The Nostalgic Drink Macaulay Culkin Misses Most Proves He's A True '90s Kid

Macaulay Culkin was on the most recent episode of "Hot Ones," the popular YouTube talk show, where he was asked a number of interview questions while eating a series of increasingly spicy chicken wings (you know, that ol' chestnut). The star, who'll forever evoke memories of the movie "Home Alone" for most of us, fielded one specific question that brought me back to my childhood.

When host Sean Evans asked if he could bring any '90s snack "back from the dead," Culkin reached deep into his memory for an answer and said, "Honestly, this doesn't fall into the category of snack, but Ecto Cooler." As he reminisced about the green-colored drink, he said, "I just remember it had Slimer on it and thought it was cool."

Chances are, children today don't know what Hi-C Ecto Cooler is, but a good swath of you probably remember the stuff, since it debuted in 1987 and stuck around until 2001. The drink did indeed have Slimer from "Ghostbusters" plastered on the label, and was such an electric neon green that we should all sit back and wonder how we were able to drink it back in the day.

Despite its green color, Ecto Cooler wasn't green apple-flavored. The drink was a citrus-y concoction (tangerine-orange, specifically), and wasn't actually a "new" flavor when it came out. In fact, it was just a rebranded version of Hi-C's Citrus Cooler with some interesting food coloring and new packaging. But still, that never stopped me from begging my parents to add it to my school lunch, which they often did. (Thanks, mom and dad!) Between this and Hi-C's "orange drink" served at McDonald's, the 1990s sure were a colorful time.

Ecto Cooler has returned as a promotional product a few times since then, like it did in 2016 when "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" hit theaters, so there's always a possibility we'll see it again at some point. ("Ghostbusters" is still a pretty popular movie franchise, after all.) And if it does, someone may need to let Macaulay Culkin know so he can share the drink with his children, like he wistfully wished he could during the "Hot Ones" interview. 

Of course, if Culkin is really impatient, he can find ancient versions of Ecto Cooler on eBay, but I wouldn't recommend anyone drink those. Great. All this talk about Ecto Cooler, and now I want a darn juice box.