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.

If you get a chance, definitely try this drink. It's delicious, but one can will be enough. If you're thirsty for other Nostalgia drinks, also check out Shikhye.

Crushed Strawberry Drink is another crushed-fruit drink from Korea. It smells like one of my favorite candies of all time - the hard candy with liquid filling where the wrapper is designed to look like a strawberry. I'm sure at least some readers know what candy I'm talking about.

The juice itself doesn't taste as good as it smells though - it's a really sweet, flat strawberry flavor. My first instinct was right, and it does taste like the liquid inside of that strawberry candy. The thing that makes this a weird drink though is that it has little chunks of strawberry floating around in it. Most people are used to orange juice having pulp, but not strawberry pulp.

Actually, how many of you have even drank strawberry juice at all? I've seen it blended into smoothies, but I never thought of it as a good juicin' fruit. The strawberry pulp is less like crushed strawberry than strawberry shreds. You can feel them when you drink it, but only if you're paying attention. We're not talking chewable strawberry chunks here people.

To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for this Korean crushed strawberry drink when I picked it up in a store in China. It lived up to my expectations exactly. It comes in a small can like a lot of Korean soft drinks, and it's the perfect size.  It's good for a tasting of an interesting flavor, but it's not particularly refreshing and I probably wouldn't want to drink a lot of it.

When I was a kid, I would mix milk with coke and other sodas, to make a kind of cream soda / melted ice cream float kind of drink. It was good, but you had to drink it fast because as I found out, soda and milk don't mix. To prove me wrong, someone finally figured out how to mix milk and soda, and they called it Milkis.

Milkis is a milk soda from Korea made by Lotte described on the label as "New feeling of soda beverage." Milkis tastes a lot like cream soda or Sprite mixed with cream. And even though it's not alcoholic, it tastes kindof like the milk beer I had in Beijing. It's really refreshing, cooling taste. Maybe it also tastes like a melted slushy. Whatever the milky taste reminds you of, I recommend it.

This is a really good drink from Korea. It tastes sweet just like fruit punch should taste. The flavor reminds me of drinking Juicy Juice when I was a kid, and just like that delicious children's beverage, I have no clue what kind of fruits or berries actually went into making Pok Pun Ja. The only downside is that it comes in a really small bottle, like a lot of other Korean drinks.

This grape drink from Korea is weird and good at the same time. Out of all the Korean drinks I tried, this was one of my favorites. It is just like grape juice, but with little chunks of grape at the bottom. You have to drink it with a straw so the chunks of grape get sucked up, then you can chew on them. The texture is like if you peel a grape and soak it in juice for a little while, because that's pretty much exactly whats going on here.

Some people might think it's a little bit slimy, but I think it's delicious.

Despite the name, this is just your standard lemon-lime soda. It's not a cider at all. What a let-down. It does taste allright  even though it was nothing like what I expected.

Judging by the name it sounds kinda weird, but it's actually really refreshing. It tastes like a really smooth banana smoothie. I really recommend it if you're ever in Korea

Nostalgia Drink review after the jump...
This is one of two "Nostalgia Drinks" that I tried while in Korea. I would guess by the name that it's something you always had growing up, and drinking it gives you fond memories of the past. But is there really that much to be nostalgic about in 1993?

Shikhye is sweet and fragrant, almost nutty, similar to the almond nectar drink from China. Otherwise, it's a little syrupy like the other cinnamon flavored nostalgia drink. The flavor is really hard to place, but almost like an almond cookie. Overall pretty good, and I can see why it could cause nostalgia even though I didn't drink this growing up. It's a comfort drink.

Based on the harmless-looking sprig of wheat or barley on the can, I figured it would be something like Nikola Kvas, especially since Korea is so close to Russia. Boy, was I wrong.

That first sip of McCol was terrible and overwhelming. It's really fizzy and sour, and tastes like lemon juice mixed with beer that's gone bad. It's worth saying again, it's really fizzy, so fizzy that when you sip it forms a foam in your mouth because of all the fizz. It's one of the worst drinks I've ever tried, and I couldn't actually take more than two sips.

I seriously can't imagine anyone liking McCol. I had to force myself to take a second sip so I could reasonably describe what it tastes like. But I've heard differently too. One of my thirsty friends guzzled the drink down without blinking, and I've read on a Korean blog (in English) that it just tastes like Coke or Pepsi with a slight barley aftertaste. Supposedly it's even somewhat good for you, fortified with Vitamins A, B, and C.

At the risk of being guilty of just "not giving McCol a chance," I was happy when I discovered a French blog (in French) that agrees with me. The author describes McCol like this:

"I'll be honest with you, it's disgusting. It does not resemble cola too much, rather a kind of Rivella which has aged poorly. Not great so I do not advise it."
- Louline (via Google Translator)