The slow, tortuous death of Zima

[Magical Realist]

I had a Zima or two back in the day. Lemon limey and refreshing. And it was BEER! A beer that to me actually tasted good! I guess I was never one for representing my manhood thru what I was killing my brain cells with.

"There are a million ways to slight a rival's manhood, but to suggest that he enjoys Zima is one of the worst. Zima was the original "malternative"—a family of alcoholic beverages that eventually came to include such abominations as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Silver—and it has long been considered the very opposite of macho: a drink that fragile coeds swill while giving each other pedicures.

That stereotype has persisted despite the fact that Zima's brief heyday came nearly 15 years ago. The brand was then hailed as a marketing coup, an ingenious way to sell beer—or rather, a clear, beerlike solution—to consumers who eschewed traditional suds. But virtually overnight, Zima was done in by its medicinal taste and girly-man rep: After selling an astounding 1.3 million barrels in 1994, the year it went national, Zima's sales fell to just 403,000 barrels in 1996.

Many drinkers assume that Zima vanished shortly thereafter and has since existed solely as a punch line. But Zima actually survived for more than another decade, until MillerCoors pulled the plug on Oct. 10. Rarely has such a famously maligned product enjoyed such a lengthy run—a testament to its brewers' Madonna-like knack for reinvention. The Zima that died a quiet death last month bore little resemblance to the malternative that swept the nation during President Clinton's first term....===http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink..._zima.html

[Image: drunks-zima.jpg]

[C C]

I had a Zima or two back in the day. Lemon limey and refreshing. And it was BEER! A beer that to me actually tasted good! I guess I was never one for representing my manhood thru what I was killing my brain cells with.

Agree totally with you, though admittedly free from the start of any manhood incentives for overcoming the disgusting taste. Yuck.

[Mr Doodlebug]

In the UK they are called alcopops.
Aimed at the 14 to 18 year old.
Once they have got used to drinking they can move on to a bottle of meths in a bag.

[Image: alcopopselection.png]

[Yazata]

Yeah, I tried it too.

I guess that everyone did, which probably explains the spurt in sales it enjoyed in its first year.

Didn't particularly like it though and don't recall ever buying any more.

"Real Drunks Don't Drink Zima"!

What more do I need to know?

[stryder]

In the UK they are called alcopops.
Aimed at the 14 to 18 year old.
Once they have got used to drinking they can move on to a bottle of meths in a bag.

[Image: alcopopselection.png]

Before alcopops was MD 20/20 (A fortified flavoured wine), which admittedly I use to drink back in my clubbing days.  You might think it odd that a guy would drink such rot, however back then it was the days of the Happy Hour where you could buy specific liquor at a discount price and that happened to be what was being sold, so a regular club night usually ended up with a corner table being filled with bottles of MD 20/20 during happy hour so no drink were needed throughout the rest of the night.  Surprisingly I can't remember any hangovers... but then again, I was "burning the candle at both ends" so it was all one big blur.

On the subject of a "Manly drink", what would actually define being a man in regards to drinking? As some of those rather sweet tasting liqueurs that might be classed "girly" tend to have a far higher alcohol content than a simple pint.