Monday, May 28, 2012

Killer Buzz Zilch Energy Review

I've been trying to live a "healthier" lifestyle lately and I've been trying to avoid my favorite foods such as Funyuns and the Bold Party Blend variety of Chex Mix. As anyone should know, energy drinks certainly aren't nutrition in a can. Much like with soda, there are of course "diet" energy drinks but I haven't tried many of them. Since I've been trying to be healthier, I've cut back on energy drinks. But, for the sake of this website and a few other reasons I'm going to go with the "moderation" rule and drink one here and there. So, I felt exceptionally less guilty when getting ready to drink this for a review. There has always been talk about how bad for you "diet" drinks still are, but that wasn't really going through my head as I prepared to drink my 100-somethingth energy drink. Zilch contains no sugar and no carbs, and is therefore a healthier alternative to the regular varieties of the drink. I feel that the name is appropriate, as "zilch" means zero. The main thing going through my head was that this drink would probably taste "diet", and have the kind of flat taste that a lot of diet pops suffer from. So, without further ado let's see how Zilch can compare with it's fellow full-flavored Killer Buzz drinks.

The Can:
I initially received 24 cans of Killer Buzz in the mail, and have gotten quite used to their design from seeing them in my fridge and from drinking them. I like their design, it's somewhat "bland" yet effective. They keep it simple, and choose not to overdo their design with a bunch of flashy logos and colors. As you would probably expect, they chose blue for the color scheme of this drink as it is the probably supposed to be the "diet" version of Proto, their green variety. I find the text of the back of these cans amusing, with Zilch saying that it's very mysterious and sneaky. The Killer Buzz cans all have familiar elements that change with each flavor, the text on the front on Zilch says "No sugar. No carbs. All energy." I like the text, and can't find much to complain about with this can. In my previous review of Proto, I compared the cans to Slap's cans. That remains the same with this drink, their not that similar but for the sake of having something to compare this to I find it effective.

The Taste:
Although it lacks sugar, the main concern with this drink to me was not if it would still provide energy. I was more concerned with how good it would taste as it is a more "healthy" drink, and I was very satisfied. The flavor is nearly on par with Proto's flavor, you can tell that it's "diet" but not in a gross way, at least to me. A couple of people that I know also tried Zilch, with one agreeing with me and one saying that it tasted TOO diet. Honestly, I don't taste that whatsoever and don't know how you could at all. But, I would say that Zilch is an enjoyable offering. It was fairly drinkable, and admittedly the Zilch cans were the last that I had in my fridge but I definitely enjoyed the flavor when I had them.


The Buzz:
Naturally, Zilch still contains Killer Buzz's unique blend of GHAA, Giant Hornet Amino Acid. I evaluated last time that the buzz was very effective but by no means "killer", meaning that you won't die. That remains very true with Zilch. This drink is very effective in providing a satisfactory buzz that lasts for quite some tine, and I found it enjoyable. There's not much else to say, and I feel that mentioning the buzz for each individual flavor of Killer Buzz will get redundant. But, I have to do what I have to do and will conclude my section on Killer Buzz's Zilch drink's buzz by saying that it isn't bad, and is about as good as I expected it to be.

Zilch was another good Killer Buzz drink. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a tasty, zero sugar, and zero carb energy drink. It tasted good, was effective, and the can design isn't bad at all either. I look forward to reviewing the remaining Killer Buzz flavors, I have had my fair share of each by now and will eventually get done with reviewing them/

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Killer Buzz Proto Energy Review

A lot of companies have undergone major changes before, such as Wal-Mart . Killer Buzz is an energy drink company that has done exactly that, and they've revamped their can designs and flavors. I'd never reviewed or even had Killer Buzz before receiving all of the new flavors, so I really don't have much to speak on pertaining to how much better this drink is than the original. However, I have seen pictures of the original Killer Buzz and to be honest the original design kind of reminded me of the kind of energy drink that you would find on the back of a Dollar Tree shelf. However, if I ever found it at the Dollar Tree I would have definitely picked it up just for the sake of a review. Anyway, I was very kindly contacted by Killer Buzz with the opportunity to review their new drinks. I found the name of this brand to be somewhat ironic to me. When I started this website, I noticed that a lot of similar websites called the boost you get from an energy drink a "kick" but for some reason I decided to call it a "buzz" and it's stayed the same since. So, reviewing an energy drink called Killer Buzz was pretty cool to me. Proto is supposed to be the revamped version of the original flavor, it was the first one that I tried and will be the first that I review. So, let's see if this big revamp was worthwhile and how this drink fares in the can, taste, and buzz categories.

The Can:
The design of these new drinks are somewhat reminiscent to me of the Slap energy drinks that I reviewed quite some time ago. I'm not the biggest fan of silver cans, but this drink doesn't give the impression of a generic energy drink that was released quickly as a lot of drinks with silver cans do. The silver, black, and green work well together for this can and there's certainly no mistaking that this is an energy drink when looking at it. The front of the can says, "The alpha. The origin. Genesis of the buzz", and I like all of the text of this nature which is on the can. Of course, they mean that this is the "genesis" of Killer Buzz, and not the genesis of energy drinks, because that would be historically inaccurate. There's a whole humorous paragraph on the back too which compared the effects of this drink with Greek mythology, and the new slogan "Stick that in a can and drink it." is also included. The drink is already in a can and I did in fact plan to drink it, so after taking a look at this satisfactory can I cracked open the light green tab on top and took a sip

The Taste:
I'm not really an energy drink "veteran" by any means, but I've been drinking them for a long time now and I've seen quite a bit when it comes to flavors. The flavor of this drink was not surprising in the least bit, and with just the colors of the can the average energy drink consumer could probably guess the flavor. This drink tasted a lot like Monster, but a bit more crisp and smooth. I wouldn't really say that I was disappointed and I definitely wouldn't say that the flavor is bad, and I enjoyed it. I've been working out lately, and actually went from weighing 205 to about 180 pounds. I've really cut down on energy drinks, but I'll never stop drinking them completely. However, it had been a few weeks since I last had one when I had this and the flavor was extremely satisfying to say the least. I liked this a lot, and would recommend it to any energy drink fan that likes the "energy drink taste" and wants something new to try.

The Buzz:
Believe it or not, this drink actually contains synthetic insect secretion. I can't say that I've always wanted to try a drink with secretion of any kind in it but I do like the idea of having original ingredients in your drink. Directly from the Killer Buzz website, here's some info about said secretion:

"GHAA, Giant Hornet Amino Acid, is a synthetic version of the secretion of the larvae of the Giant Asian Hornet. This secretion contains 17 amino acids that metabolize the fat stored in the hornet’s abdomen and turns it into energy, allowing it to fly up to 60 miles in a single day at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour—thus providing SUSTAINED ENERGY.

Nine of the 10 ESSENTIAL amino acids our bodies require are contained in one can of Killer Buzz®, along with Taurine, and B Vitamins. These ingredients play a key role in energy metabolism and are known antioxidants which help fight off toxins that break down the body’s immune system. Killer Buzz® works by helping the body use the energy it stores more efficiently thus maintaining a more steady energy level and preventing fatigue."

Well, there you have it.  This drink contains a decent 200 mg of Caffeine, Taurine, the usual B Vitamins, and the 17 amino acids mentioned previously. Upon finishing the drink, I soon felt a buzz that I enjoyed quite a bit. Don't mistake the name of this drink for something like Cocaine or a Spike Shooter, the buzz is definitely substantial but is by no means extreme or going to kill you. It is pretty nice, however and I liked it. It was on par with just about any other energy drink of it's kind out there and I felt focused and alert for quite some time.

All in all, I enjoyed the first offering that I tried from Killer Buzz. It wasn't too bad, and I can't find much to complain about with it. I look forward to reviewing the other flavors, while the flavor of this drink was similar to others I imagine that the several other flavors will be a bit different. If you can find this, give it a try. Remember, you don't get to drink synthetic Giant Asian Hornet secretion every day.