Pocari Sweat

Pocari sweat has to be the most famous weird drink on the internet. It's made almost every list of top 10 weird drinks that I've ever read. But the people who made these lists obviously didn't taste the drink. They just looked at the label and thought it had a weird name.

Sure, it might seem weird to call a drink "sweat," but it's just a sports drink. I saw a commercial for Pocari Sweat that said "it has composition similar to body fluid, so it is absorbed quickly" to rehydrate you. That's where it gets the name sweat. Those of us in the states will be familiar with Gatorate's marketing of their electrolytes - same concept, fancier name.

In the taste department, Pocari Sweat is actually one of my favorite sports drink. It only comes in one flavor, which tastes like Gatorade glacier blast or whatever the white flavor is. The flavor doesn't really taste like any fruit I can think of - it's very neutral. Not too sweet, and refreshing. Even though it's an internet weird drink legend, it's actually nothing special.

There are versions from China, Korea, and Japan, and it's spreading! The commercial I mentioned above was on Etihad Airlines flying to Abu Dhabi. I don't know if it's spreading because of the name, or despite of it. But I would choose this over Gatorade or Powerade any day.  I'm curious to see if they are going to come out with any more flavors.