Jolt Cola

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Jolt Cola logo
Jolt Cola logo

Jolt Cola is a carbonated soft drink produced by Wet Planet Beverages. It was created in 1985 by C. J. Rapp as a highly caffeinated cola. It is targeted towards students and young professionals, stressing its use as a stimulant in a similar manner as energy drinks. The 140 mg of caffeine in the modern "battery bottle" is comparable to that in a 230 ml cup of coffee[1], and is twice as much caffeine as the same amount of Coca-Cola, which has 34 mg in a 355 ml can[2].

Because of the high concentration of caffeine, Jolt is a favorite energy drink among many gamers, computer programmers, and hackers, and is popular at LAN parties. In fact, Jolt Cola was even featured in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Jurassic Park, in a scene which shows computer programmer Dennis Nedry's work station covered with Jolt Cola cans & bottles. It was also shown in several scenes in the film Hackers; in one scene, infamous hacker media-icons Razor and Blade refer to it as, "Jolt Cola: The soft drink of the elite hacker." Jolt Cola made a cameo in the movie Gremlins 2 The New Batch.

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[edit] Jolt Cola in the US

A "battery bottle"
A "battery bottle"

Jolt Cola was originally made by The Jolt Cola Company of Rochester, New York, which has since changed its name to Wet Planet Beverages, reflecting a more diverse product line. From the outset, Jolt's marketing strategy centered on the caffeine content, billing the drink as a means to promote wakefulness. The initial slogan was, "All the sugar and twice the caffeine." This slogan was dropped when they began using high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener instead of cane sugar.

Jolt Cola later diversified into additional flavors named Cherry Bomb, Citrus Climax, Orange Blast, White Lightning, Red Eye, and Electric Blue. A Jolt 25-Calorie Cola was also briefly available, which used a combination of sugar and artificial sweeteners.[citation needed]

In 2003, the name was licensed to a Hackensack, N.J. company named Gumrunners, Inc., which manufactures a line of caffeinated gum bearing the distinctive Jolt label and the slogan "Chew More, Do More." The gum comes in two flavors: spearmint and icy mint.

In 2005, Jolt Cola revamped their product line. Jolt Cola is now packaged in "battery bottles", a 23.5 oz / 695 ml resealable aluminum bottle, and there is a new logo; however the logo shown above is also depicted on the battery bottle. The flavors offered have also changed. The battery bottle flavors are Jolt Cola, Blue, Cherry Bomb, Red, Silver, and Ultra (which is a diet drink, utilizing Splenda as its artificial sweetener, also containing Guarana, Ginseng, Taurine, and Vitamin B complex).

[edit] Jolt Cola worldwide

Retro cans of Jolt
Retro cans of Jolt

Jolt Cola is also manufactured under license in Germany, Republic of Ireland, Australia, Sweden and formerly (and briefly) in the United Kingdom, where it was a budget cola. The German and Swedish supplier uses the old logos, branding and formulation, and only sells the original flavor. Jolt Cola is also available in the Netherlands and Finland. However, Jolt Cola Netherlands is a subsidiary of Jolt Cola Germany. Jolt Cola is sold in 500 ml bottles in most Eurospar's and Dunne's Stores.

In Australia Jolt is sold in the traditional cola flavor, as well as black cherry, root beer, cream soda, and orange flavors. Jolt Cola is fairly widely available in Australia, primarily in convenience stores such as the 7-Eleven and Night Owl chains. These stores generally sell 615 ml bottles, with 196mg of caffeine. This is the most caffeine found in any soft drink widely available in Australia.

In Japan, UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. manufactured and sold original flavor Jolt Cola under license beginning 1990. UCC changed the formula in 1995 for a softer taste for the Japanese market, and eventually stopped manufacturing in 2001.

Jolt is available as an import in Canada in standard 355 ml cans, sporting the traditional logo, as well as in the new 695 ml battery bottles.

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