Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Whatever happened to Staminade? I used to love this evil energy drink (sort of like a green version of Tang) when I was a kid. It came in a jar and you mixed the powder with water. When it was dry it was like Wizz Fizz and I used to eat it with a spoon sometimes.
Then I read Nick Earls's novel World of Chickens, which is set in 1980s Brisbane. One of the characters is obsessed with Staminade, fills his pockets with the powder, and uses it (to disastrous effect) in a cocktail he dubs the Brizgarita. On Nick Earls's shonky-looking yet apparently official website (I would really do something about the design if I were him), you can get the recipe for this drink.
So I was on the tram today thinking, "Riddle me this: where can I buy some Staminade?" Because I've looked for it in the supermarket powdered drinks aisle and I can't seem to find it. Don't tell me it's now some freakish athletic supplement and I'll have to go into one of those scary and euphemistic 'vitamin' stores to buy it. And don't recommend the pre-mixed Gatorade-style version - I am a Staminade purist and it is the powder or nothing.
Then I read Nick Earls's novel World of Chickens, which is set in 1980s Brisbane. One of the characters is obsessed with Staminade, fills his pockets with the powder, and uses it (to disastrous effect) in a cocktail he dubs the Brizgarita. On Nick Earls's shonky-looking yet apparently official website (I would really do something about the design if I were him), you can get the recipe for this drink.
So I was on the tram today thinking, "Riddle me this: where can I buy some Staminade?" Because I've looked for it in the supermarket powdered drinks aisle and I can't seem to find it. Don't tell me it's now some freakish athletic supplement and I'll have to go into one of those scary and euphemistic 'vitamin' stores to buy it. And don't recommend the pre-mixed Gatorade-style version - I am a Staminade purist and it is the powder or nothing.
