Xtra Extra Strength Energy Shot Review

Xtra's berry flavored energy shot was actually the very first energy shot I reviewed on this site. That was about a year ago, and since then Xtra shots have apparently become a little more widespread. Believe it or not, they actually sponsor the popular TV show "Pawn Stars", and you can see ads with Rick, Hoss, "The Old Man", and Chumlee promoting these shots. It's a cool promotion, and I find it amusing that a shot that you can seem to find at a lot of dollar stores sponsors such a popular show. I was surprised when I walked into my local Dollar Tree and saw the Extra Strength variety of Xtra, I actually didn't even know it existed. Still, it caught my eye and since it was at the Dollar Tree I only paid $1 for it. I actually walked up to the counter with the shot and something else and the cashier felt the need to yell "$2.14" before she even rang up my items. I've been thinking about applying for a job at the Dollar Tree, since math has never been my specialty. It didn't really help that the cashier forgot to give me half of my change before closing the register and I had to wait for someone else to check out to get the rest of my change either.

The Bottle:
This shot's bottle isn't really anything special.The actual Xtra logo is kind of bland looking and I think it would look better with some more vibrant colors. I feel like the flames on the bottle don't really fit in either, but nonetheless the bottle looks decent and informs you of the shot itself. It provides all of the ingredient information you would expect and it of course has a big black box full of warnings on the side. I don't know if there is an extra strength version of every flavor but this particular one is grape which is why the bottle is purple.

The Shot:
I did something a bit risky when I drank this shot. I was in a car with no other liquids to chase the shot down with, so if it tasted bad I was out of luck. I twisted upon the bottle and quickly drank the shot, not surprisingly it was drinkable but didn't taste the greatest. It tasted and smelled like grape cough syrup, but not nearly as thick. It tasted more like grape juice than any other grape flavor I can think of. The flavor definitely lingered in my mouth and wasn't completely intolerable, but I definitely would've liked to have some water or something to chase the shot down with.

The Buzz:
Unfortunately it's been awhile since I've had a regular Xtra shot and I threw away any bottles I had, so I can't necessarily explain how this drink is "extra strength" without a regular list of ingredients to compare this shot's to.  But, this shot's energy blend contains 2200 mg in total. It contains Taurine, Malic Acid, Caffeine, Glucoronolactone, N-Acetyl, L-Tyrosine, and L-Phenylalanine. To someone like me, most of those ingredients are familiar despite how hard they are to pronounce. That's also a decent list of ingredients and one that's bound to provide some sort of buzz. Not long after finishing the shot, I immediately felt more awake and very alert. It was a good feeling, I wasn't extremely hyper nor was I edgy, the buzz was just right. It lasted for about 4 1/2-5 hours and once it mellowed I didn't experience a crash, which is supposedly because of the ingredient Glucoronolactone.

For $1, you might as well check this shot out. The flavor isn't the best, but it's not completely repulsive either. The shot also packs a nice potent buzz and does what it advertises and what it's supposed to. All in all, I was satisfied with the shot and might pick it up again sometime in the future.