the rest of you, it goes without saying that you should not drink a beverage over two decades past its expiration date! However, if you want to simulate the experience just mix some orange juice, milk, and Worcestershire sauce together and let the good times roll.
▼ Here is the full drink experiment video cued up from the very start
Original article by P.K. Sanjun
Photos & Video: RocketNews24their