The year was 1994 and the downtrodden kids of the Grunge era finally had something to make them smile.
It came in the form of a clear, shiny bottle of hope, which would become a nightclub staple for years to come.
What happened to the Sub Zero remains a mystery to those who dumped it into the wee hours of the morning.
Last week, jaded boomers wandering around the bottle shop in search of a good bottle of single malt whiskey got a double surprise when they beheld a familiar logo from an era long gone.
Exactly 30 years since the launch of Sub Zero in 1994, Carlton & United Breweries has resurrected its iconic brand in the form of Australia’s first sugar-free vodka and cola drink.
Now in a can, those whose best years of their lives were raised in it will instantly remember the brand.
Cold, crystal clear and often delivered as a bar in a bucket, the original Sub Zero existed in Australia before the Bacardi Breezer.
Sure the Breezer had existed in other countries, but in the 1990s Australians were still waiting years to get what Americans considered outdated.
The good old days: gone, but not completely forgotten. Sub Zero as it was in the 1990s.
Frost Bites was a classic Melbourne venue in the 1990s, when Sub Zero was the drink of choice for many.
With a hint of raspberry (or, if you really wanted trouble, Midori), Sub Zero changed the nightclub scene across the country.
The fact that it was nowhere near zero sugar didn’t even count.
Sub Zero in 1994 meant more to guys familiar with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 gore-fest, The Running Man.
In that film, Sub Zero was a murderous villain who turned his adversaries into “shaky, bloody sushi” with a razor-sharp hockey stick.
When Arnold sent him away, he joked, “Here’s Sub Zero.” Now zero.
It wasn’t one of the action star’s best lines, but it showed up every time someone handed you a Sub Zero, whether it was simple or not.
Sub Zero is back for a new generation
Sub Zero has gone black and white for a new generation
Unlike the citrus-based original, the new Sub Zero blends the familiar taste of sugar-free cola with five times distilled vodka.
CuB gurus believe this is exactly the combination their current target audience is looking for.
“Sub Zero is aimed at today’s Generation Z, those looking for an easy-drinking sugar-free RTD with an edgy attitude, but will also appeal to nostalgic Subbie fans,” said Sub Zero marketing manager Ben Haysman.
It’s a blurb that members of Generation
Sub Zero’s new ad campaign thanks older generations for… ‘zero.’
‘Thank you for increasing my rent. Again,’ shouts a sign.
“Thanks for the noise complaints,” reads another.
Yes, when the original was consumed, things were loud, the bad guys sucked it up, and the gangsters were still cool and deadly.
Gangster Alphonse Gangitano terrorized Melbourne in the 1990s before being killed in the Lower Belly War.
Vince Colosimo destroys the Sports Bar in a scene from the original and best Underbelly. He played Alphonse Gangitano.
The real-life Jason Moran had helped cause the Sport Bar massacre. He was killed in the Melbourne Underbelly War.
In 1995, probably after consuming some Sub Zero and Midoris, Alphonse Gangitano, Jason Moran and their partner Tony Rapasarda were charged with serious assaults on several patrons at the Sports Bar nightclub on King Street.
It was a scene and era made famous years later in the best and original series Underbelly.
In Melbourne, what Gen Xer could forget hitting a ‘subbie’ at the Cadillac Bar, the Chevron, the Metro or The Tunnel?
Those were the days.
Long gone, and no thanks to Sub Zero, not entirely forgotten.
Members of Generation Z should have a chance.
The new Sub Zero is 4.5 percent alcohol and comes in four packs of 375 ml cans.
It will also be available in pubs and clubs across the country.
