We may not have been around for this clever drink idea the first time around, but we are totally here for it now.

There’s never really a bad time for Pocky, as it’s firmly entrenched itself in the hearts of all lovers of Japanese sweets. With the sweltering summer weather here, though, right now is an especially good time to enjoy Pocky in a fresh new way: Pocky on the Rocks.

Except, depending on when you were born and how far back your Japanese foodie credentials go, you might have already heard of this. In the 1970s there was a boom of cafes in Japan serving fancy soft drinks with Pocky in the glass instead of a stirrer stick. These drinks, which became known as Pocky on the Rocks, weren’t as sweet or heavy as a parfait, but were more special and substantial than a plain glass of soda or iced tea.

As Japan’s rainy season winds down, Pocky manufacturer Glico has posted six new Pocky on the Rocks recipes on its official website, which it’s calling the Reiwa Pocky on the Rocks lineup (“Reiwa” being the name of the new imperial calendar era that started in 2019).

We decided to try our hand at making the Almond Milk Coffee Pocky on the Rocks, which requires only these three ingredients:

● Almond Crush Pocky
● Black coffee
● Almond milk

Making the drink is a snap. First, brew you coffee, then pour it into an ice cube tray and stick it in the freezer until it hardens. That’s right, the recipe calls for frozen blocks of coffee, in order to keep your drink cold but prevent the flavor from getting watered down, like it would with ordinary cubes of frozen water. Once you’ve got your coffee ice cubes ready, place them in a glass, pour in the almond milk, add the almond Pocky, and you’re all set.

But while the process is incredibly simple, choosing the right drinkware proved a little tricky. Our first glass was too tall and pinched, making it hard to arrange our Pocky sticks in an inviting fan-shaped pattern.

This next one was better, but the depth of the glass meant a lot of the enticing chocolate was hidden underneath the surface of our beverage.

Finally, we got the best aesthetic results with this glass…

…especially when we added a swirl of whipped cream.

▼ Because when has the addition of whipped cream ever not made sweets better?

With our drink complete, we gave it a swirl stir with a stick of Pocky, and took a sip. It was as delicious as we’d hoped it would be, sweet, refreshing, and invigorating, with the added bonus of being able to munch on Pocky sticks with the coffee and almond milk soaked into them, with the extra surface area of the crushed almond coating making for an extra flavorful effect.

The other Reiwa Pocky on the Rock recipes are for Pineapple Tea (made with original chocolate Pocky, crushed ice, pineapple juice, straight iced tea, and fruits of your choice)…

…Fresh Cider (Gokuboso/Thin Pocky, ice cubes, cider, blueberries, sliced lemon, and mint)…

…Banana Milk (Tasty Pocky, crushed ice, purin custard pudding, milk, banana, and whipped cream)…

…Triple Strawberry au Lait (Crushed Strawberry Pocky, crushed ice, strawberry au lait, sliced strawberry, mint)…

…and Kuromitsu Soy Milk Latte (Gokuboso Matcha Pocky, crushed ice, kuromitsu brown sugar syrup, soy milk, midarashi dango dumplings, whipped cream, anko sweet red beans).

In other words, we think we’ll be having Pocky on the Rocks every night this week.

Source: Glico
Top image: SoraNews24
Insert images: Glico, SoraNews24
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where his urge to eat matcha desserts is always strong.