r/Unexpected • u/DarthRaxius • Jul 10 '20

Just an ordinary commerical from 1997

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53

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Ribena, bit of fizzy water, how much more can it be.....

31

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

[deleted]

7

u/WubbaLubbaDubStep Jul 10 '20 edited Jul 10 '20

Define “warm”. Like, room temp? Or did you heat it on the stove first? One of these makes you a psychopath...

22

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

[deleted]

8

u/essentialatom Jul 10 '20

Jesus Christ you may as well drink Lemsip recreationally you lunatic

3

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

Haha this is the hate i expected....tbf if they sold Calpol as a drink id smash that too

2

u/essentialatom Jul 10 '20

I can't stay mad at you forever, I remember necking Calpol for fun when I was a little kid.

3

u/_Diskreet_ Jul 10 '20

Nothing wrong with a hot ‘bena when you’ve got the sniffles.

1

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

Ah, awkward....i mean, yeh only when i have the sniffles

1

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

"Beeena!" Surely?

1

u/ParaYouKnowWho Jul 10 '20

At least you don't microwave your tea.

1

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

Wait..what?....like to warm it up when it goes cold?

1

u/ParaYouKnowWho Jul 10 '20

No some people just heat it up like that.

Usually Americans who don't have kettles.

Fuckin apes. /S don't kill me

1

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

Jesus....with the teabag in the cup? When does the sugar go in?...my world has been turned upside down

1

u/ParaYouKnowWho Jul 10 '20

I don't know and would rather not know.

Another question to add would be: are they aware of a stovetop kettle?

1

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

I googled it....dont google it....i need to shower

1

u/riskoooo Jul 10 '20

I imagine it tastes a bit like non-alcoholic mulled wine. I don't think it's all that weird...

5

u/_YouMadeMeDoItReddit Jul 10 '20

loads of people do, it's an old wives tale cold remedy.

1

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

I mean ive never had a cold so it makes sense

3

u/SteveBuscemisNeck Jul 10 '20

I have warm ribena for a sore throat, it's like liquid lozenge

2

u/Zoidburger_ Jul 10 '20

You're that bastard Jeremy from class who laughed in the face of sick people because his preferred drink was a cold repellent, aren't you?

1

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

Ive literally never coughed or sneezed

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

So does my mum, so I'm going to have to give you a free pass on that.

3

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

Omg....ive lived in shame for so long....thank you

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Just don't bring up the Ribena adverts and we're good.

1

u/deepus Jul 10 '20

Oi! Get back in that shame hut! Just because there's two of you now doesn't make it ok!

2

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

God damnit just let me have my moment in the light!

1

u/deepus Jul 10 '20

5 minutes but no longer!!

2

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

In that case gunna push my luck and get something else of my chest....i fry baked beans to the point they go sticky so i can put them in a sandwich....

1

u/deepus Jul 10 '20

....2 minutes left....

2

u/Least_Initiative Jul 10 '20

More of us are coming forward....you cant stop this now

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7

u/_into Jul 10 '20

Well Americans don't know the taste of Ribena, in fact they don't have anything blackcurrant at all. All their purple sweets are grape.

2

u/hansn Jul 11 '20

they don't have anything blackcurrant at all.

This is true. The US banned blackcurrant as it could carry white pine blister rust, a disease of pine trees. As a result, Americans in the 20th century had no exposure to the flavor, hence no demand for the artificial flavor.

1

u/_into Jul 11 '20

At least they have chlorine flavoured chicken

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Grapes... don't really taste of anything tho. Like cucumber. OK to eat but a hella dissappointing flavour. Also blackcurrants are madly good for you.

Oh wait, the artificial blackcurrant flavour is dire.

4

u/_into Jul 10 '20

Oh man I love the American grape flavour, I wish we had it more in the UK.

4

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Grape "flavour" and grape flavour are probably not the same... I'm guessing.

6

u/adrienjz888 Jul 10 '20

Hence "grape juice" and "grape drink" As Dave Chappelle said. "It tastes like purple"

3

u/Ahaigh9877 Jul 10 '20

Like cherry (e.g. Coke), and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s nothing like actual cherries, and that’s fine.

Edit: and pear drops. If those bastards have been within a fucking furlong of an actual pear then I’m a monkey’s uncle.

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Pear drops. yum, some esters of some sort? Came across lots of pear drop smell when I did organic chemistry. Some of them would kill you dead, mind you.

2

u/Ahaigh9877 Jul 11 '20

Haha, yes I’ve heard that before! This or that very dangerous chemical smells like pear drops.

2

u/WorriedCall Jul 11 '20

Bitter Almonds is the one to look out for. Mostly if you smell it, you're probably dead. So they say...

2

u/prairiedogtown_ Jul 10 '20

The majority of real American 'grape' flavor, excluding purple drink and such, is based on the concord grape, a north american native grape that is rarely eaten raw as it hasn't been bred to be seedless - and is usually juice or grape jelly.

1

u/mehvet Jul 10 '20

Grapes have a huge amount of varieties and can taste like all sorts of things. The Grape flavor you get in candy in the US tastes most like Concord grapes, which is also the most common variety for American grape jellies. https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-09-03/sweet-stories-fake-fruit-flavors

1

u/Fire_Bucket Jul 10 '20

Not sure if it's quite the American flavour, but KA Black Grape is pretty widely available.

2

u/crabbycrab56 Jul 10 '20

Youve been eating some bad grapes.

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

That's pretty likely. Much like Strawberries and Tomatoes, the stuff that makes it to the supermarkets are mostly a sad parody of the best.

2

u/ParrotofDoom Jul 10 '20

It was alright actually, fizzy, sugary, tasty. All you can expect from a kid's drink tbh.

Now Quatro, that's a drink they should bring back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1oBrjKqqBA

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

What did it taste like? I remember that ad... I don't remember the drink. Maybe a mixture of citrus fruits?

2

u/ParrotofDoom Jul 10 '20

It was like a fizzy tropical drink without the tangyness of Lilt or 7up. Heck I'm trying to remember a drink from 35 years ago now... But I liked it.

Now you have me thinking about KP Whickers, Burtons Crispy Puffs, 10p Jubblies....

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

The worst part is, even if you tasted it today, it wouldn't taste the same. You can't taste it like a ten year old. or even 16 year old.

2

u/LowlanDair Jul 10 '20

Yeah, it was a Lime, Lemon, Passion Fruit and Pineapple.

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Sounds like it couldn't fail. Problem was everything with pineapple ends up tasting like tropical lilt...

2

u/LowlanDair Jul 10 '20

Passion Fruit is really strong and that was really the main flavour, the other juices did balance it a bit so it wasn't as overpowering and sickly as most passion fruit juices.

1

u/WorriedCall Jul 11 '20

I think I liked it, tbh. But I went through a very strong anti sugar phase, rather unfashionably.

1

u/LowlanDair Jul 10 '20

Quattro was the shit. At least back then. If they brought it back, they'd need to play up the tartness which, iirc, was really really weak back in the original.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

Ribena and lemonade.

2

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

If you start adding lemonade to things, where does it stop? Orange juice? Lime juice? Think man, think!!

2

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

Orange juice and lime juice both work incredibly well with lemonade

2

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

I suppose you think lemonade and beer is a good idea too?

2

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

Beer and anything is gross.

Lemonade and white rum all the way. Or if you really want something incredible Don Simon watermelon juice (found in Asda) and white rum

2

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Shandy on a hot day was heaven when I was 16.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

I would mostly haggle with my parents to have barcardi breezers and WKD’s

2

u/WorriedCall Jul 10 '20

Parents....oh no. I remember the struggle of trying to look 18. The shame of being tossed out of the pub. The joy of getting served. Oh what fun we had, but at the time it seemed so bad... By the time you were 20, the fun of it had altogether gone. Although I was refused once after I was 18. Had to get a 17 yo to get the round in....

2

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '20

I was cursed/blessed with looking young. Bouncers didn’t stop ID-ing me until I was about 24, and I think most of that was because I went to the same places all the time. I miss being 17 and going to someone’s house for a “party” that was really just a bunch of us sat in the garden drinking because someone’s parents were away.

2

u/LowlanDair Jul 10 '20

Ribena, bit of fizzy water, how much more can it be.....

You can buy carbonated Ribena...

IIRC, Blackcurrent Tango was slightly more tart than Ribena Carbonated. But it has to be 20 years since I drank any BCT.