Zima Clearmalt was a clear, lightly carbonated alcoholic beverage made and distributed by the Coors Brewing Company. Introduced in 1993, it was marketed as an alternative to beer, an example of what is now often referred to as a cooler, with 4.7–5.4% alcohol by volume. Its production in the U.S. ceased in 2008, but it was still marketed in Japan until 2021. MillerCoors promoted a limited release of Zima in the summers of 2017 and 2018.
Zima means ‘winter’ in Slavic languages. It was launched nationally in the United States as Zima Clearmalt in 1993 after being test-marketed two years earlier in the cities of Nashville, Sacramento, and Syracuse. The lemon-lime drink was part of the ‘clear craze’ of the 1990s that produced products such as Crystal Pepsi and Tab Clear. Early advertisements for Zima described it as a ‘truly unique alcohol beverage’ and used the tagline ‘Zomething different.’
Zima offered an alternative to the then-successful wine cooler category. Coors spent $50 million marketing Zima in its first year, persuading nearly half of American alcohol drinkers to try it. ‘Brandweek’ magazine reported that at Zima’s peak in 1994, 1.2 million barrels of the beverage were sold. It was originally popular among young women. Coors made its first attempt at attracting young men to the brand in 1995 by marketing Zima Gold (an amber-colored beverage that promised a ‘taste of bourbon’). The drink was unpopular and disappeared from store shelves within the year.
In describing ‘The Long, Slow, Torturous Death of Zima,’ writer Brendan Koerner cited Zima’s perceived reputation as a ‘girly-man’ beverage and its persistent parodying by late-night TV host David Letterman. The ‘Chicago Tribune’ reported that distributors were asked to stock ‘caffeinated alcoholic beverage Sparks on retail store shelves to make up for Zima’s absence.’
The Daily Omnivore 
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