Yes, the name is offensive, but this is not the reason I got this cola. I found this gem in a huge cooler of independently branded sodas at a store at the Pike Place market in Seattle. There were dozens to choose from, and I was dying of thirst after hauling ass through the market in less than an hour. I did not have time to mull things over, and although I was torn between “Rat Bastard Root Beer” and “Fukola Cola”, I grabbed the last bottle of the cola. That had to be a good sign, right?

I was in for a treat!

The cola is syrupy but not too sweet, well carbonated with a spicy buzz after, and mildly herby tasting. Not surprisingly, there is a long list of herbs in the drink: lime oil, orange oil, cloves, American, Siberian and Korean ginseng, African capsicum, dill weed, skullcap, echinacea, ginkgo biloba, kola nut, sage, damiana, and kava kava.

In the car after, I felt like I was vibrating, and thought “Gee, I don’t consume enough caffeine, that really got on top of me.” Turns out, there is additional guarana and caffeine added, though. This was basically a tasty energy drink.

Fukola Cola is a “resurrected” soda made by the Californian company Skeleteens as a “counter culture” drink. How apropos for Seattle. Coincidentally they also make the Rat Bastard Root Beer I was hemming and hawing over. Skeleteens products can be difficult to find apparently. If I’d known how rare it was, I would have loaded up.

By the way, according to Bones Jones, the creator of Skeleteens, it’s pronounced foo-cola.