Monster M-80 Energy Review

                                                    

I think this drink is called M-80 because it's 80% juice, which is sort of unusual. Monster has a whole line of juice drinks and this is one of them. I don't really understand why Monster has so many drinks that are all similar to one another. I'd rather have a standard Monster drink than a juice one. Since I love reviewing energy drinks though I decided to pick this up and review it anyway, let's see how it compares to other Monster drinks I've reviewed before.




The Can:
Monster's juice drink cans are all gray with the exception of the black box around the M on the front of the can. They don't look that bad but are notorious for having ridiculous descriptions on the back of them. The back of M-80's can says something about this drink being created while Monster was at some surf event somewhere, I highly doubt that this surf event ever happened and even if it did I doubt that they made the drink up there. I don't know why they feel the need to inform the consumer of such unusual information.

The Drink:
Keep in mind that M-80 is a juice drink which means that it has a different texture than the original Monster. M-80's flavor is hard to describe, it's a mixture of citrus, pineapple and that standard Monster taste that the original Monster has. The original Monster taste isn't as potent as in other Monster varieties though. It's an alright taste but I can't really see everybody liking it, I recommend trying it and seeing how you like it, it's an interesting flavor.

The Buzz:
M-80 contains the standard Monster energy blend which means a fairly nice and above average energy buzz. The buzz you get is the equivalent to the one you get from an original Monster. The buzz does what it's supposed to and lasts, which is good.

M-80 isn't a horrible energy drink, I can see some people not liking the taste but other then that it's not horrible. It provides a good energy buzz and does what it was made to do, which is provide energy.

Jolt Power Cola Energy Review

When Jolt Cola came out in 1986, it was referred to as the "Soft Drink of the Elite Hacker", it contained more caffeine than the average soda and was pretty popular. These days, Jolt Cola is now Jolt Power Cola and still contains a ton of caffeine plus a bunch of other energy drink ingredients. Jolt has never been the most easy to find energy drink but fortunately the Rite-Aid down the street from me has a cooler full of it.






The Can:
I mentioned in another Jolt review that Jolt energy drinks are now only available in 16 oz. cans. Power Cola's can is red and black and looks nice, the long list of ingredients on the top of the can makes the drink even more appealing. "Power Cola" is a good name for the drink because it lets you know that the drink is more powerful than a regular can. I was excited to pop open the can and give this famous drink a try.

The Drink:
Since it's a cola flavor, I assumed that this drink would taste either a lot like Pepsi or a lot like Coke. Upon drinking some I noticed that it tasted more like Coke but with a different aftertaste. It had a slight bitter aftertaste but when you cram a bunch of caffeine into a cola drink there's bound to be some sort of aftertaste that you can't really mask with just a cola flavor. I had the drink straight from the can, the drink most likely would taste different out of a cup, glass ot bottle. Still, even out of the can it tastes pretty good and just about anybody would like it. If you're able to drink some of the strange, obscure tasting energy drinks out there then you should have no problem enjoying this drink.

The Buzz:
Back in the 80's Jolt only contained caffeine, these days it also includes all of the familiar ingredients such as Taurine and Guarana. The primary ingredient is still caffeine but all of the ingredients come together and provide the drinker with a nice and potent energy buzz. I experienced a long and potent energy buzz after finishing the drink and was pleased with the end result.

Jolt Power Cola is a classic. Even though it isn't the most easy to find I highly recommend trying it if you can find it.

Rip It Lime Wrecker Energy Review

Lime Wrecker is Rip It's Lime Margarita flavored offering, it doesn't contain any alchohol despite the flavor though. Instead, it's yet another addition to the Rip It line for me to try out and review. The nice looking can caught my eye so I decided to pick it up and see what it was like.








The Can:

Once again, Lime Wrecker's can is generally the same as the other Rip It cans except for the color. It's green and black like the Stinger Mo variety is but the green is much lighter. The can catches the eye and looks good, it looks nice in the cooler at the store and stands out.

The Drink:
Lime Wrecker is certainly one of the more crisp and refreshing energy drinks I've had. It has a very crisp, smooth and light lime flavor that is very easy to enjoy. The light carbonation tops the drink off nicely and makes for an overall smooth drinking experience. I enjoyed the flavor and Rip It didn't disappoint me this time either.

The Buzz:
Lime Wrecker has 1000 mg of Taurine, 100 mg of Caffeine, 100 mg of Inositol and 10 mg of Guarana. All of the Rip It blends are fairly similar to eachother and when I drank this early in the morning I was soon met with a nice energy buzz that got me going for the day. It was nice and eventually mellowed out without making me "crash".

Rip It's website actually claims that Lime Wrecker is the world's first margarita flavored energy drink, they did a good job with the flavor and it's one of the more crisp and light energy drinks I've ever had. I recommend this drink if you want to try something new, you might as well since it's only going to cost you 99 cents.

Vault Red Blitz Energy Review

While I first had the original Vault a few years ago, I only first tried the Red Blitz variety recently. In my review of the original Vault I compared it to Mountain Dew, before drinking Red Blitz I had a feeling that it was going to be like Mountain Dew: Code Red.

The Bottle:

The Red Blitz bottle is very similar to the original bottle with the exception of the red label and the text on the bottle appropriately being changed to fit the flavor of the drink. Just like with the original, the bottle looks good enough and it's not the worst looking one out there.

The Drink:

Red Blitz is supposed to be a berry Vault, when I twisted open the bottle and drank some that's exactly what it was. It maintains the original Vault's taste while also having a cherry flavor to it. Red Blitz does remind of Mountain Dew: Code Red, Red Blitz's cherry flavor seems to be a little prominent though. It's a good tasting cherry and any soda drinker or somebody that likes cherry would enjoy it.

The Buzz:

Energy ingredient wise, there is no difference between this drink and the original Vault. This drink also just contains 115 mg of caffeine, that's it. That means that this drink provides the same buzz as the original, which is an alright one that the average person would most likely be satisfied with.

With the exception of flavor, original Vault and Red Blitz are the same energy drink. You can find them almost anywhere so which flavor you want to try is up to you.



Vault Energy Review

Vault was one of the first energy drinks I ever had. As far as I can remember, the first few energy drinks I ever had were Vault, Red Bull and Bawls Guarana. My older brother used to bring Bawls home from LAN parties that he used to go to at his school back in like 2006, I bought Red Bull from somewhere around that time too and had Vault at somebodies house if I remember correctly. Vault's slogan is "Drinks like a soda, kicks like an energy drink", some people dispute Vault actually being an energy drink, you drink it and it's supposed to give you more energy than a soda so to me it's an energy drink.



The Bottle:
Vault also comes in 12 oz. cans but I mostly see it in bottles. Vault's bottle really reminds me of Mountain Dew because of it's green color. It's somewhat of an oddly shaped bottle but contains plenty of info about the product. It's not a bad design but to me it resembles a soda much more than an energy drink.

The Drink:
Another similarity between Vault and Mountain Dew is the flavor, they're both citrus flavored and Vault reminds me a lot of Mountain Dew flavor wise. Anybody that's had Mountain Dew or even Amp energy knows that distinct taste that Mountain Dew has, Vault tastes like Mountain Dew but without that distinct sharp bite to the taste. With that bite missing what's left is a smooth citrus flavor. It's not the best tasting drink but if you drink soda on a regular basis you'll love it, it's alright in my opinion.

The Buzz:
Vault does drink like a soda and a first time drinker would be curious to know if it's going to kick like an energy drink. The only energy ingredient that Vault has is 115 mg of caffeine. That's not the lowest number but several energy drinks contain more, with the high amount of sugar some people might crash after drinking it too. Vault will provide a buzz but it won't be a long lasting one and I wish Vault contained a few more ingredients. Still, the average person will most likely feel a decent boost in energy for awhile from drinking a Vault.

Vault is a widely available drink, if you've never had it you might as well try it. It tastes alright and provides an alright energy buzz too, it's not the worst one out there.

Rip It G-Force Energy Review

Photo from www.bevnet.com

Grape flavored energy drinks aren't extremely uncommon and since Rip It has a wide variety of flavors available it's only natural that they have a grape one also. Although they're common, grape flavored energy drinks don't always taste the same and since Rip It is known for creating some unique flavors it'll be interesting to see what this drink tastes like and what it does energy wise.







The Can:
The actual shade of purple on the can is a little darker than the actual picture above portrays. It's a nice looking can and the purple makes the silver sort of "pop". Rip It's cans are all similar with the exception of a few colors here and there. G Force looks nice and does a good job of informing you of the grape flavor.

The Drink:
G Force is a grape flavored drink so naturally the liquid itself is purple. After opening the can with the purple tab on top, I took a sip and was met with a nice grape soda flavor. The flavor is basically grape soda with a small bite to it that tastes pretty good if you like grape. The drink was pretty good and I enjoyed it, if you don't like grape soda I definitely don't recommend the drink though.

The Buzz:
G Force contains 1010 mg of Taurine, 100 mg of Caffeine, 100 mg of Inositol and 8 mg of Guarana. Almost every Rip It drink has a blend similar to that and Rip It drinks always provide fairly nice energy buzzes, G Force is no exception. This drink will do what it's supposed to and last for awhile, it certainly did for me.

G Force is a great energy drink for somebody looking for a nice grape soda flavor at a great value, it's a good addition to the Rip It line and a good energy drink in general.

Amp Relaunch Energy Review

Relaunch is Amp's orange drink, they have just about every other color so it's natural that they have an orange flavor too. No two orange flavored drinks I've had have tasted the same, even though Amp isn't my favorite company I was interested to see what they tried to pull off with their orange drink.

The Can:

Each Amp can looks the same as the next except for the color which is fitted to the flavor of the drink. I'm pretty sure that I've said that before but it's true. Relaunch is supposed to be an orange flavor therefore it has an orange and black Amp can, nothing special.

The Taste:
My two favorite citrus/orange drinks are NOS and the Fire variety of Relentless. The best way I can describe this drink is somewhere in the middle of those with a pretty nasty aftertaste. I don't know if they forgot that Amp was Mountain Dew's energy drink or what but this drink has no Mountain Dew flavor to it at all. It's strong like NOS with a decent orange flavor and wouldn't be so bad if it didn't leave such a bad aftertaste in your mouth. Some other Amp flavors leave bad aftertastes but none of them are as bad as Relaunch, I wonder why.

The Buzz:
Relaunch contains a similar obscure energy blend to the other Amp drinks, I don't know why they chose to throw in such odd and low numbers of their ingredients but I guess that's up to them. Still, the result is that same mediocre energy buzz I've experienced in the past with Amp drinks. I've said before that some people that don't like potent energy buzzes would like Amp and that remains true with this installment to the line.

With a bad orange flavor and mediocre energy buzz, I really can't recommend this drink to anybody. There are just too many better alternatives for the same price or cheaper.

Jolt Blue Bolt Energy Review

The Jolt company practically invented the energy drink when they released Jolt Cola in 1986, their slogan was "All the sugar and twice the caffeine", which is a pretty good slogan if you ask me. As the years progressed, Jolt later came out with more flavors and released them in huge battery cans that you probably remember. Recently, the Jolt company fell on hard times but now they're back with some new drinks in 16 oz. cans, Blue Bolt is one of those drinks and today we're going to take a look at it.





The Can:
Jolt's logo has changed sinced they released Jolt Cola but right now it's still the same as it was on the big battery cans, the original Jolt logo is still in use on Jolt Energy Gum. This can's black and blue color scheme looks good and the long list of energy ingredients spanning the top of the can is enough to make any energy drink fan like me want to buy it and try it. Jolt's been around forever and they know what they're doing, this drink's can proves that.

The Drink:

Even though I'm writing this review now, I've had this drink a few times prior to today and my only complaint with the drink is what is faintly smells like, which is Listerine, the mouthwash. For some reason, this drink smells like Listerine. Luckilly, when you take a sip you experience a flavor that is nothing like Listerine but actually a blue Jolly Rancher. This drink actually tastes like a blue Jolly Rancher in liquid form, it tastes awesome and it became one of my favorite energy drink flavors the first time I had it.

The Buzz:
Unfortunately the back of the can doesn't individually list the amount of ingredients in the drink but if you pick up a can, read the long list spanning the top of it. This drink contains all of your favorite energy drink ingredients. Not long after finishing the drink I experienced a nice energy buzz that was just right, I wasn't so energized that I was paranoid and agitated and I wasn't so un-energized that I was, well, un-energized. I really liked the buzz this drink gave me, it got the job done and was satisfactory in the end.

Jolt scored a win with this new 16 oz. drink, it has a unique flavor and provides a great buzz. I have a feeling that the Jolt company will be around for a long, long time.


More Jolt Below:

Original old school can of Jolt cola

Jolt battery can, these were unfotunately discontinued recently.

Relentless Fire Energy Review

Relentless energy drinks aren't actually from America but Coca-Cola brought them over and Fire is Relentless' orange flavor. I like Fire's can a lot better than the original's due to the orange and brown on the can that look great behind all the text on the can. The original Relentless was alright so I was interested in trying this drink, let's see how it is:







The Can:
I really like this drink's can for some reason, the way the whole can is put together is really nice and even though it's a little cluttered it looks excellent. Even though there isn't much of a difference other than color, this can looks way better than the orginal's in my opnion.


The Drink:
Since the can just says that the drink is orange flavored, that leaves a lot of possibilties as to what the flavor could actually be. When I opened up the can and drank some, the flavor kind of caught me off guard. If you've ever had an orange Tootsie-Pop, that's exactly what this tastes like only in liquid form, which tastes great. It tastes like orange candy and it really tastes delicious. It was a very enjoyable drink and I like it a lot more than the original Relentless.

The Buzz:
Fire has 197 mg of Caffeine and 1888 mg of Taurine, plus a few other ingredients. I don't know what it is exactly but something in this drink really makes me alert and extremely awake, more than the average energy drink does. The buzz from this drink lasted about 2 1/2 hours and was one of the better ones I've experienced in awhile.

Fire is a nice addition to the Relentless line because of it's great flavor and energy buzz. I've heard about there being other Relentless flavors besides the original and Fire and if I find them I'll definitely review them. Fire is a great drink and I really enjoyed it.

Rip It Citrus X Energy Review

If I remember right, when Rip It first came out Power and Citrus X were the first two flavors they released. I drink Power a lot and I've had it numerous times but I've only had Citrus X a few times, I like citrus drinks but with Rip It's other flavor options I usually pass it by. I decided to pick it up for a review so let's see what it's like compared to the other Rip It drinks.

The Can:

The yellow on the can makes sense for a citrus flavor and the can doesn't look horrible. The shade of yellow looks good and the drink contains all the usual energy drink information. It looks good despite not using as bright of colors as some other Rip It drinks.

The Drink:
The best way I can describe Citrus X is as carbonated orange juice. It's very, very possible for that to taste gross coming out of a metal can but Rip It made the flavor good and actually pretty smooth. It's a pretty good flavor but I don't recommend it to somebody that doesn't like orange juice or citrus.

The Buzz:
Citrus X contains 1000 mg of Taurine, 100 mg of Caffeine, 100 mg of Inositol and 10 mg of Guarana. Those ingredients provided me with a nice energy buzz that was enjoyable and pretty good. I felt it not long after finishing the drink and it lasted for about 2 hours.

All in all, Citrus X is a fine addition to the Rip It line, if you don't like citrus or orange juice then I don't recommend the drink. If you do, pick it up because it tastes great, provides good energy and is a great value.

Xtra Energy Shot Orange Review

The Xtra energy shot comes in two varieties, berry and orange. I reviewed the berry variety a few days ago, so I decided to give this one a try.  Since they're only $1 you really can't beat these shots. If there are any Dollar General stores in your area, they probably have them.

The Bottle:
Xtra Orange's bottle looks the same as the berry flavor's bottle except for the orange background, which makes sense since it's an orange flavored shot. Just like the berry variety this shot contains all the typical energy shot information and the big warning on the back of it that tells you all the possible side effects and precautions you should take when drinking an energy shot.

The Shot:
Unfortunately, this is where the similarites between and the berry and orange shot stop. While the berry shot is drinkable, this orange shot is the worst tasting energy shot I've ever had. It tastes disgusting, the bitterness of energy shots and orange flavor definitely don't go together. I had to get a glass of water after drinking the shot and even then the aftertaste remained in my mouth. I highly recommend picking up the berry shot if you want a drinkable energy shot.

The Buzz:
While the flavor is gross, the buzz remains the same as the berry variety of Xtra, which is pretty good. It kept me going for about 4 hours and I was satisfied with it, it's a good alternative to 5 Hour Energy and successfully does what it's supposed to do.

$1 is cheap for an energy shot but since there's a berry flavor that provides a much better flavor and the same good buzz, I highly recommend trying it instead, trust me.

Monster Assault Energy Review

Monster has a ton of other drinks besides the original and this drink is obviously one of them. "Assault" is a pretty good name for an energy drink but I think they should have stuck with the all black background like the other Monster drinks, the camo looks cool but looks odd amongst the other Monster drinks in the special Monster cooler that a lot of stores have been getting lately.

The Can:

Assault's can isn't too different from the other Monster cans with the exception of the camo background. The red "M" on the front and the red tab on top of the can look good and the can isn't horrible, Monster's logo is one that seems to get stuck in your head and when you see that "M" you know exactly what the product is for.

The Drink:

When I opened the can and drank some, I noted that the flavor was pretty similar to the original Monster. Assault is a cherry flavor but maintains that same bite and aftertaste that the original Monster has. For any Monster fan that likes cherry, this flavor is like energy drink nirvana. I really enjoyed the flavor and it was very easy to drink, they did a good job with it.

The Buzz:

The original Monster always gets you going and since this drink has the same blend, it does too. This drink woke me up when I drank it after being tired and worn out most of the day and it did what it was supposed to. The buzz lasted for about 2 hours before wearing off and was satisfactory in general.

Monster Assault is a good energy drink, it has a good flavor and provides good energy. It's not hard at all to find Monster either, just head down to the nearest gas station or convenience store and they probably have it.

Amp Traction Energy Review

Amp is an alright energy drink company, their drinks aren't my favorite but I can drink one if I have to. Traction is Amp's grape variety, I like grape flavored drinks and I like Mountain Dew so I don't see why this drink wouldn't taste very good, it's usually Amp's mediocre energy buzzes that I don't really care for. Also, with Amp costing as much or more than some much better energy drinks that I like a lot more I don't buy them that much.






The Can:
There's not much that I can say about Amp Traction's can, it's just your standard Amp can fitted to a grape flavor. It's purple and black design is nice to look at and the can is cleanly and nicely put together with some info about the product itself on the back of it.

The Taste:
When I popped open the can and drank some, Traction immediately became my favorite Amp due to it's flavor. It really tastes like grape Mountain Dew and it's the best tasting of them all in my opinion. Traction didn't leave some strange aftertaste in my mouth and it tasted pretty good, I enjoyed it.

The Buzz:
Traction contains 160 mg of Caffeine, 248 mg of Guarana, 296 mg of Taurine and 34 mg of Ginseng. Once again, I was unfortunately let down by the buzz this drink gave me. It was weak like the other Amp drinks and I was disappointed. They had good potential with the great flavor but let me down with the weak energy buzz. This drink does provide some energy, but not much.

Amp Traction has a great grape flavor but a mediocre energy buzz, if you want something that's not very strong I recommend this, otherwise I can't say much else about the drink besides it tastes alright.

Xtra Energy Shot Berry Review

Once in awhile I'll find an energy drink at the dollar store that I've never heard of, but when I found this energy shot I was a little surprised. You've most likely seen a 5 Hour Energy commercial on TV before so it's not really shocking that dollar store brands would put out energy shots also. I'm just not used to seeing energy shots for only $1, I have a feeling that I'll see more and more of them as time goes on though.

The Bottle:

Xtra's bottle was obviously influenced by 5 Hour Energy as just about anybody can tell by looking at it. They had a wide choice of colors to choose from but they chose red and yellow. It doesn't look that bad and contains all of your standard energy shot information, including the big black box on the back that's full or warnings. It's still a nice looking bottle and there's not much wrong with it that I can find.

The Shot:

If you've ever had 5 Hour Energy, or any energy shot, you know what energy shots usually taste like. In my opinion berry ones usually taste alright but if it's something besides berry I usually have to drink some water afterwards. When I twisted open the bottle I smelled a decent enough berry scent, I drank the shot as quickly as possible and it honestly wasn't horrible. It was definitely bitter but that's a given with just about any energy shot. It just tasted like your standard energy shot berry, which is a little hard to describe. I think just about anybody would enjoy this shot or atleast be able to drink it, it's not horrible but I could never drink a whole 16 oz. can of it, that's for sure.

The Buzz:

Xtra contains a lot of ingredients, including Niacin which can give some people a "Niacin Flush" which is when you feel hot and your skin turns red, as awesome at that sounds it's never happened to me and it didn't with this shot either. About 5 minutes after finishing the shot a buzz started to creep up on me that kept getting stronger for about 10 minutes. When it reached it's peak, it lasted for about 3 1/2 more hours, which isn't bad. I definitely felt a noticable buzz from this shot that I enjoyed, it did what it was supposed to and I didn't "crash" afterwards.

Since it's only $1, you might as well pick up this shot and try it if you can find it. I can see it becoming popular as a cheaper 5 Hour Energy alternative, I liked it.



Rockstar Recovery Energy Review

The bright yellow can belonging to this drink is an exact opposite of the dark black can the original Rockstar has. Rockstar Recovery is a non carbonated lemonade flavored drink that is supposed to give you energy and hydration at the same time, which is an interesting claim. I give Rockstar credit for branching out and trying something different with the drink, if it's from Rockstar the end result couldn't possibly be that bad.

The Can:

Recovery's can is a bright yellow with some red and black on it also. It looks pretty good and is unique but it's odd to me to see any Rockstar drink or almost any energy drink in general in a yellow can. It still looks alright and is appropriate for the drink's flavor, lemonade.

The Drink:

Recovery isn't carbonated, which means it won't fizz or anything when you open it up. There are other Lemonade flavored energy drinks out there but they're not extremely common. The lemonade flavor in this drink is pretty smooth and prominent, much like the can the drink's flavor is an exact opposite of the original Rockstar also. I was surprised by how good the drink tasted due to all the energy ingredients in it that could make it taste nasty, luckilly it ended up tasting good and I finished the can quickly.

The Buzz:

Rockstar Recovery contains 1000 mg of Taurine, 80 mg of Caffeine, 50 mg of Panax Ginseng Extract, 25 mg of Prickly Pear Extract and 20 mg of Milk Thistle Extract. Rockstar is known to provide pretty nice energy buzzes and this drink isn't an exception, I felt substantially more awake and alert which helped a lot since I was pretty tired when I picked up the drink. As for the drink being hydrating, I didn't run a marathon or fight Chuck Norris prior to drinking this so I can't speak for that aspect of the drink, but I'm sure it's just as potent as the energy blend.

If you're looking for something new to try, try Rockstar Recovery. I highly recommend this drink to just about anybody, unless you don't like lemonade.

Rip It Stinger Mo Energy Review

Photo from www.energyfiend.com

Rip It is a great energy drink brand, they have a pretty big variety of flavors you can choose from and they're all only 99 cents. Today we'll be looking at the "Stinger Mo" variety, I honestly have no idea what the name is supposed to mean but the black and green can caught my eye so I decided to pick it up and try it out.







The Can:
Stinger Mo's can is just like every other Rip It can but with a nice black and green design. This drink's design is like the exact opposite of F-Bomb's, I like F-Bomb's design but I like this drink's design just as much. It doesn't look that bad but like I said I have no idea what the name is supposed to mean.

The Drink:
When I popped open the can and drank some, I immediately recognized what it was- Monster. I remember saying that Rip It had all original drinks, this one is an exception. It's pretty much just the original Monster in the same sized can but for only 99 cents, which still makes Stinger Mo a drink worth buying.

The Buzz:
Stinger Mo contains 1016 mg of Taurine, 85 mg of Caffeine, 101 mg of Inositol, 10 mg of Guarana and 4 mg of Ginseng. As you can see, while the flavor is the same, this drink doesn't have the same energy blend as Monster. Still, the ingredients are enough to give you a pretty nice energy buzz that will get you going and keep you going for a few hours.

While you could hate the Rip It brand for basically copying Monster with this flavor, the same people that hate them probably love Monster, Rip It is basically giving you Monster for about 99 cents and $1 cheaper in total.