Xyience Frostberry Blast Energy Review

Blue has always been my favorite color, and ever since I had my first sip of one, energy drinks have been my favorite drinks. So, an energy drink with a little bit of blue to it's can is always nice and is bound to be a drink I'm eager to review. This is the first "Xtreme" Xyience drink I've reviewed, all of the other drinks were the "premium" drinks in the silver cans. At first I thought "frostberry" was just for the name but frostberries do actually exist. As I've mentioned previously, Xyience is the offical energy drink of the UFC also. I was excited to crack open and try my first can of this, so let's see how it performs in the can, taste, and buzz sections.



The Can:
As you can see above, this particular can is mostly black. The "xenergy" logo in the middle of the front of the can is two different shades of blue (isn't that a book?) and the small box stating that it's the Official Energy Drink of the UFC has a brownish-red bar at the top of it. The lettering is mostly silver, and the Nutricion Facts box has a white background. There's also a black tab on top of the can, and all in all the can looks pretty nice. This is the sort of design that I can picture seeing over and over again, maybe because of the bar-code looking thing above "Xyience" on the front of the can.

The Taste:
I was pretty curious to find out what a frostberry flavored energy drink tastes like, and when I opened the drink and took a sip I'm pretty sure I found out. Basically, they taste pretty good if you ask me. This drink kind of tastes like a sour candy, but not too sour. It has a really pleasant little "bite" to the taste and it smells good too. I don't know if it's just because of the name or how cold this drink was when I had it but this drink did seem to leave kind of a "cool" aftertaste in my mouth too. I really liked the taste of this drink because it tastes like an energy drink, not juice or anything like that. The taste is also unique, and I can only see not liking it if you have a phobia of frostberries or hate sour tasting stuff.

The Buzz:
The can does not list how much of each, but this drink contains the pretty much standard energy drink ingredients such as Taurine, Caffeine, and Guarana. It also contains Glucoronolactone, a bunch of vitamins, and the other various ingredients that make energy drinks what they are. As I said, the can doesn't list the content of each ingredient but I can safely say that it must be a good amount of each. I first tried this drink in the early morning, around 7 AM, and felt pretty awake and alert not long after. The buzz lasted for a long time too, and I never noticed a "crash" or anything similar to one. The effects from this drink were quite pleasant, and despite this being an "Xtreme" energy drink the buzz was far from the truly extreme ones that almost kill you.

This energy drink is very similar to the one's I used to drink when I first started this site in the sense that it tastes good, looks good, and works well. Some energy drinks might as well not even be energy drinks, but this isn't one of them. This drink is fairly new, so I recommend finding it and giving it a try. I enjoyed it, and I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a good new energy drink to try.

Euphoric Watermelon Kiwi Energy Review

I actually recieved this drink in an "energy drink trade" at school with my friend Justin AKA Purple Hays. He had this drink and knowing that I had this website told me about it, so I traded him an energy drink and ended up with a new one that I've never had to try and review. As soon as I heard about it I was intrigued, mostly because I'd never heard of Euphoric energy and I've also never had a watermelon kiwi flavored energy drink. When I got the drink, I was excited to try it so I put it in the fridge for a while and then took it out and gave it a try.




The Can:
This is an interesting energy drink can. As opposed to being "hardcore" like some energy drinks or being sport-related like others are, it's sort of in the middle of sporty and futuristic. Euphoric's slogan is "the future of energy", that may be true but I hadn't heard of it until the other day. The blue and black looks nice enough, but I wonder why they didn't go with a green and pink design since it's a watermelon flavor. It still looks good, although being somewhat of a weird look for an energy drink. It has some text on the back and actually lists all of the caffeine and other ingredients. All in all, it's not a terrible can but is quite a bit different than something like a Rockstar or Monster, not that that's a bad thing.

The Taste:
In my opinion, this is really where this drink stands out. I hate it when I find a new energy drink it's just a Red Bull clone, thankfully this definitely isn't. It really does taste like a Jolly Rancher candy, and has a really nice "energy drink" flavor which I appreciate. I drank it quickly because it tasted so good. I think this drink has been out for a while, which makes sense considering it tastes how it does. I like energy drinks that taste this way. I like "rehydration" ones too like what have came out recently and everything but nice and sweet energy drinks like this are my favorite. If you like watermelon, kiwi and energy drinks, this is for you.

The Buzz:
This drink contains (per serving, two servings per 16 oz, can) 70 mg of Caffeine, 600 mg of Taurine, 25 mg of Ginseng, 40 mg of Damiana Leaf Extract, 80 mg of Inositol, 30 mg of Maca Root Extract, and 50 mg of Suma Root Extract. I'm actually familiar with only a few of those ingredients, enough so to say that they contain about your average amont for an energy drink, nothing extreme. Just by looking at the can, you can tell that this drink isn't an "extreme energy drink", made to make you almost die or anything. Instead, it just offers good results and energy. I drank this is the afternoon, and by the evening I was pretty awake, I wasn't super hyper but I was a lot more alert and I had a buzz that lasted for a while. I also didn't "crash" which is interesting because this drink doesn't contain Glucoronolactone which is supposed to prevent the energy drink crash with some people.

I'm glad I got to try this drink, it tasted great and provided a nice buzz which I enjoyed. Justin told me that it came from a store called Ollie's that I am somewhat familiar with, so that would probably be a good place to check for it. I would say that it's worth a try, simply because it has such a unique and good taste and it works. I couldn't find much wrong with it, and I thought it was pretty good.

Monster Cuba Lima Energy Review

Sometimes, I'm torn between saying that Monster is an overpriced, shelf-crowding company or saying that it's just an energy drink and nobody should read into energy drinks that much. However, that's a hypocritical statement considering I started this website to read way too much into energy drinks. So, without furthur rambling let's read into one of Monster's new drinks, Cuba Lima. I never thought I'd be reviewing an energy drink called "Cuba Lima" and just when I think I've ran out of energy drinks a new one pops up somewhere. Cuba Lima is based on the mixed alchoholic drink, Cuba-Libre. However, instead of alchohol you get Monster's energy blend. A Cuba Libre is basically some lime, rum, and coca-cola. So, that makes Cuba Lima lime, Monster's energy blend, and some kind of cola flavor since Monster can't use actual Coke. I found this at the store not longer after I heard about it, and not longer after purchasing it I cracked it open and gave it a try.

The Can:
Monster does a genuinely impressive job with their can designs for the most part. At least for the average consumer, Monster's products have a very nice appearance. In my opinion, they've had some designs that are stupid but Cuba Lima is an exception. It's just a 16 oz. energy drink can, but with a cool texture to it. It's not a "sandpaper" texture, but it kind of reminds me of the texture on Rockstar's Energy Cola drink. The all black and green looks good and definitely fits Monster and the whole lime theme too. It also has a kind of "dark" vibe which is fitting considering Halloween is right around the corner as I write this. I like the can a lot, and it should be easy to spot at the store.

The Taste:
Cuba Lima tastes pretty good if you ask me. The lime is there, the cola is there, and it tastes as an energy drink should in my opinion. It's also sweet enough, not too sweet and not flat either. I downed it seriously quick, but slow enough to be able to examine and enjoy the flavor. It's rare, but there are times when energy drinks come out that I can't finish. However, I'd have to say that Cuba Lima is certainly not a drink of this kind. I enjoyed it, I've never had a Cuba-Libre but once I'm 21 or am around irresponsible adults at a somewhat relaxing but mostly sexually tense and jean-short infested bar setting I might give one a try. This stuff tastes good, and I enjoyed it.

The Buzz:
Cuba Lima contains the "standard" Monster energy blend. It's obviously a drink marketed for the new flavor and cool design, but the nice buzz that the Monster blend always packs is a great addition. I was awake for quite some time, and I really felt good for a while. I like it when I drink an energy drink and then feel happy and ambitious, however that happens.

Cuba Lima is a good drink and is in my opinion well worth at least a try to see if you like it. I really did, and will probably pick it up again just because it's new and tastes great. The can is also pretty good, and looks nice on my shelf which has about 100 other energy drink cans on it.

Biomaxx Energy Shot Review

It's admittedly been quite a while since I've had an energy shot. Have no fear, as although I haven't posted a lot of reviews lately I'm still drinking energy drinks and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I was offered the oppurtunity to try Biomaxx, and was pretty excited. Of course, energy shots all offer different times of energy that you'll have, presumably because of 5 Hour Energy. Biomaxx is somewhat different, as they promise a full 24 hours of energy. That's a pretty crazy claim, no matter if it works or not. I recieved this product in the mail and right after I opened the package I gave it a shot.



The Bottle:
The Biomaxx bottle kind of gives of a different feeling than some other energy shots I've had. I'm pretty sure the plastic on the bottle is tinted dark blue which matches the blue label nicely. The label itself has a picture of a guy on it with the "24 Hours Energy" thing right under him. The label also says "Caffeine Free", "Zero Sugar" and "The Product that Works!". I think the bottle looks pretty good, it's certainly not a "hardcore" energy shot and nor does it portray itself as a 5 Hour Energy clone. It kind of has a "healthfood store" look to it, if that makes sense.

The Taste:
Upon opening the bottle, the smell of this shot was very vitamin-like. If you've never had an energy shot but have had Flintstones vitamins, that's what the "vitamin smell" of energy shots is almost exactly like. By looking at the ingredients, you can see that this shot contains "natural flavors". I think it tastes like grape personally, and aside from the smell which I don't even find off-putting this shot tastes pretty good. I drank it easily, and didn't have to get water afterwards or anything. It's also a unique taste and I don't think I've had another energy shot that tastes like it.

The Buzz:
This is the category in which Biomaxx really has a chance to shine. Some of the claims made on the right side of the bottle include "Increases mental alertness" and "Promotes sexual vitality and endurance". There are a lot of other claims on there as well, and it almost sounds like this shot could pretty much help you do anything. One thing it certainly helped me do was feel more alert and energized for a very long time. In contains a bunch of vitamins. The Proprietary Blend has L-carnitine, CoQ10, grape seed extract and pine bark extract. I honestly did feel substantially more awake and everything, and the buzz lasted for a long time. Like I've said before, I don't watch the clock after taking an energy shot but I can safely tell you that it lasted for quite some time. I was satisffied, and there was no "crash" either.

Biomaxx is a nice product. It's great if you're into working out, trying new energy shots, or drinking stuff called Biomaxx. I recommend giving it a shot, I enjoyed it. If you're not sure about the taste, just have a bottle of water ready and then get ready to enjoy the benefits of this nice energy shot.

Rip It Tribute Energy Review

My brother's in the Marines, my Dad is retired from the Air Force, my girlfriend was a "military brat" and I used to play with little green army men when I was little. So, I guess you could say I'm pretty much a military expert. As the can and name collectively imply, Tribute is in fact a tribute to the military. Rip It is a "military" energy drink, and my brother himself has drank many of the small Rip It cans that are available in the military. This drink caught my eye in the cooler at the Sparkle Market in East Palestine, Ohio. Sparkle used to have a huge variety of energy drink a couple of years ago, but believe it or not Tribute is now one of the only energy drinks there. Let's see how this military-themed energy drink can stack up in the can, taste, and buzz categories.

"Ooh-Rah!"

The Can:
The can looks nice, and if I'm not mistaken is the first Rip It can that doesn't really look like the rest. Rip It typically follows the theme of the same can with just a different color scheme. With Tribute, there are a few additions to fit the theme of the drink. On the can there's a camo design, stripes, a star and a soldier holding a gun. Naturally, this is the only Rip It drink with a soldier holding a gun on it. I like Tribute's can, it looks good for the theme. It also caught my eye in the cooler and I immediately knew that it was a new Rip It drink. No matter what anyone says, I'll always like Rip It's designs. Some don't like them, but I've always appreciated them.

The Taste:
This shouldn't be surprising to anyone that drinks energy drinks or even anyone that's read a few of my reviews but I thought that this would taste like Monster at very first glance of the can. Monster has created a placebo of sorts by plastering their logo all over convenience stores, jackets, and hats alike. I've had a lot of Monsters and something about black and green makes me think of  Monster usually. Tribute, however, is not a Monster clone. It's actual flavors are "Active Mandarin" and "Live Wild Lime". I wouldn't call myself "wild" or "live" most of the time but I thought this would taste pretty good anyway. When I took a sip, it reminded me of citrus pop like Mountain Dew or Mello Yello. The energy drink "bite" that I've been talking about for so long is there with Trbute too, but it's minor. This drink would taste great to anyone that likes citrus-flavored pop. Coincidentally, I happen to like citrus-flavored pop.

The Buzz:
It's very understandable why Rip It supplies free drinks to the military. It's important to be alert and awake, and therefore energy drinks come in handy. To me, energy drinks wake me up and get rid of my caffeine withdrawal headache. With my head hurting from not having an energy drink in a little while and feeling sluggish, I eagerly awaited the arrival of this drink's effects. It contains 1010 mg of Taurine, 100 mg of Caffeine, 100 mg of Inositol and 3 mg of Guarana. That blend works quite well as I found out, I felt alert and awake not long after consuming this. The buzz also lasted for quite some time, and I enjoyed it a lot.

I found myself buying Tribute a lot after my first can since it was the only energy drink that I have not had 1000 times before at the store down the street from my house. So, you should buy it and try it too, as it's only $1.

Xyience Melon Mayhem Energy Review

Xyience (Zye-ince) is the official energy drink of the UFC. I know a little about UFC fighting, but have never been to a UFC fight and the last time I punched someone in the face was during a fight way back in middle school. Melon Mayhem is the 2nd new flavor recently added to the Xenergy line. The Xenergy line is a line of energy drinks that have zero calories and are sugar free. So, you can infer that this new flavor is a healthier alternative to some energy drinks. Usually with "healthy" energy drinks, it's usually a big concern with whether or not it'll taste good or provide any buzz at all. I was pretty excited to give Melon Mayhem a try, and remember doing so not long after I recieved the samples in the mail.


The Can:
The familiar silver from the Xenergy line remains in place with this particular flavor. If you look at the picture of the can above, you can see that it is mostly silver. The pink circle on the can is also much more red in person. The placebo effect must've came into effect here, when I saw the green and red circles I felt like this would taste like Apple Jacks or something. Some people complain about these cans having too much silver. I understand the complaint but I also keep in mind that this drink is sugar free. There really isn't much to the can, it has the UFC logo on it and is kept simple enough to still look pretty good in my opinion.

The Taste:
I have to say, this is a pretty interesting tasting energy drink. It does in fact taste like melons, in a somewhat nondescribable way. The drink is really mellow tasting, and is far from the harshness of drinks like Cocaine or even Rockstar. As for the "mayhem" in the name, that's understandable due to all of the melon that seems to be going on in the taste. It does not induce mayhem though, and if I remember correctly I stayed put after drinking it and didn't go in to a Melon Mayhem-induced rage. This tasted light, but good. I don't know if it would be popular with everyone, but tasted good to me.

The Buzz:
Melon Mayhem contains the pretty usual Taurine, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, L-Carnitine, etc. I had an appointment somewhere after drinking a can of this, and I felt motivated and awake enough to go do what I had previously been scheduled to after consuming this. Since there's no sugar, it's safe to say that the buzz wasn't just a sugar rush either. This drink definitely provides the satisfactory buzz that most energy drink consumers are familiar with and looking for.

Melon Mayhem is another fine addition to the Xenergy line. My local Circle K carries Xenergy drinks, so if you're interested you can check there. One thing I'd like to add is that both this and Tangerine Twister are what I would call "Summertime flavors", so go pick them up before Autumn rolls around.

Xyience Tangerine Twister Energy Review

For some reason, I used to pronounce the name of this brand as "ex-eye-ince", but it's actually and more sensibly pronounced "zye-ince". I've tried a few of these drinks in the past, and as far as I can remember they were pretty satisfying. Tangerine Twister is one of the two new additions to Xyience's "Xenergy" line, which are energy drinks that have zero calories and are sugar free. They also have all natural flavors and colors, which is nice. Tangerine is the kind of flavor that you don't always find right in an energy drink's name, but one that I have tasted in several that have "mixed" tastes. In an official press release pertaining to the two new flavors in the Xenergy line (which can be found here), Tangerine Twister is described as "an all-natural tangerine flavor with a subtle hint of vanilla and cream". The release also says that these kind of flavors help consumers "feel young again". I would consider myself pretty young, but was still really looking forward to giving this drink a try.

The Can:
I would say that it's important to remember that this drink has zero calories and is sugar free when looking at it's can. The silver is fairly common for a drink of this type, but the somewhat solid looking colors give it some "flavor". I like these cans, the can also reminds us that Xyience is the official energy drink of the UFC. In an interesting way, I feel that this can kind of fits in with some workout supplements I've seen and it wouldn't surprise me to see a can like this in a UFC fighter's training spot. It's also important to remember this drink's market when looking at it. Of course, you wouldn't expect lots of fruity colors and pictures and therefore recieve a can that doesn't look bad and get's the job done.

The Taste:
With a name like "Tangerine Twister", it wouldn't make a lot of sense for this to not taste like tangerines. As I mentioned earlier, this is also supposed to have a cream soda flavor to it. The cream soda is something that I really noticed straight away, and it tastes just as good as any other cream soda I've had. Tangerine is in my opinion a flavor that has the right consistency to be thrown in with cream soda. If you smell the drink, it smells exactly like cream soda. Naturally, it really reminds me of those cream soda suckers (lollipops?) that I used to get at the bank drive-thru when I was little. So, I guess you can say that this drink does in fact invoke some nostalgia with me. However, I doubt that this drink will ever be recalled because of a choking hazard, unlike the suckers at the bank drive-thru. This drink tastes good, it's pretty "light" and has a certain "crispness" to it, and it's nice. I would describe it simply as cream soda with a tangerine hint to it, and it's enjoyable.

The Buzz:
I recieved two cans of this flavor, and I drank both of them in the early morning on different days. Tangerine Twister contains the pretty usual Taurine, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, L-Carnitine, etc. that have become staples in my energy drink reviews. When I drank both of my can's, I was a little tired but had things to do and actually had to put myself to use. I must say, Tangerine Twister works. I felt awake, and for quite some time on both instances. This drink has no sugar, and so I can infer that the buzz I recieved wasn't just a sugar rush as I'm sure I've felt from some energy drinks. I didn't "crash" either from Tangerine Twister, and I was all in all satisfied with the buzz that I recieved from it.

Tangerine Twister is a fine addition to the Xenergy line. I would only recommend not drinking it if you don't like tangerines or cream soda. Otherwise, it's a healthier alternative to some energy drinks, tastes good, and works. I like it, and enjoyed giving it a try.

Monster Heavy Metal Energy Review

Wow, this drink brings back a lot of memories. Visiting a Dollar General store near where I used to live was something that I did a lot, and I recall seeing this drink there a few years ago. That was around 2008, and finding this drink at a Big Lots in Calcutta, Ohio in July of 2012 wasn't exactly something that I expected. Naturally, if I found this at Big Lots it has been discontinued, but that doesn't mean that it's going to gone from Big Lots any time soon and for the sake of nostalgia and informing the curious I feel it is necessary to review this. Heavy Metal is a 32 oz. Monster energy drink, and is therefore a "BFC". The first time that I ever saw a BFC Monster was at Parris Island, South Carolina when I went there to see my Brother graduate boot camp. When I used to see Heavy Metal, I never tried it. I don't exactly remember why, possibly because I remember this drink simply being on shelves and I like to buy and drink cold energy drinks out of coolers. Anyway, without further ado let's see what Heavy Metal is all about in the can, taste, and buzz categories.

The Can:
Even after seeing the drink before, it's still impressive. The giant green, silver, and black can depicting a heavy metal concert still looks nice. Monster has changed, and although I'm not the biggest fan of Monster it's kind of obvious that Monster has been going in a different differection than they were a few years ago. Again, I'm not the biggest fan of Monster but to make a long story short I can't really see Monster putting out a drink like this today. The can doesn't contain a bunch of extra info, but it shouldn't need to either. It kind of speaks for itself, and I really can't find anything wrong with it. Although, the color of green used for the majority of the can kind of reminds me of the Incredible Hulk pudding they used to make. Heavy Metal also contains the standard Monster energy green tab on top, and all in all this can is pretty nice to look at.

The Drink:
I tend to struggle from time to time with describing energy drink tastes, and the thing with Heavy Metal is that it has no flavor description on the can. It's obviously not actually supposed to taste like "heavy metal" which would be kind of gross. When I opened the can and took a drink, it tasted a lot like grape fruit and had the kind of flavor that you can deal with if you want to. This isn't just the original Monster in a different can either, which is something that could understandably be thought. I won't lie, the flavor was good but began to get a bit old as I continued to drink it. It wasn't bad, but I don't know if it would be safe to say that everyone would like it, even giant fans of the original Monster energy as it tastes pretty different than that.

The Buzz:
Yes, I consumed all 32 oz. in one sitting. It was about 8:00 AM when I did, and hitting my body with 4000 mg. of Taurine and 4 servings of all of the other ingredients in the drink was surprisingly not my best idea. I was in a car for about an hour afterwards, and I would also like to note that this drink works quite well if you feel the need to induce urination. I was wired, and when I got to where I was going I had to go to the bathroom straight away. Although, I did not feel like I was going to die or even like I had way too much energy. Drinking it all at once definitely wasn't a good idea for obvious reasons, but the nice buzz that I got after drinking this wasn't bad with the exception of having to sit in a car with no access to a bathroom for a little bit.

For $1.50 at Big Lots, I would say that this drink was pretty well worth it. The taste wasn't really the best and was getting a bit hard to finish towards the end, but if you're really passionate enough to track this down at Big Lots and give it a try, you should be able to handle it. Of course, the buzz was very strong but didn't make me edgy or anything. If you collect energy drink cans, this drink might also be worth your while to add to your collection. Either way, I would say that it is worth a purchase and isn't too bad.

Killer Buzz Livid Energy Review

It's only natural that the Killer Buzz line includes a grape flavor, and it is obvious that Livid is in fact a grape flavor just by looking at the can. The rest of the Killer Buzz line has been satisfying and I really couldn't think of any reason why Livid wouldn't also be. Grape flavors are usually different from one another, so I looked forward to giving this a try. So far, I like the unique flavors of Killer Buzz and their rather interesting can descriptions. So, let's see how Livid can compete with the rest of the line in the can, taste, and buzz categories.




The Can:
I almost feel like saying "here we go again" while writing this. Again, Livid is the familiar Killer Buzz design but of course changed to purple to suit a grape flavor. The small description on the front of the can says that it's a "grape concoction that packs a punch". I am somewhat thankful that Killer Buzz doesn't have a fruit punch flavor, because if they did they could possibly say that it "packs a punch" and I feel that doing that would be a bit much. As for the little paragraph on the back of the can, it sounds like someone was just a little angry while writing it. I believe that "Livid" means angry, but as with the rest of the line this is an energy drink and in fact not one that induces anger.

The Taste:
To make a long story (description?) short, this tastes like a grape Jolly Rancher candy. The Killer Buzz website says that they "worked hard to get the perfect grape smack-your-lips taste". I know what they mean, grape does tend to have a very good flavor if done correctly. This drink is no exception, and when I had my large stash of Killer Buzz drinks I found myself returning to Livid often. I found it very, very easy to drink and unless you have a strong dislike for grape I really can't see not enjoying this drink's flavor.

The Buzz:
Livid contains the Killer Buzz GHAA, the energy-providing Giant Hornet secretion that is unique to Killer Buzz and a pretty cool idea. It also contains the 200 mg of Caffeine and a pretty standard variety of energy providing ingredients with the exception of the GHAA. The buzz this drink provided was nice, and pretty satisfying. When it wore off, I really didn't feel a crash and all in all the buzz was satisying. Again, the buzz wasn't literally "killer" and I lived to tell the tale and write this.

I recommend giving Livid a try, especially if you're a fan of grape flavors. The grape flavor was somewhat "standard", but the drink still tasted good. I do not know where you can purchase Killer Buzz drinks, but if you have the oppurtunity to and like grape flavors, Livid is the drink for you. Livid won't disappoint, and I enjoyed it.

Killer Buzz Dragon Spit Energy Review

I have to admit, the name "Dragon Spit" for an energy drink is a bit odd. It's pretty original though, and since I do not know any dragons I will not be able to validate whether or not this actually tastes like their saliva. Instead, it's supposed to taste like dragon fruit, something that I was not aware existed. When I first looked at the can I thought that this drink could possibly be an orange or citrus flavor, but that isn't exactly what it's supposed to be. Thus far, the Killer Buzz line hasn't been too bad. I've appreciated their use of "buzz" in the name, something I've always referred the effect you get from energy drinks as.



The Can:
With Dragon Spit, we find Killer Buzz using their familiar design but in this case changing it to orange. I've had a couple of oppurtunities to review entire lines of energy drinks lately and the case with both has been that the drinks have basic designs with the colors and a few details on the can changing with each particular flavor. I like the amusing paragraphs that are on the back of Killer Buzz cans. Dragon Spit describes "the great worm" leaving his cave, soaring through the air, and breathing fire upon his foes. I really have no idea what that has to do with energy drinks, but why not? The little description on the bottom of the front of the can says Dragon Spit is an "Exotic taste and bountiful booste", which is also a pretty interesting description.

The Taste:
I'd never had dragon fruit to my knowledge before trying this drink, so I really had no idea of what to expect. Simply put, I wish I had because I would have tried the drink much sooner that way. I don't currently have a "best tasting energy drinks" section on my website but if I did this would undoubtedly make it there. I remember trying this drink for the first time about two months ago, and really, really enjoying the flavor. I try not to get too intricate with my flavor descriptions, but the slight mango taste this has coupled with dragon fruit tastes pretty good. I found this drink to be unusually good, something that doesn't happen often with energy drinks. This is the kind of thing that I would drink time and time again for the taste, kind of like the original Rockstar.

The Buzz:
As usual, Dragon Spit contains GHAA, the Giant Hornet secretion that makes this drink unique, and dragon fruit in itself has it's own atttibutes. The Killer Buzz website says:

"The dragon fuit is rich in phosphorus and calcium as well as antioxidants, and is believed to increases the excretion of heavy metal toxins while lowering cholesterol and blood pressure."

If it increases the excretion of the heavy metal toxins, I have to wonder why I did not throw the devil horns after trying this drink. Nonetheless, this drink contains the standard Killer Buzz 200 mg of caffeine, taurine, amino acids, amongst other things. The buzz this drink provided matched the rest of the Killer Buzz drinks I've tried. It was satisfying, although not literally killer as I was fine after drinking this. The buzz was good, and didn't disappoint.

All in all, Dragon Spit tastes pretty delicious. I thought it tasted great, and would buy it for the taste alone. The buzz was also satisfying, and I can't find much to complain about with the drink. Dragon Spit wasn't half bad, and I recommend trying it out. The taste alone makes this drink a worthwhile purchase in my opinion.

Speed Unleaded Energy Review

I find it funny that this drink is called Unleaded for some reason. It's sugar free, so the name makes sense. Still, for some reason the fact that the name is so appropriate is somewhat amusing to me. I've really enjoyed the three other Speed drinks that I tried, and although sugar free drinks aren't really my thing I still had high hopes for Unleaded. Several energy drink brands have sugar free versions of their regular drinks, but Unleaded is different than some in that it is it's own unique flavor. Unleaded fits in nicely with the rest of the line, and I looked forward to giving it a try as I took it out of my fridge.



The Can:
Speed chose to use pink for this particular flavor's color scheme, which I don't think means that it's for women. The color of the can actually matches the flavor, as it is a cranberry/pomegranate flavor. Well, I've actually never mixed cranberry and pomegranate but for some reason pink suits those two flavors to me. This can is as sleek as ever, and I feel that the pink matches the design especially well. I personally don't mind, but to some this can may look a bit feminine. I've had so many energy drinks that it doesn't phase me, and I feel that the can looks pretty nice. It contains your typical energy drink information with the nice Speed logo on the front, and is undoubtedly a nice looking can.

The Taste:
I have to admit, for a sugar free drink with zero calories, this drink doesn't taste bad. The flavor is as described above, cranberry pomegranate is not a flavor that I have every day but one that doesn't taste bad. This drink had a pretty slight "sugar free" taste and I thought that it tasted fine. It was very easy to drink, and far from not tasty. Speed's website describes the flavor as "so sweet your mama would drink it". Well, I do think that it was sweet but I doubt that my Mom would drink it, not that it's a bad drink but my Mom really doesn't like energy drinks.

The Buzz:
As just about anyone knows, sugar can get you nice and hyped up if you have a lot of it. As you know, Unleaded is sugar free but it does still contain the usual Taurine, Caffeine, Guarana, Glucoronolactone, etc. I felt the same great energy buzz from Unleaded that I did from the other varieties. The buzz was very satisfying, especially when I had it in the morning. It lasted for quite some time, and all in all was good. So, despite being sugar free, Unleaded can provide you with a buzz that is on par with other Speed flavors.

I was satisfied with Unleaded, it tasted pretty good for being sugar free and having zero carbs, and it was nice to know that something that tasted so good was a little healthier. I would definitely reccomend this to somebody who likes sugar free things, or is trying to be healthier while still getting their daily caffeine fix like I am. This was the last Speed drink that I tried, and all in all I'm very satisfied with the line. It's nice, and if it were available in my area I would probably buy it quite often.

Speed Fuel Energy Review

Robby Gordon's Speed line of energy drinks has been pretty good so far. I've really enjoyed them, and looked forward to giving Fuel a try. Fuel is an "orange" flavor as you can tell by looking at the can. "Orange" as a flavor description doesn't say much, and I remember one of my early observations with energy drinks being that no two orange drinks taste quite the same. With the other two Speed drinks I've had being pretty good, I had high expectations for Fuel. I assumed that it would taste good and provide substantial energy, just as the other two flavors did. If Fuel is in fact tasty, it will undoubtedly be yet another great drink in the Speed line.


The Can:
Fuel maintains the familiar design of the Speed line with the color of this particular can changing to orange. I've said before that I like the Speed designs, and Fuel is no exception. I feel that these cans have a rather "sleek" appearance. They contain the appropriate amount of info and I really can't find anything to complain about with them. It does in fact hold the energy drink that is inside of it quite well, which it is supposed to do.

The Taste:
Octane, the lemon variety of Speed has been my favorite flavor so far. Orange drinks tend to be citrus-like (NOS), have an orange juice flavor, or taste like orange candies of some kind. Fuel falls somewhere into the "orange juice flavor" category, but not quite. I've evaluated that all of the Speed drinks have a very smooth and crisp taste. Fuel is a very smooth and crisp orange juice-like flavor that has hints of tangerine to it as well. I finished it easily, and it tastes good. I wouldn't say that is has replaced Octane as my favorite, but I feel that is was good and that about anybody would enjoy it.

The Buzz:
Just like the other two Speed drinks I've tried, Fuel is very satisfying in the buzz category. The buzz that these drinks provide is about normal, but not in a bad way. It's not ineffective and it's not deadly either. It was on par with my expectations and I felt that it did it's job well. The buzz that Fuel provided lasted for quite some time, and once it wore off I didn't "crash", although I can't recall any instances of that ever happening.

For any fan of "orange" energy drinks, Fuel is an ideal buy. It's flavor is not my favorite from the Speed line, but that doesn't mean that it's bad by any means. I thought it just as good as any other Speed drink I've had, and suggest giving it a try if you want to.

Speed Octane Energy Review

I really enjoyed the Ethanol variety of Speed, and Octane was without a doubt the one that I wanted to try next. As you can tell by looking at the can, Octane is a lemonade flavor. I feel that lemonade which is obviously a sour flavor works well with the energy drink "taste" for the most part. It also seems that if I find a lemonade flavored energy drink, they end up tasting pretty good. So, with Octane being next on the list of energy drinks to try I had fairly high hopes for it. Let's see how Octane can compete in the can, taste, and buzz categories.




The Can:
Octane's can is of course similar to the other drinks in the Speed line. Yellow and black is a color combination that I don't know if I'm generally fond of or not, but I feel that it works with this can. Naturally, an energy drink brand obviously has different colored cans for each particular flavor in it's line. However, Speed maintains black as their can's base color with a few other details on the can changing for each flavor. This results in the entire line having a prettty sleek appearance. Plus, the actual "base" design of their cans in nice and therefore all of their drinks look fine. Octane's can also contains a seperate nutrition box in Spanish on the back, something that is probably common in most places but something that I've never seen in Northeastern Ohio. Octane says "Vitamin energy drink" at the bottom and contains your usual assortment of ingredient information and warnings. Octane does not have the "Not recommended for children under 18" warning on the back that I've seen on some drinks, I'm 15 and have been drinking energy drinks since I was 13. So, they don't really bother me.

The Taste:
There have been a few instances before where I've really enjoyed an energy drink's taste. Well, I enjoy most of the drinks that I have, but some are really just delicious. That doesn't happen often, and the most common example of a drink that is like that to me is the original Rockstar. The most recent addition to that list would undoubtedly have to be Octane. Simply put, this drink is nice to drink. The lemonade flavor is very, very smooth and is not harsh or bitter to the taste. It really is delicious, and I seriously enjoyed drinking it. A drink like Octane doesn't come around often to me in the taste category and I really recommend this to just about anybody, unless you have a phobia of lemonade flavored energy drinks that are named Octane. The drink does have a bit of a medicinal smell that I noticed, but there is no such thing as a medicinal taste with Octane.

The Buzz:
I have certain routines with energy drinks that I've been doing for a couple of years now. They may make me sounds pretty addicted to the average person, but if you drink energy drinks you'd probably understand. An ideal time to drink an energy drink to me and probably anyone else is in the morning. Sometimes I'll have one mid-day, but my favorite time to consume an energy drink is in the evening. I had Octane first in the morning. I've been waking up at about 7:00 in the morning lately for no reason and haven't really been tired when I woke up. But, like usual I always feel a little sleepy when I wake up. Remembering that I had a bunch of energy drinks in the fridge motivated me to get up and after drinking Octane I was beyond ready to go for the day. Obviously, the best way to find out if an energy drink works is to drink it when you're tired. Believe me, Octane works and does it's job quite well.

In conclusion, Octane is another satisfying drink from the Speed line. I've been impressed with the brand so far. With Octane tasting pretty good and providing a nice buzz, I really can't see not picking it up and giving it a try if it's available to you.

Speed Ethanol Energy Review

I always enjoy reviewing drinks from a brand like Speed. I'd never had them before I recieved them to review, yet when I recieved them they looked like an ideal energy drink that I would pick up at the store to review. Speed (or SPEED, for the sake of not having to constantly capitalize things I'm just going to capitalize the first letter like every other drink) is an energy drink brand that was started by Robby Gordon. Robby Gordon is a racecar driver that participates in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. To be honest, I don't follow NASCAR and never really have, so I had no idea who Robby Gordon was before hearing about him with this drink. Interestingly, my Dad knew exactly who he was since my Dad actually watches NASCAR sometimes. To each their own, I suppose. Robby Gordon was previously sponsored by both Red Bull and Monster, and took the knowledge he had from those sponsorships and created his own energy drink company. That's pretty cool, and right out of the gate this drink seemed pretty legit. Ethanol, contrary to what the colors of the can are most likely leading you and initially led me to believe, is a mixed citrus and lemon flavor. For some reason, I never really thought that these drinks would be knockoffs anyway. Also, this may be the first black and green energy drink I've had that isn't or doesn't taste like Monster. So, let's how Speed can stack up in the can, taste, and buzz categories. Hopefully, it does not actually taste like gasoline.

The Can:
In an odd way, I feel like the best way to describe this drink's can is "appropriate". I really like it, and for some reason it looks like something you might buy at a car cruise or similar event just by the fonts of the letters on the can and a few other details. I really like the green behind the logo on the front of the can, and the black top and tab on the can is a nice touch. This drink doesn't contain any supposedly informational paragraph on the back that I usually find laughable with most drinks, although it does contain a seperate Nutritional Facts box that is in Spanish. All in all, I have to admit that this drink's can looks good. The lack of silver on the can is also very nice, and it just looks good in my opinion.

The Taste:
My first impression with Ethanol's taste was definitely that it was different than what I expected. I could go on and on about the several Monster knock-offs I've had, and luckilly this is far from one of them. As I previously mentioned, Ethanol is a "mix" of two other Speed flavors, Fuel and Octane. Fuel is an orange flavor and after drinking Octane just before writing this I basically evaluated it as a lemon flavor. The flavor that those two create is a tart and strong one that tastes pretty nice. I've never had an energy drink that tastes quite like it, but if I had to choose one I would say that it's slightly reminiscent of Gazzu from Circle K. Even then, it barely is and Ethanol is pretty much it's own unique flavor. When I first started drinking energy drinks, I always associated them with having a sort of "bite" to the taste, and this drink would have fit in to that category perfectly. For those curious about flavors, this drink kind of reminded me of Sweet Tarts or Smarties, probably due to the little tartness it had. This drink wasn't too bad, it was different in taste but I feel that any fan of energy drinks such as myself would enjoy it.

The Buzz:
The name "Speed" makes perfect sense for an energy drink, but it isn't a drug reference, unlike Cocaine. It's named for Robby Gordon's passion for speed on and off of the racetrack, and I feel the name is appropriate. So, with a name like Speed it would be safe to assume that this drink will in fact provide energy. Ethanol contains the usual energy drink ingredients such as Taurine and Caffeine and also has a large amount of B Vitamins. I just had to consume this as one of my "evening energy drinks" which has been a tradition with me for a few years now due to the fact that I used to buy energy drinks after school and drink them after I ate dinner. Usually, I could have an energy drink around 5 or 6 PM and still be able to sleep at 10 or 11 when I went to bed. That was also the case with Ethanol, and after consuming it I felt a rather substantial boost in energy that felt good and lasted for quite some time. When it wore off, I didn't crash and I feel like it worked perfectly. It worked just as I expected, and all in all I was satisfied with that it provided in the energy category.

Ethanol is a fine energy drink without a doubt. The can's attractive, it tastes good and unique, and provides energy. I look forward to trying and reviewing the rest of the flavors, and would definitely recommend Ethanol for anyone looking for a new or different energy drink to try.

Vegasfuel Energy Review

The fact that I seem to stay pretty much situated in Northeastern Ohio plays a few roles in my life. For one, my energy drink selection which is actually pretty vast is still limited since I don't travel a lot, and I've never been to Las Vegas. Actually, Vegasfuel comes from Central Pennsylvania but it's themed after Las Vegas. So, while it's not unlikely that I would find this drink it's pretty different for me to be reviewing a drink that's themed after a city. I had heard of Vegasfuel many times over before I found it, and I'm pretty sure I'd even read a few reviews of it before. Well, now it's time for my own review of Vegasfuel, so let's see how it can compete in the can, taste, and buzz categories,


The Can:
Although I'm supposed to critique energy drinks, I have to say that I really like this drink's can. I like cans that are nice and simple, which Vegasfuel's is. The simple black, white, and red color scheme looks good. There's a minimal amount of extra text on the can, and all in all it looks fine. As opposed to some drinks that I've seen with really busy cans, this sleek can looks nice and there really isn't much else that I can say pertaining to the can.

The Taste:
A black, white, and red can doesn't really give any indication of the flavor of the drink, at least at first. Maybe the red circle on front is there for a reason other than to make the can a little more interesting, because Vegasfuel is a fruit punch flavored drink. I've had a few different fruit punch flavored energy drinks before. It would be possible to try to disect the flavor and explain each taste, but in general it's just fruit punch. It tastes really good too, it's nice and smooth and isn't extremely strong tasting. It has a nice little bite to the taste, and any regualar consumer of energy drinks that also somewhat coincidentally really likes fruit punch would love this drink.

The Buzz:
Vegasfuel contains a somewhat average but decent 142 mg of caffeine. It also contains the somewhat usual by now bundle of taurine, guarana, ginseng, and b-vitamins. This isn't a "hardcore" energy drink by any means but I can safely say that I felt rather energized after drinking it. Actually, other people told me that it worked too and that I seemed more energized. I was satisfied with what this drink provided, it worked well and did as I expected for a drink of it's kind.

I've come to hold expectations for energy drinks after drinking them for so long, and it's safe to say that Vegasfuel met all of the expectations that I had for it. For what it is, it's a pretty good energy drink and just to have something different once in awhile I'll probably buy it and drink it again.

Rip It LeMoan'R Energy Review

Rip It has always been a favorite energy drink brand to me and amongst people that I know. I don't personally know anybody that likes energy drinks as much as I do, but I know a lot of people that drink Rip It drinks since they're inexpensive and pretty good. Rip It is also the kind of brand that has a bunch of flavors, yet I've never been to a store that has all of them at once. LeMoan'R has been eluding me since last Summer, and once I finally found it I had to pick it up. LeMoan'R is a lemon flavor, which is fitting since lemon is about the only flavor that the Rip It line didn't have yet. To be more specific, it's raspberry lemonade and I'm not entirely sure if I've had a raspberry lemonade flavored energy drink before. Anyway, let's see how this Rip It drink can compare to the many, many other Rip Its that I've reviewed in the can, taste, and buzz categories.

The Can:
Of course, Rip It kept the same old design with LeMoan'R and chose pink and yellow for this particular drink's color scheme. I like it a lot, it's probably the most "exotic" looking (and possibly sounding, I would say that LeMoan'r and 3 Way are tied) Rip It drink. Any energy drink fan probably knows what a Rip It can looks like. One thing I have always wondered is why they all say "Wild Ride" with a picture of a bull above the supplement facts box and why some have the 99 cent band stretching across the top of the can and some don't. But, all in all this drink's can looks good in my opinion. I try not to read too much into can designs, and it would be possible to find things wrong with the Rip It design. But, to both me and the average consumer those just don't matter, and I think anybody would be attracted to this nice looking can if looking for a new energy drink to try. Oh, and the tab on top of this can is green.

The Taste:
I'll skip the things that I usually say in this paragraph, and just say that this drink tastes pretty good. This drink is sort of a "mix" of tastes and I certainly wouldn't say that it tastes like one thing. It reminds me of a "lemon shake" that you can find at some places, but with a much more carbonated taste that is quite a bit more tart. If comparing this to a Rip It variety like Power I probably wouldn't guess that this is a Rip It drink. But, it tastes really good although it's pretty different. It also kind of left a tangy texture in my mouth, that resonated for quite some time. I think it's appropriate that I tried this when I did, because lemonade really is a Summer time drink to me, and something that I tend to enjoy most when the season is right.

The Buzz:
LeMoan'R contains 1010 mg of Taurine, 102 mg of Taurine, 100 mg of Inositol, and for some reason 3 mg of Guarana. Guarana is one of my favorite ingredients, but I often wonder why some drinks contain such random and low numbers. Rip It drinks have never disappointed in the energy department, and this drink is no exception. I was pretty wired soon after drinking it, with a satisfactory buzz that lasted for quite some time. Simply put, Rip It drinks work and they do what they're meant to do.

In conclusion, LeMoan'R is a nice addition to the extensive variety of Rip It drinks. However, if you're not a fan of lemonade I don't really suggest this drink. The can is also not extremely masculine looking, that doesn't matter to me but to some it may. For 99 cents, this is very well worth it and in my opinion a drink that is definitely worth trying. That is, if your local convenience store is anything like mine and has an ever-changing, mismatched selection of Rip It drinks and you can find it.

Killer Buzz Hybrid Energy Review

Admittedly, reviewing several energy drinks from the same brand can get a bit repetitive. Often, the only thing that varies between drinks is the flavor. Some flavors have gimmicks different than their counterparts but it still gets fairly repetitive. But, I can't help but be very grateful for the samples I recieve in the mail and I really need to finish reviewing the Killer Buzz drinks that I recieved in the mail over a month ago. Anyway, Hybrid is the berry flavor from Killer Buzz's newly revamped line of drinks. With the front of the can saying that the drink is, "A mongrel mix of beneficial berries" one would except the drink to have exactly that. I don't know if I've ever had a drink that contains a "mongrel mix" but I was fairly excited to give the next drink from the Killer Buzz line a try anyway.

The Can:
The berry flavor of this drink changes the color scheme of the can that is now familiar after a couple of reviews to red. The basic silver and red look of the can is simple, yet nice looking. The same unique, somewhat humorous text on the back of each can is of course present with this drink, and all in all the can looks good. There really isn't much to add, I feel like the can designs of these drinks are kind of different, but effective enough to where they don't look bad.

The Drink:
Anyone knows that there are several kinds of berries, and therefore a "berry" flavor is hard to describe. When I popped open the tab on the top of the can and took a sip, I tasted a rather delicious berry drink that was rather satisfying. The inability to really describe exactly how this drink tastes does not mean that it tastes bad. It was very drinkable, and after drinking all of the other flavors I evaluated that Hybrid was one of my favorites.

The Buzz:
Just like the others, Hybrid contains a decent 200 mg of caffeine. I've always considered caffeine to be the main energy-providing ingredient in energy drinks simply because everyone knows that it provides energy. It also contains GHAA, the hornet secretion that provides energy and makes these drinks unique. Again, just like the other Killer Buzz drinks I recieved a satisfactory and nice buzz from this drink. Just like before, it wasn't literally "killer" but definitely satisfied my need for some nice energy.

I would say that Hybrid is the Killer Buzz flavor for somebody that really likes the "red berry" taste of some energy drinks. As I said, after trying each drink I would put Hybrid in the my top 3. I don't know when Killer Buzz will show up at your favorite convenience store letalone my favorite convenience store, but when it does it's definitely worth a try.

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/

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.

Amp Boost Cherry Energy Review

I have to admit, I've really been putting off reviewing all of the new Amp drinks that I've had. I also have to admit that I just consumed a new energy drink, which I'll review eventually, to hopefully help me get all of these reviews done. Anyway, the cherry variety of Amp's new Boost offering is more than likely intended to replace Overdrive, which was Amp's old cherry flavor. Blue has always been my favorite color, but there's something about red energy drinks that I like. Not drinks that have "red" in the name, as those all tend to be a rip off one another somehow. I initially picked up three of the new Amp flavors at once, with this being on them. I can't lie, despite how I've felt about Amp in the past I was pretty excited to have a bunch of new energy drinks to review. Anyway, let's see if Amp's new cherry offering is any good , or if it can "elevate my energy" like their website says. It also says that this drink can help me by giving me the kick I need to tackle the early morning meeting, the 3-hour working lunch, and my kid's after-school recital. Also, it says that I should "get out there, and make us proud". Well, thanks for the pressure. Besides, the reason I drink an energy drink every morning isn't to make it through any meeting. It's so I don't feel like I'm going to die by 2nd period in school, and to prevent the caffeine-withdrawal headaches I get all the time. But nonetheless, let's see how this drink can compete in the can, taste, and buzz categories.

The Can:
I really like the shade of red they picked out for this can, and I find it to be a bit "dim" compared to the other Amp I had before this. All of these cans in this line follow the same basic outline as with pretty much anything, and the only difference you'll find is in the color, some text on the can, and obviously the drink inside. I like these cans substantially more than the old ones, and I can't really find anything to complain about with them.

The Taste:
I originally (and admittedly, rather poorly) described Overdrive, Amp's original cherry flavor like this:

"Mountain Dew Code Red is one of my favorite varieties of Mountain Dew, but despite being red and being made by Mountain Dew, Overdrive doesn't taste much like Code Red. Instead, it does have a cherry flavor but the cherry almost becomes an afterthought after the strong Mountain Dew taste and the other odd aftertaste this drink leaves in your mouth."

Now, something I've noticed with each of these new flavors is how much more "crisp" they taste, at least to me. I also feel like the Mountain Dew taste is pretty much gone. So, what you can expect with this is basically a somewhat artificial cherry flavor that is fairly drinkable. I've been enjoying reading the complaints on Amp's Facebook page about all of these new drinks, and I can't say I blame people for complaining. Amp was never really never my thing, but I would be angry if all of my favorite drinks completely changed too.

The Buzz:
This drink contains all of the familiar energy drink ingredients including caffeine, taurine, guarana, B vitamins, and ginseng. Simply put, this drink is effective in the exact sense that you would expect it to be. I felt a fairly substantial lift in energy from it, and was satisfied. This drink acts as you would expect to, and I would say that it's definitely in the middle of being completely ineffective and way too extreme.

To conclude, this drink is alright. I can't really find anything major to complain about with it, but I do understand not liking the drink if you were a die-hard fan of the old Amp flavors. Anyway, this drink is definitely worth a try if you feel like trying it. I liked it more than I recall liking Overdrive the first time I had it.

Amp Focus Mixed Berry Energy Review

There's a convenience store that I've frequented for many years that isn't far from my house, and to the right of the door is a cooler full of Amp drinks. It's been quite some time since I've bought an Amp drink but I couldn't help but notice the change that happened with the Amp cooler at the convenience store. Amp has re-done their entire line, with all new can designs and re-done flavors. I always recall the early days of this site, from December of 2010 to about May of 2011. A lot of things happened in my life, not all energy drink related. Anyway, I distinctly recall reviewing Amp drinks getting very tedious. It isn't like there are a ton of them, but I never really cared for them and just having to review each one got boring. So, here I am in 2012 with even more Amp drinks to review. I've been on the Amp Facebook page lately and a lot of people have been complaining about the new drinks. The page says "Rethink Energy" and as a frequent consumer of energy drinks I do applaud Amp for trying to stay kind of fresh as opposed to keeping their drinks sort of stagnant. Anyway, let's see how the first drink I bought, the Mixed Berry flavor of the Focus variety fares in the can design, taste, and buzz categories.

The Can:
As you can see, the new cans look very different than the old ones. I like them a lot, and personally think that Amp did a good job with them. They're much more "clean" looking, and they have a ton of information on them about what drinks in the line do what and a few other things. One thing that is missing from the can is the little Mountain Dew logo that used to be in corner of the can. Also, by reading the can I feel like Amp is trying to market this drink similarly to how Full Throttle is marketed. The can includes things such as "Be smart about managing your energy" and if you look on Amp's website you can see a few more examples of this new marketing. All in all, I like the nice blue for this particular drink's can. I can't really find anything to complain about with these, I think they look nice and cater to who they're trying to sell these drinks to.

The Taste:
It's safe to assume that this drink is meant to replace the old Elevate variety of Amp. In my original review of Elevate, I said:

"In case any Mountain Dew fans out there are wondering, Elevate really doesn't anything like Voltage, my personal favorite and Mountain Dew's blue drink. Instead, this drink does have a slight mixed berry flavor that's extremely hard for me to pinpoint, I can't really pick out any noticeable berry flavor in it at all. Instead, you get this odd tasting Mountain Dew flavor that leaves a weird aftertaste in your mouth. Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible but it's not the best by any means either"

Yes, that was still true the next and probably last time I had Elevate. With this drink, I found the flavor to be much more pleasant. A lot of people say that Amp doesn't really taste like an energy drink, and that remains true with these new varieties. I would say that this is almost a "light" version of what Elevate was. It doesn't taste diet by any means, but tastes a little more light and refreshing than I recall Elevate being. I never was the biggest fan of Amp as I've said before, and I would have to say that I would choose this over Elevate.

The Buzz:
The can and Amp's website both say that this drink contains Caffeine, Choline, and Theanine. Still, if you look at the nutrition facts on the back, you can see that this drink still contains all of your familiar ingredients such as Taurine and Guarana. According to the Amp website, this drink is supposed to help "Keep your head on track". I think it would be kind of hard to judge whether or not that works, and for some people I think that's impossible no matter what they do. Anyway, after consuming this drink in the afternoon, I began to feel a decent energy buzz. The buzz was very mellow to me, I honestly didn't feel it to the point where I was in a really good mood and actually felt like doing stuff, as some energy drinks do. But, I did feel quite a bit more alert and awake and I would never say that this drink is ineffective. The buzz was alright, and pretty much what I expected.

If you're a long-time Amp fan, it's understandable why you would be angry with this new change with the drinks. But, for somebody like me who rarely ever drinks Amp, I can say that I'm satisfied and am not really disappointed at all. I would say that this is worth trying if you want to, it's not bad.

Rockstar Iced Energy Review

To this day, I always tell people that the original Rockstar is my favorite energy drink. When I first started drinking energy drinks, it was the first drink I bought more than once and I always really, really liked the flavor. A lot of people I know and a lot of people that you probably know also think that Monster is the best. Everyone always says that Monster is better than Rockstar, and of course these people are only familiar with the very commercial energy drinks and not the weird, rare ones that I seem to have an uncanny knack for finding. Anyway, when my favorite energy drink brand releases a new drink, I have to try it. Rockstar Iced is another one of Rockstar's new drinks this year, and it's safe to say that it was released to compete with Monster Rehab. I've written about this before, but I clearly remember when the "energy tea" craze took off about a year ago. I remember walking into my favorite store and seeing a big display of Monster Rehab cans, and I remember taking advantage of a special they had where you could get three cans for a special price. So, let's see how this new energy tea offering can compete in the can, taste, and buzz categories.

The Can:
I've always been a fan of Rockstar's cans. When I started drinking Rockstar, they had already changed the design to the "off-center" design they have now, and not the original design they had before. Sometimes I think about Rockstar's cans being designed differently, to where you don't have to turn he can to feel like you're looking at it the right way. Still, I've always liked thier designs and I really think they have a way with putting out nice looking cans. Some say they're cluttered, but I like them. This drink is no exception, the can is an appropriate gold and black, with a special sort of finish on the can which I believe it similar to Rockstar's Energy Cola drink. The can states that this is "Energy+Tea+Hydration", so it's similar to Rockstar's Recovery drinks. I really like the can, and it contains all of the familiar Rockstar can elements, such as the text to the right of the Supplement Facts box and the "American Made" thing under it. This drink contains "No Juice", which is what the can says instead of "0% Juice". All in all, this can looks great. The colors match the drink, it's put together nicely and just looks like a fine addition to the Rockstar line.

The Drink:
When I cracked upon the gold tab on top of can, for some reason the smell reminded me of the way NOS smells in a way. It's obviously very important to note that this is a "Peach+Tea" flavor, so that's what I was expecting when I opened it. This drink does definitely have a "peach+tea" flavor, but I found the aftertaste a bit odd. The peach is definitely there, and I would say that it is the main flavor with the tea sort of being a background flavor. But, this drink has a sort of vitamin-like aftertaste which was a bit off-putting. It didn't ruin the drink, but it made it taste a little odd. Still, I found the drink fairly consumeable. I definitely wouldn't say that it's my new favorite energy drink, but it wasn't awful. Definitely be aware of the aftertaste, but if you like peaches and tea, you should be all set with this drink.

The Buzz:
Per serving, (two servings per can, obviously) this drink contains 1000mg of Taurine, 120mg of Caffeine, 50mg of Panax Ginseng Root Exract, 25mg of Inositol, 25mg of L-Carnitine, and 25mg of Guarana. In total, this drink's blend contains 1.25g as opposed to the original Rockstar which contains 1.35g. I made this one of my "early morning" energy drinks, and had it not long after I woke up. Not that I don't sleep, but like anyone I'm still not entirely awake when I wake up. So, that's where some of these energy drinks come in . In short, this drink got me going for the day without a doubt. I found this drink exceptionally potent, which is becoming kind of rare for me these days. I felt very awake, and through my "morning routine" I felt great. Unfortunately I don't run marathons or eat a bunch of salt at nine in the morning, so it wasn't really like I was dehydrated when I drank this and really can't speak for the hydration part of it. If it matters, I wasn't really thirsty after I drank it though. This drink really worked, and the buzz lasted for a solid 3-4 hours for me. It was a pretty good buzz, and I found it rather enjoyable.

The only downside I can think of with Iced is the somewhat gross aftertaste. Other than that, if you like tea flavors and potent energy buzzes you should pick this up. I thought it was pretty good, and I enjoyed it. I recommend it, just since it's not bad and is also fairly new. Rockstar's new drinks have been good, with the exception of the Coconut Water one, yuck.

Monster Rehab Orangeade Energy Review

When I looked into the Monster cooler at a local convenience store I was somewhat surprised to see this, I thought at first that it was one of the Rehab flavors that had been out for a little while but it's actually pretty new. It's fairly logical that Monster would put out an orange Rehab flavor, even with the huge amount of products they already have out. I was somewhat excited to give this drink a try, I guess I've been getting lucky and finding a lot of new drinks to try lately.





The Can:
This drink's can is just Monster's standard Rehab can, but obviously fitted for an "orange" drink. The design behind the big M on the front of the can is a nice orange and all of the little parts of the can that change with each flavor have changed to orange. The can design isn't bad, and I've always liked the Rehab can design in general. Still, I hope Monster doesn't do the same thing they've done with their coffee drinks and put out so many that your eyes get tired when trying to figure out which one to buy at the store. There's yet another essay on the back of the can, and I've actually seen posters at the store for a contest where you can win a trip to the "Rehab Pool Party", which I think I said was most likely fictional awhile ago.

The Drink:
Something that should be noted about the Rehab drinks for somebody that's never had one is that they're all very "light" to the taste. This drink is a very mellow and smooth flavor and almost tastes watery. It's still a pleasant orange flavor and is pretty much what you would expect. I found this drink rather enjoyable, and I found myself just drinking it casually rather than taking sips and trying to figure out the flavor. If you've enjoyed previous Rehab flavors and enjoy orange flavors, this is the drink for you. As I've said since I started this website, no two orange drinks seem to taste the exact same though.

The Buzz:
The Rehab Energy Blend is pretty much packed with ingredients. It includes Caffeine, Taurine, Guarana, Inositol, B Vitamins, Orange Pekoe Tea, and some other ingredients. I drank this in the middle of the day when I had it, and can say that I felt substantially more awake throughout the afternoon and into the evening. The buzz that this drink provided was satisfying to me, and I can't say that I was disappointed. I didn't "crash" or anything either, but I never do.

In closing, I think that Orangeade is a nice and pretty natural addition to the Rehab line. I'm hoping that Monster doesn't overdo it with the Rehab drinks, but if there are going to be any new flavors after this I can almost guarantee that a grape drink will be next. If you want something new and somewhat unique, you should pick this up. Still, I wouldn't say that you're missing anything if you decide not to try it.

Monster Ubermonster Energy Brew Review

This is without a doubt the most exciting review I've had the chance to do in quite some time. When I was informed of this drink, I really wasn't sure what to think of it. However, when I saw it at the store I immediately had to pick it up and buy it. While I've bashed Monster here and there in the past, this drink is just the kind that I can't pass up. It's going to be a big deal soon, and I'm glad that I got the chance to try it. Monster has undoubtedly released thier fair share of new products in the last year, and whether they were unique or not they've all been somewhat interesting. Ubermonster is a "Bio-Activated, Non-Alcoholic" energy drink. This drink is essentially a fermented malt base, which while "Alcohol-esque" is still Non-Alchoholic.


The Bottle:
Yeah, I've found flaws in Monster packaging before, but you really can't deny that this bottle is just badass. It's a 16.9 oz. glass bottle with a pry-off cap. It has a nice wide mouth on the top which the back of the bottle says is "chug friendly". The wide mouth is somewhat similar to Mickey's Big Mouth Malt Liquor, but unlike Mickey's the length of this bottle matches how wide the top is and the bottle ends up looking fairly normal. The usual informational text on the back of the bottle says that Monster "borrowed" a German brewing process, which is interesting. All in all, I honestly love this packaging and would go as far as to say that this is one of the best looking drinks I've ever had. This bottle is impossible to miss amongst the other Monster drinks at the store and it really stands out. It's really not what I'm used to seeing with an energy drink, but it looks great.

The Drink:
Upon using a bottle opener to open this up, I smelled that familar Monster scent and as I sit here writing this review with the bottle in front of me that I had two days ago I can still smell it. An article I read on this drink said that this drink is "ultra premium", and while drinking this it was hard to think otherwise. It's hard to explain, but this does taste similar to regular Monster but I feel that it's better. I know it's partially due to the glass instead of a metal can, glass can make certain drinks taste better in my opinion. The fermented base gives this drink a very crisp taste that I found exceptionally smooth and enjoyable. I would say this is almost like an improved version of regular Monster, and has more of a "rich" feel to it, if that makes sense. It was very drinkable, and any fan of the Monster taste should find it very enjoyable.

The Buzz:
It would be understandable to forget that you're drinking an energy drink when drinking this because of the packaging. Most people are used to the infamous 16 oz. can which has been and will most likely remain to be the standard for energy drink packaging. I kept in mind that this was an energy drink however and while drinking it took a look at the energy ingredients on the back of the bottle. This drink contains a fairly standard 2500 mg Monster energy blend which contains Glucose, L-Carnitine, Caffeine, Inositol, Glucoronolactone, Guarana, Resveratrol, Quercetin, and Maltodextrin. There's also 1000 mg of Taurine and 200 mg of Panax Ginseng. After drinking this, I definitely felt a buzz which really kept me going for the rest of the day. A few Monster drinks seem to provide very noticeable energy buzzes and I wouldn't call this an exception. The buzz lasted for a few hours and was very nice. It wasn't sub-par nor was it a near death experience, it was just right. I didn't "crash" as usual and I found the drink very satisfying.

If you plan on purchasing this, please keep in mind that it costs almost $5. I'm the kind of person that likes to pick up an energy drink before work or school and I really don't see this being the kind of drink that I buy all the time. I do, however, see this being a nice drink to pick up every now and then. I don't think Monster plans to market this as an energy drink for the person that's on the go, but rather a premium energy drink that really is a fine edition to the drinks that have been released in 2012.