If there’s one thing we’ve learned at Gamma Squad, it’s that there’s no secret that nerds can’t figure out. If you’ve got something nerds want to know, they’ll make anything from Wikileaks to the Large Hadron Collider to Wikileaks just to get it. Which is why it’s amazing that it’s taken them 24 years to figure out how to replicate the ultimate nerd drink, Hi-C’s Ghostbusters-themed Ecto Cooler.
If you don’t remember the sweetened corn syrup concoction that was Ecto Cooler, it first hit shelves in 1987 as a tie-in to the Ghostbusters animated spin-off The Real Ghostbusters. But while the animated series only lasted six seasons, the drink outlasted it and Hi-C kept it on shelves until 2001, a mind-blowing 14 years. Even then, they kept the formula but changed the name to Shoutin’ Orange Tangergreen and later to Crazy Citrus Cooler, which finally got discontinued in 2007.
And that’s where the story ended…until Ghostbuster enthusiasts (and nerds) Ghostbusters: Chicago Division came up with their own home-grown recipe for the drink. Now you can make your own pitcher of Ecto Cooler, as long as you have the following:
- 1 Packet Flavor Aid Orange
- 1 Packet Flavor Aid Tangerine
- 3/4 Cup Orange Juice (No Pulp)
- 3/4 Cup Tangerine Juice
- 1/3 scoop Countrytime Lemonade
- 1 3/4 Cups Sugar
- Green and blue food coloring.
We gotta admit that sounds tasty… although the act of mixing all that together seems so much more of a hassle than just grabbing a ’90s-style juice box.
Catch the how-to recipe (along with several minutes of testimonials) after the jump!