What Exactly Is Mario Drinking in the Mario Kart Universe?

On Wednesday, Nintendo held a big Direct dedicated to the upcoming Switch 2. The new console is set to launch on June 5 and will cost $450. And one of the launch games for the console is Mario Kart World, a big, sprawling kart racer that looks like a lot of fun. But uh, what the heck is Mario drinking in that can?

A little context. So in the trailer for Mario Kart World, there’s a moment where we see the iconic plumber himself leaning up against a small truck (a kart, you might even call it) and he looks pretty chill. In his hand is an open can that he is drinking. And if you zoom in on that can you can see that its marked “Yoshi’s Drink.”

This led to a lot of questions in my head and I decided to ask my fellow Kotaku writers and editors what they thought Mario was drinking. Here are their responses:

It’s a cocktail of Yoshi’s own design. He made it in secret and started putting it in cans with no oversight from the Mushroom Kingdom health organizations. It’s never been verified and has no ingredients or nutritional information on the side of the can like it’s supposed to. Mario’s drinking it on faith that Yoshi would never put something bad for him in this, so he’s chugging this swill with reckless abandon. – Kenneth Shepard

Yoshi is running an energy drink company that sources ingredients of questionable origin on the side. And maybe he’ll sell you an expensive blender to make your own. – Claire Jackson

Some of my colleagues are suggesting that Mario is drinking something gross, or that Yoshi has done something untoward. I’m here to tell you that Yoshi is a perfect, innocent creature made in the image of God, and that what Mario is drinking is clearly a wonderfully refreshing, sparkling fruit-flavored beverage. The can even has an image of the fruits that Yoshi famously eats in Super Mario World on it!

What kind of fruit is it, exactly? It’s fruit! It’s the platonic ideal of fruit; fruit as a concept, but made real and delicious. I’m glad Mario gets to kick back and enjoy such a refreshing beverage. Even if Yoshi makes it by crushing the fruits in his mouth to squeeze the juice out of them and then spitting it directly into the cans. – Carolyn Petit

Yoshi’s drink is him pissing after whatever he last ate. – Ethan Gach

I’ve reached out to Nintendo for an official answer. For now, I guess Mario is either drinking some fruit juice, an energy drink, or uh…urine.

You’re reading part of Kotaku’s ongoing coverage of the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct. Check our roundup for more news from the showcase including launch games, pricing information, release date, pre-order information, and what that mysterious C button Nintendo keeps teasing actually does.

We’ll be continuing to update stories with news and analysis throughout the day as Nintendo pulls back the curtain on its most anticipated console launch ever. You can find more details about today’s Switch 2 Direct and Nintendo online Treehouse Live demos going on throughout the week here.