Saturday, July 9, 2011

Red Thunder Energy Shot Review



Red Thunder is the "Generic Red Bull" energy drink at Aldi's grocery stores and you can often buy four Red Thunder drinks for only $3. Before I review the actual Red Thunder energy drink in the near future I decided to buy and review the Red Thunder energy shot. The Red Thunder energy shot can be found in the checkout line at Aldi's, much like you can find 5 Hour Energy in the checkout line at Home Depot or Wal-Mart. 



The Bottle:
Red Thunder's bottle actually looks really good. I like the overall design of it and it looks better than some name-brand shots I've had in the best. The shot is the standard 2 oz. size and also contains the standard warning-filled box on the back of it. They actually did a good job putting it together and I was fairly impressed by the design.

The Shot:
The Red Thunder energy shot is a berry flavor and since I've had a few berry flavored energy shots before this I thought I knew what to expect. When I twisted open the bottle and drank the shot it did taste like 5 Hour Energy's berry flavor but it was still slightly different. Red Thunder has a very sweet berry flavor that actually isn't very bitter and it also has a sort of apple juice oriented aftertaste. The shot is definitely drinkable and I didn't have to drink some water after drinking it either, it wasn't bad.

The Buzz:
Red Thunder's energy blend contains 1580 mg. It contains Taurine, Glucoronolactone, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, Caffeine, Malic Acid and Guarana. Red Thunder was one of those shots where I could really feel the buzz coming on. When it mellowed it was pretty strong and actually lasted for 5 hours which a lot of energy shots don't actually do for me. The buzz was pretty enjoyable and the shot actually worked.

Red Thunder actually wasn't too bad, the bottle looks good, the shot is drinkable and it does what it was created to do, provide good and sustained energy. If you're ever shopping at an Aldi's and see this shot I recommend picking it up. I was surprised by how good it performed and will be picking up another one in the future.

19 comments:

  1. I just drank a bottle of this.I have had a severe allergic reaction.My face started burning ,turned beet red,swelled and heavy breathing.Also my arms are beet red and bumpy.Almost like sun poisoning.Also my knees were affected also.
    I have drank several other energy drinks and never had this reaction.
    I have had the same reaction to niacin vitamins years ago but to a much greater
    degree.I was hospitalized for a week.It was a textbook case of anaphylactic shock.
    Please be aware of the energy drink shots.

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  2. While what happened to you is horrible and certainly not what energy shots are supposed to do, there's a label right on the bottle that says the shot contains niacin. If you had a bad reaction to niacin in the past then it should be common sense not to drink an energy shot that contains niacin. It's a good thing you're alright though, I've never had a bad experience from an energy shot but I've heard many stories of people who have.

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  3. Anonymous (July 19, 2011 1:14pm) - doesn't sound like anaphylactic shock to me. It sounds like niacin flush. Some people get that reaction to the large does of niacin. I wouldn't think you would be allergic to Red Thunder. If you were, then you would be allergic to 5 Hr Energy and every other type of shot like this. They all have the same thing in them.

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  4. To the guy who had the reaction; There is always one in the bunch. Why would you drink it if it had niacin as an ingredient? You just can't cure stupid.....

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  5. My wife had the same reaction with another energy shot, is the Niacin. Red Thunder is the same as 5hr energy.

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  6. almost all energy shots/drinks have Niacin in them dipshit from September 6th.

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  7. I've used this energy shot alot, no problems,I take it 30 min. before I work out. Love the taste, its better than 5hr shot, and costs less.

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  8. I've taken thie shots to an excess during a period I simply had WAY too much to do (a little over a week) it helped me cope with the 1-2 hours of sleep I get per day and caused had no interaction with the ibuprofen I was taking at the same time.

    It's good. Not quite as good as 5hr, but very close, and half the price.

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  9. When an energy drink has niacin in it and you get the nician flush reaction, the drink contain niacin not niacinamide. niacinamide is a non-reactive nician that will not cause the "flush" but since it is still a niacin source the label will say niacin not niacinamide. This is the reason why you will not get the flush from Red Bull, Monster or other "high-end" energy drinks because they have the knowledge pertaining to the supplements .

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  10. I see this a lot & am still trying to figure out why people blame products (or product quality, etc.), for their own allergic reactions. I understand that allergic reactions can be horrible, & as a Nutritionist I have mixed feelings about products like these anyway, but that doesn't mean that we should blame the product for a reaction that we may receive by consuming it. Now if it was discovered that a product had some chemical in it that is toxic or lethal I would agree that reviewers should post their reactions & get the product removed from the shelves, but posting your problems / allergic reactions to a product (hinting that a product should be "watched"), JUST because of an allergic reaction is the same thing as explaining the reaction you had after eating shellfish & believing that it should be removed from the market, just because you had a reaction to the iodine, (or some other naturally occurring nutrient). Just some "food for thought". And PS, I've never tried this energy shot, (I don't care for them if they have high amounts of cyanocobalamin or caffeine in them), though I've heard some people say it works for them.

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  11. I was a 5 hr energy nut for yrs. I would buy them from SAMS club by the case, as it was cheaper. The first time I bought Aldies Red Thunder I bought 5 of them. Brought them home and removed the labels from them & from my 5 hr energy. Me & hubby used all 10 never knowing which either was using and never noticed a difference between the two. At 1.00 a bottle for Red Thunder and aprox 2.35 for 5 hr energy we were hooked on the Red Thunder :) About 6 months later we are still Red Thunder users!

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  12. I came on here to ask if anyone thought this energy drink tastes like soap?

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  13. Anonymous from July 26: I've had several of these drinks and lately have been noticing that some do in fact have a soap-like taste. I don't know if they changed their formula or what but I really hope it doesn't last!

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  14. I go through a 12pk every two weeks and i have also noticed here lately every now and then one would have soapy taste too. Thought it was just from sitting next to my cologne in the armrest. Glad I'm not going crazy lol.

    But yeah red thunder is a pure knockoff of the regular strength 5 hour energy except it cost .69 cent a bottle compared to 2.99 at a gas station

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  15. I work at Aldi I have cases of all of the energy drinks from us in my locker I love em

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  16. Hell yeah bardleanky!! Half tap sure does the trip also barstan mat malt

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  17. fyi: The recipe has improved:
    Red Thunder Energy Shot
    2 fl oz/59ml

    30 mg Niacin (as niacinemide)
    40 mg Vitamin B6 (as pyridomine HCL)
    400 mcg Folic acid
    500 mcg Vitamin B12 (as cyanccobalamin)
    20 mg Sodium
    1870 mg Energy Blend:
    + Taurine
    + D-Glucoronolactone
    + Malic Acid
    + N-Acetyl-Tyrosine
    + L-Phenylalanine
    + Caffeine
    + Citicoline

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