
I experienced something sweet, silly, and carbonated for the first time while having sushi with a friend the other night: this Japanese soft drink called Ramune ("RAH-moo-nay"). It's not new. Apparently, it's over 100 years old. But it was new to me. Ramune (there's also an anime series named after it) is a lemonadey soda packed in an unsusual glass bottle. Each is vacuum-sealed with a little glass marble at the top, instead of a conventional metal twisty-top. The drink itself is okay — like a slightly less sweet Sprite, or Seven-Up. But the bottle-opening ritual is the fun part. First, the waiters placed our chilled and partially opened Ramune bottles on the table in front of us. Then my friend instructed me to whack the top of the bottle with my flattened palm to force the clear globe down into the bottle, making it shoot down into the soda. The bottle's shape prevents the marble from either sinking to the bottom, or rising up to block the spout. But because the drink is carbonated, no matter how carefully you perform the gesture you end up with sugary soda spray all over the place. Which is hilarious, if you happen to be doing this surrounded by Armani-clad agents and silicone-enhanced trophy dates at a fancy Hollywood sushi joint, like we were. So the next time you're out having a gravitas-packed power lunch with a Very Important Client or your future boss or some heads of state straight outta Davos, may I suggest that you order Ramunes, all around. I found two online stores that sell Ramune, here and here, and it's widely available in Japanese markets.
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