G.I. Joe Survival Beverage (Desert Holdings, Inc. In Conjunction With Hasbro)

G.I. Joe Survival Beverage
Desert Holdings, Inc. in conjunction with Hasbro
2000

While visiting a local estate sale, I came across these really odd bottles of G.I. Joe Survival Beverage. The prior owner appeared to have three different kinds, but I soon learned there was a fourth in the "series". Not wanting to leave these unique licensed items behind, I picked up the three available. Ebay would later help me finish the set.

Gung Ho Grape was the first of the three I noticed, and I was happy with the thought of G.I. Joe related drinks associated with character names. My head flooded with a quick image of some of the possibilities, but this was quickly dashed to bits when it dawned on my that the use of the name was merely coincidental. In fact, the names were simply just a play on common military terms, Commando Cherry, Gung Ho Grape, Infantry Orange, and Platoon Punch. Oh, the possibilities that could have been. Such a wasted opportunity.

Commando Cherry

I've never personally tried any of these drinks before, and considering they were produced in 2000, I will not be. However, from what I have been gathering from other various bloggers who have memories of these, they allegedly were not very good, thus contributing to the quick reduction of price, and discontinuation. The bottles I picked up were blown out at retail at fifty cents for two. Clearly, these were drinks retailers were eager to get off their shelves.

Gung Ho Grape

Each flavor comes in a plastic canteen, boasting three servings per container with a whopping 22 grams of sugar per serving. To put that into perspective, the average recommended serving of sugar per day is between 24 and 36 grams, depending on if you are male (higher end) or female (lower end). Looking at the ingredients, this is 100% bad for you in every sense of the word. For fruit flavored drinks, there doesn't appear to be any actual fruit within. Filtered water, and high fructose corn syrup are the top two ingredients. Which is odd, because the drinks also boast a small percentage of vitamins and nutrients. How?

Infantry Orange

Despite my attempts, I could not find any information for the company behind the product, Desert Holdings, Inc. out of Scottsdale, Arizona. It's possible that when the product failed on the market that the company itself didn't survive either.

Platoon Punch

What makes my particular set of these canteens appealing to me is that they are one hundred percent sealed with the "juices" still inside. Mind you, while I have zero interest in cracking these open, knowing that the strange concocted brew is still bound within is rather desirable to me. While sealed ones are certainly not as common as empty bottles, they're still relatively easy to find. It seems like for every one bought two pop up.

The average price for sealed bottles is anywhere from six to eight dollars a piece, which isn't bad when you think about how much some of these fly by night discontinued drinks from yesteryear can go for. Empty bottles go for two to four bucks, and are a bit more common than their brand new counterparts.

This is definitely a unique collectible I would recommend for G.I. Joe collectors. It's not one that too many people seem to have, or really know about.

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