What is bug juice?
Bug juice is a US Navy name for a fruit flavored drink served on board vessels of the US Navy. It is an alternative to coffee and water. It comes in several flavors and colors. The colors have no relationship to flavor. Those in the know prefer the red variety. In a historical context, the term bug juice was sometimes used to refer to bootleg alcohol during WWII made from the fuel used to power US torpedoes. It was also referred to as “gilly” juice. One reference has it that extremely strong coffee was sometimes also referred to as bug juice. Recently, John Steinke reported that the early packages of Kool-Aid had Bugs Bunny on them. From this came “Bug’s Juice” and, then simply “Bug Juice”.