![\"cockta\"](\"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/cockta.jpg\" "\\"cockta\\"")
<\/a>Dubbed \u201cCockta\u201d, nicked from the word cocktail (a drink with a mixture of ingredients) and conveniently doubled into the familiar guise \u201cCockta-Cockta\u201d, the drink took Yugoslavia by storm. Impelled by truly great flavor and a procession of brilliant Western style advertising campaigns<\/a> \u2014 including \u201cYou Will Never Forget Your First\u201d \u2014 the drink soon became a proud emblem of the Slovene revolution and a national icon. It\u2019s even immortalized in the Slovene Ethnographic Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe marketing juggernaut continued over the years, culminating in 2011\u2019s high-budget, super-slick, absofreakinlutely brilliant Nevergreen <\/a>web series featuring ten compelling episodes, each better than the last. Replete with vampires, werewolves, smokin\u2019 music, and a cast of 20-something hotties, you\u2019ll wonder if the producers were serious or if it was all a grand parody as Napoleon and his minions follow their quest to secure their purloined supply of life-sustaining Cockta. No matter. I guarantee that whatever your demographic, if you watch all ten episodes (1,<\/a> 2,<\/a> 3,<\/a> 4,<\/a> 5,<\/a> 6,<\/a> 7,<\/a> 8,<\/a> 9,<\/a> 10)<\/a> you\u2019re going to love this hysterical masterpiece.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, yes, but how does it taste?\u201d I hear you cry. Its flavor profile is difficult to describe, just as Dr. Pepper\u2019s is. I tried to pry the secret out of one of the representatives at their pavilion at the Summer Fancy Food Show, but all they would give me was \u201crose hips and caramel.\u201d And a much appreciated sample. It has a vanilla component with a sophisticated touch of bitter orange like Chinotto; maybe a little of the herbiness of Campari or Aperol or Sanbitt\u00e8r, but not nearly as bitter. There’s also a tamarind-like tanginess to it. This is a sweet drink, much as Coke is. I get marshmallowy overtones, but maybe that\u2019s just me.<\/p>\n Not only that, but according to their website<\/a>, they now have seven flavors: Original (Classsic), Black Tonic, Mandarin, Lime & Ginger, Rossa, Chinotto, and Easy, the diet version. Fellow ethnofoodies: if you have spotted these anywhere in the tri-state area, please let me know!<\/em> You can find the original in Brooklyn at Koha & Brothers, 319 Church Avenue; in Astoria at Muncan, 4309 Broadway; in the Bronx at Mergimtari, 565 E 187th Street; and in Staten Island at Chuck’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, 340 Victory Blvd. (Confused? Don’t be: they’re Albanian. And if you get there early enough, try their boureks. Good stuff.) I\u2019ll update this post soon with more locations. Seriously, I\u2019m turning you on to this not because I\u2019m some sort of marketing shill for them, but because This Stuff Rocks!<\/p>\n Cockta may be Slovenia’s best kept secret in the US \u2014 and the hippest drink you\u2019ve never heard of. It\u2019s even got a Facebook page<\/a>. Everyone I\u2019ve introduced this libation to has become an instant fan. Unless I miss my guess, you will be too.<\/p>\n Cockta \u2014 You’ll never forget your first!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I remember vividly one spring afternoon back in sixth grade. The brilliant sun was struggling to penetrate windows that hadn\u2019t seen a squeegee since just after the Bridgeport Post trumpeted Dewey\u2019s triumph over Truman. Outside, the leaves on the trees … Continue reading