Monster Pipeline Punch Energy Drink Review

Name: Monster: Pipeline Punch

Size: 16 fl. oz.

Caffeine content: 160 mg. per can

Energy blend: Glucose, Taurine, Panax Ginseng Extract, Caffeine, L-Carnitine, Inositol, Glucoronolactone, Guarana Extract

Website

Monster has had energy drinks that contain juice for as long as I've been drinking energy drinks. Way back when (as in a few years ago), Monster's juice offerings all featured black can designs that made them essentially look like variants of the original Monster flavor as opposed to different drinks altogether in the sense that they contained juice. Nowadays, all of their juice flavors have either been discontinued or replaced design-wise with colorful designs such as this one- although Pipeline Punch is a new flavor. 

Can/Design:

Pipeline Punch's can is almost impossible to dislike as far as my general perception of which colors appeal to people the most go. The primarily pink design is like eye candy, and the slightly bumpy texture that permeates the surface of the can is an added plus. On the back of the can, Monster provideds a story about the "Banzai Pipeline", which is a famous wave that surfers ride during the rare Winter months when it arises on Oahu's "fabled North Shore". I personally really understand the reasoning behind naming an energy drink after a famous wave, but found the fact that the word "pipeline" was contained in the name a bit confusing at first. There are a lot of connotations to the word "pipeline"- and I'm glad that this was a clean one.

Taste:

Also on the back of the can is information about this drink's supposed flavor- which is passion fruit, orange, and guava. This sounded tasty to me, and certainly was. I find that Monster's juice drinks typically don't taste as much like an energy drink as you may assume they might. Pipeline Punch is extremely drinkable, and I find it, quite simply, delicious. What's not to like? I'd only say to avoid this if you dislike any of the flavors that I mentioned earlier in this paragraph.

Energy:

Yes, this drink also contains Monster's standard energy blend. Therefore, anyone who's had a non-sugar-free Monster before knows what to expect. On top of the flavor, said energy buzz works wonderfully. I'd say that the effects from a Monster drink typically last 4 or 5 hours and wear off without much notice unless you intentionally try to. 

I personally enjoyed this drink a lot. I'd go as far to say that this is my favorite "Monster with juice", but it's been so long since I've had another one that it's truly hard to say.

Hello Kitty Fizzy Pop Energy Drink Review

Name: Hello Kitty Fizzy Pop

Size: 8.4 fl. oz.

Caffeine Content: N/A

Energy blend: N/A

Website 

(no official website- just a link to the official Hello Kitty website)

I bought this drink at Five Below and believed that it was an energy drink. There's no hint on the can to it having any caffeine or energy blend of its own, but I feel that the overall feel of the drank alongside the fact that it may be perceived as such warrants it being reviewed here. I appreciate Hello Kitty's ability to remain a household name for such a long time, and looked forward to trying this drink.

Can/Design:

This is the second (if I'm not miscounting) energy drink I've had with a "shrink-wrapped" design on the can. "Shrink-wrapped" means that the design is glued, as opposed to being printed, onto the surface of the can. You could peel it off if you tried hard enough. Aside form that detail, it looks really good. It's so simple but maintains an aesthetic principle that pleases the eye and almost makes this as much of a expressive statement as it is a consumerist one. It looks as plain as I believe it should. Literally, what you see in the picture above is essentially how the can looks.

Taste:

The technical flavor that this drink is supposed to have is "cherry limeade". How well can you imagine what that tastes like off the top of your head? I would say that the flavor leaned more towards cherry than limeade, but that was based on my palette and yours may disagree. I find it difficult to find anything else to say about this drink aside from the fact that it tastes like cherries and sugar.

Energy:

Upon doing a bit of research, I've found that this drink does indeed lack caffeine. Don't expect anything more than a sugar-buzz here- aside from a placebo, maybe. 

As previously mentioned, reviewing this drink was based solely on the fact that I believe (hope?) other consumers would think this is an energy drink as much as I did before I bought it. It's not- but still worth trying if you're looking right at it at a store near you and have the means to give it a buy. It's nothing spectacular, but is a decent-enough example of how marketing a brand can be done quite successfully despite such marketing being done in an area where there's seemingly no need for said brand to be there.

Duff Energy Drink Review

Name: Duff

Size: 12 fl. oz.

Caffeine content: 110 mg. per can

Energy blend: Taurine, Caffeine, Ginseng Root Extract, Guarana

Website 

(no official site for this drink- just a link to The Simpsons website)

You've watched The Simpsons before, right? If not, you've had plenty of time- as The Simpsons is the longest-running animated comedy on television (having been broadcast since 1989!). For the unaware, "Duff" is the brand of beer that Homer Simpson (one of the show's main characters) drinks considerably often. There's a certain novelty factor with drinks like this that I have to appreciate. While this drink doesn't contain any alcohol, it does look 100% identical to the cans on the show (as it should) and just kind of seems like it jumped out of a cartoon and into your hand. With that said, what's the use with being mute like Maggie Simpson about the rest of this drink at this point? Read on.

Can/Design:

As I said, this drink's can looks exactly identical to how it does on The Simpsons. It's not the "standard" energy drink size of 16. fl. oz, but then again, are the cans on the show? Nope. I personally wish more products in the real world looks like this. Lastly, the front on the can boasts that this drink has a "wonderful orange flavor"..but how wonderful?

Taste:

I wish I had $1 for every time I've said this on this website, but "orange" in regards to an energy drink's flavor can mean many different things. An artificial, natural, or inspired orange flavor? Well, this drink is certainly artificial- but by no means bad. It reminded me of NOS in a sense by tasting like an orange that got coated with 8 gallons of sugar and then decided to let itself go. It tastes good. I wouldn't recommend this if you don't typically like sugar-y drinks, but if not, why are you reading this?

Energy:

110 mg. of caffeine per 12 fl. oz. can is pretty fair. A 16 fl. oz. energy drink often contains about 140 mg. of caffeine, so if you do the math, it balances out. I personally drank this somewhat fast and was met with a satisfactory energy buzz that met my expectations and then some. There's nothing to complain about there whatsoever.

How often would you actually drink this drink if it were available to you? I think this drink's novelty factor is certainly what it is & nothing more, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad energy drink by any means. I personally really enjoyed it, and commend Boston America (the makers of this drink) for going a step further and actually making a decent drink out of this TV-inspired product. I also got this at a Five Below store- which may be where you want to look if you want to find one of these to try for yourself.

Monster Ultra Black Energy Drink Review

Name: Monster: Ultra Black

Size: 16 fl. oz

Caffeine content: 140 mg. per can

Energy blend: Caffeine, Taurine, Panax Ginseng Extract, L-Carnitine, Guarana Extract, Glucoronolactone, Inositol

Website

Monster's foray into the world of "Zero" energy drinks has been fairly successful as far as popularity is concerned. Several people I know actually like their "Ultra Zero" drinks more than their calorie-ized options, which (as far as I know) seems to based purely on their flavors. Speaking personally, I do have to agree that Ultra Zero Monsters tend to be unique enough to be worth a purchase no matter if you care about calories or not. So, with that in mind, how does Ultra Black stack-up against its sugar-free, calorie-free brethren?

Can/Design:

Ultra Zero's can designs are all the exact same minus their individual variances in color. Black is a great color for the Ultra Zero design, and the can looks nice. I do find that this drink tends to blend in with some other Monster drinks in Monster coolers, but if you're not able to find this amidst some similar looking cans, you shouldn't be consuming energy drinks anyway. The design is typical Monster garb but that shouldn't really bother anyone who's actually out to buy this.

Taste:

I wasn't disappointed here. Ultra Black's core flavor is cherry, and it tastes decent. Definitely beware of this one if you don't like the "artificial" taste that sugar-free carbonated drinks usually have, but otherwise you should be satisfied. I wouldn't say that this is my favorite Ultra Zero drink, but the mellow cherry taste is perfect to sip without giving it much thought. A good drink to sip casually and an overall win as far as taste is concerned.

Energy:

Again, nothing surprising here. It's not that this drink lacks in the energy department by any means, but there's nothing new here that you haven't had before if this isn't your first Monster. Still, Monster's energy blend is quite efficient and should give you whatever lift in energy you're looking for as long as your caffeine tolerance is decently modest. 

Ultra Black is a nice addition to the Monster line as far as I'm sure Monster's point-of-view is concerned. As a long-time energy drink consumer, I can safely say that I think Monster has too many drinks- but that's not that important. What matters is whether or not you'll get enough bang for your buck with this, and I think you will. The cherry flavor is quite enjoyable and chances are I'll give this one a shot again someday.

Monster Gronk Energy Drink Review

Name: Monster: Gronk

Size: 16 fl. oz.

Caffeine content: 144 mg. per can

Energy blend: Glucose, Taurine, Panax Ginseng Extract, Caffeine, L-Carnitine,

Glucoronolactone, Guarana Extract, Inositotol, Maltodextrin

Website

(Editors note: As you may or may not have noticed, The Energy Drink Resource has been dry as far as new content goes for quite some time. I've been through so much since our last review, but I'm back! Expect plenty of new content for your eyes to observe on from here on out :) - Matt)

Monster's "image" as a brand is one that gets its' point across rather blatantly. If you don't get it though, Monster celebrates a "party" lifestyle that's all about having a good time amidst women, "big bad buzzes", and "unleashing the beast". Therefore, it's only fitting that pro-football player Rob Gronkowski (who, as I've just learned from the back of this drink's can, parties a lot himself) partnered with Monster to put together this particular drink. Gronk is Monster's first direct partnership with a professional athlete in the USA- but similar deals have happened in Europe before. To learn more about this drink & its' affects, read on below:

Can/Design:

Rob Gronkowski plays for the New England Patriots, who are an American-football team with the uniform colors of blue, white, and red. Explaining the can's color scheme, said colors then go on to prove (to my eyes, at least) that they definitely don't make for the most appealing energy drink can design of all time. It's not that it looks horrible, but is somewhat misleading in the sense that most energy drink (and soda) cans that feature silver prominently in their designs tend to be "Diet" or "Zero" drinks. Not this one. Colors aside, the can does a good job of getting it's message across without being too messy. While providing comprehensive nutritional information (and warnings) on its' back, the can squeezes in a Patriots-themed design that is ultimately effective and pretty much error-free as far as my eyes are concerned today.

Taste:

I didn't know what to expect in terms of Gronk's taste, but still found myself unsurprised upon taking a sip. The "smoothness" of the original Monster remains in it's overall texture, but the taste leans more toward a "generic" energy drink than the aforementioned does. I found it pretty enjoyable, but nothing revolutionary by any means. Like I said, I had no real expectations but in retrospect wouldn't have minded something a bit more fruity or unique. Still, I liked it and would recommend it as long you like carbonated, sugar-laden energy-providing beverages (taste-wise).

Energy:

Monster's energy blend is definitely "tried and true" at this point. There's really not much to say to anybody who's ever had a Monster before and is looking for anything new that might come with this drink. With a lack of any additions to the blend to make this drink special, it remains on-par with just about every other Monster drink on the market as far as the energy it provides goes. I found it really effective myself, with energy lasting for a good 4 hours. Obviously avoid this if you're sensitive to caffeine, but otherwise "drink away" and expect more of the usual..

I could honestly go on & on about Monster's endless unnecessary energy drinks that they've added to their line through the years. Is this one? I think the answer to that regarding my own opinion is obvious, but that's besides the point. What matters is whether a new consumer would find their $3 well-spent in purchasing this- and I believe that, yes, they probably would. Again, don't expect anything over-the-top as far as innovation goes, but this one is worth a try now that you know what you're in for.