Crystal Pepsi is For Sale in Maine For the First Time in Over 20 Years With One Subtle Difference

It was 1992. Microsoft released Windows 3.1, NASA released the space shuttle Endeavor, PBS released Barney the Dinosaur, and Pepsi released a clear version of their soda called Crystal Pepsi. This week, 24 years later, Crystal Pepsi is back but it's not exactly the same as you remember. 

In 1992 I was in my last year of college and one of the biggest albums being played on my floor in the dorm was Van Halen's For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. One of the biggest hits from the album, "Right Now," had just been released as a single on radio.

After weeks of hearing this song it suddenly appeared in a TV commercial during Super Bowl XXVII introducing a new flavor of Pepsi called Crystal Pepsi. It was a little like Sprite or 7-Up. Clear with no artificial coloring or caffeine, but with a taste similar to regular Pepsi.

It was a success, but only for about a year. The novelty of it wore off with a little help from a hilarious SNL parody.

On August 8th, Crystal Pepsi returned to store shelves for a limited run of just eight weeks. I saw bottles of it this weekend at The Umbrella Factory in Naples, so of course I had to pick one up.

It tasted similar to Pepsi, but I seemed to remember the Crystal Pepsi from 1992 tasting a little different. I looked at the ingredients and found they had changed the formula by adding caffeine. I'm not sure my taste buds are that fine tuned to notice the added caffeine and I definitely know my memory over all these years isn't what it used to be, but the ingredients showed it is different than the original.

Where can you get Crystal Pepsi to try for yourself? Here's a list where of places in Maine it has been spotted:

Hannaford
Market Basket
Shaw's
The Umbrella Factory in Naples
Milk Room in Waterboro
The Short Stop in Pownal
Rusty Lantern Market on Outer Congress St. in Portland
Big Lots in Auburn
Family Dollar in Livermore

I've only seen it in 20 ounce bottles, and I think that's by design. They want you to see that it's clear. I don't remember the original being sold in anything but a 16 ounce bottle either.

Have you tried Crystal Pepsi yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.