Kickapoo Joy Juice facts for kids
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| Type | Soft drink |
|---|---|
| Distributor | Monarch Beverage Company |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Introduced | 1965 |
| Color | Green |
| Flavor | Citrus |
| Variants | Kickapoo Fruit Shine Kickapoo Fuzzy Navel Kickapoo Malibu |
| Related products | Mountain Dew |
Kickapoo Joy Juice is a popular soft drink with a citrus flavor. It is owned by the Monarch Beverage Company. The name "Kickapoo Joy Juice" first appeared in a famous American comic strip called Li'l Abner. Even though the drink in the comic strip was a very strong, fictional brew, the real-world beverage is a lightly bubbly soft drink.
The Fictional Drink in Li'l Abner
"Kickapoo Joy Juice" was an imaginary drink from the American comic strip Li'l Abner. Al Capp, who created the comic, described this drink as super powerful. He said it was so strong that even the toughest people in the comic's town, Dogpatch, would float into the air after just one sip!
Al Capp explained in 1965 that the comic never meant the drink was illegal. In the comic, two characters named Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat made this special brew. The ingredients they used were very mysterious and often silly. For example, they sometimes added live grizzly bears, panthers, kerosene, horseshoes, and even anvils to their mix!
The Real-World Beverage
The real Kickapoo Joy Juice drink was first sold in 1965. It was introduced by NuGrape, which was a brand of the Monarch Beverage Company. In that year, NuGrape made a deal with Al Capp, who owned the rights to the "Kickapoo Joy Juice" name. This allowed them to create the drink as a carbonated soft drink.
Al Capp also had the final say on all the advertisements for the drink. Early ads for Kickapoo Joy Juice were similar to those for Mountain Dew at the time. They used characters from the Li'l Abner comic strip to give the drink a fun, country-style feeling. Today, Kickapoo Joy Juice is mostly sold in Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. The cans still feature drawings from the classic Li'l Abner comic.
Different Flavors of Kickapoo Joy Juice
- Kickapoo Joy Juice (the original flavor)
- Kickapoo Fruit Shine (which tastes like sangria)
- Kickapoo Fuzzy Navel (which has a peach flavor)
- Kickapoo Malibu (which tastes like piña colada)
- Kickapoo Lemonade (which has a lemon flavor)
