The Drinks of Pop Culture Icons

In life I find you can often tell a lot about people based on their choice of beverage. Many times someone will become accustomed to a certain beverage and it will become their choice drink for the rest of their life

Captain Jean Luc Picard-Earl Grey tea: Aboard the starship the USS Enterprise the crew has the ability to summon any food or beverage they wish with a mere command. In utilizing this technology, Captain Jean Luc Picard has one command that has become a trademark to Trekkers the world over: “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” This black tea, flavored with the oil of the bergamot orange has many health benefits which no doubt comes in handy to the captain of the Federation’s top ship. The antioxidants provided help stave off cancer, it helps in fighting off colds and depressions, and it has enough caffeine to make the drinker sharp but not jittery. Commanding a spaceship is hard work (or so I’ve been told) so its no wonder a drink like Earl Grey is Picard’s beverage of choice.

James Bond-Martini: Shaken and not stirred is the stipulation that this spy puts on his drink, and it’s so well known that even those who have never seen a Bond flick know the phrase. As the recent films featuring Daniel Craig as Ian Flemming’s hero have shown his love of the cocktail come about, the drink is every bit a key accessory to the character as the tuxedo and Walther PPK.

Homer Simpson-Duff Beer: Say it with me now: “Mmmmm….beer.” Homer Simpson has never been shy about his boderline alcoholism and his preferred alcoholic beverage, Duff Beer. Whereas most father’s would want to spend time with their family, the dysfunctional Simpsons drive their patriarch to enjoy a cold Duff at Moe’s. The only person who rivals Homer in his love for the beverage is his pal Barney, an on-again, off-again alcoholic himself. But Homer Simpson is not the only cartoon dad who enjoys a cold beer….

Hank Hill and the Rainey Street group-Alamo: “Yup” relaxing after a hard day of selling propane and propane accessories means two things for Hank Hill. A trip to the back alley with his friends and a cold can of Alamo Beer. Coming from the lukewarm headwaters of the mighty Brazos River. His love of the brand has caused hima great deal of tribulations like; a bad batch from Mexico making him ill and being ignored by the CEO of the brewery, Conrad Meinhofer IV, it has led to some of the greatest moments in his life; like meeting Dandy Don Meredith.

Arnold-Yahoo Soda: The soda the kids at PS 118 are encouraged to just drink. In the animated series Hey Arnold! Arnold and his pals are frequently seen drinking Yahoo soda around the metropolis they inhabit. At one point Arnold’s pal Stinky was even made it as the spokesman for the popular soda.

Elastic Man-Gingold soda: I will go ahead and say it right now, if drinking a lot of a particular soda brand gave people super powers, then the cases of sugar induced diabetes would skyrocket as people chugged the stuff. An aspiring contortionist, Ralph Dibney discovered that many of his heroes in the profession were fond of drinking Gingold soda. So he did what any reasonable detective would do and drank it by the gallon. The side effects gave him super stretchy powers that he put to good use. Adopting the alter ego of Elastic Man he partnered with the Flash and forged a career as a super hero and a prominent Justice League member.  

Alex DeLarge-Milk: When he and his droogs are plotting their next bit of mischief, the villainous Alex from the novel and film A Clockwork Orange enjoys a nice glass of milk (or Moloko to be specific). They told us all along that milk is supposed to be good for you but sitting there drinking it led to Alex and his pals plotting some bad things.

The Dude-White Russian: Alex may have loved his milk, but Jeff Bridges’ most iconic character from the classic film The Big Lebowski preferred another milk based beverage, a White Russian. No matter where he went in his quest to abide he always found a way to relax and enjoy.

Kel-Orange Soda: This is less of a love and more of an obsession on the part of Kennan’s goofball friend from Nickelodeon’s classic Kennan and Kel. Everybody who grew up in the 90’s knows the phrase “Kel loves orange soda. I do I do I doooo.” The love the bubbly citrus beverage dictated much of the actions that Kel undertook which often resulted in trouble for his friend Kennan.