This is a weird one. That local market, I noticed recently, just restocked with a previously unseen 8oz drink. I didn't have time to see what it was the first time I ran by it, but I picked it up today, surprised and interested and ready to try it. Supposedly, there's a bit of hemp in this. Hemp, if you don't know, is a cousin to Cannibis, or Marijuana. Now, don't freak out, hemp isn't used as a drug to make you high, but rather is grown for its many useful properties. It's highly nutritious, I learned, and is used for a variety of things, ranging from rope, to clothes, and even to concrete, which it is used to strengthen. After a quick glance at the ingredients list, I learned that the exact part of the plant used in this drink is the seed. I doubt it will get me high, but I'll see. I hope it's not illegal...
I didn't know what color liquid to expect from the drink. I found out just now, after I poured the drink out, it's kind of a rose-purple, like pomegranate juice. It smells a bit like pomegranate mixed with red grape, and there's a noticable herby-ness in the smell. Perhaps the hemp seed. The flavor, not surprisingly, is that of grape, or artificial berry. It's not bad; quite robust. The flavor really gets through because of the very little carbonation. Now, this is what I expect when drinks label themselves as "lightly carbonated." It's just enough to tickle your tongue and brighten the drink up. There's not any gumminess, but there is that kind of feeling on the roof of your mouth and teeth that you get from drinking grape juice. Not bad at all. I'm quite pleased with the flavor and I hardly notice the hemp or grape seeds at all.
I'm just a little concerned about what this drink might do. I'm hoping there are no adverse effects, and I just get a healthy, normal boost, like most energy drinks. And that's true about this one. I extracted a pretty good amount of energy and awareness out of it, and that was only an 8.4oz can. I presume a larger 16oz can of this could really do some damage and get you up and going. The energy is a win, but I still have to take a look at the ingredients. Let me see: Surcrose and Glucose are the two sweeteners, giving this one a crisp, bright sweetness, which it would not possess, had it corn syrup. The first energy ingredient I see is Taurine, standard in energy drinks, and it comes in at number 6 in the list, which is not bad. Oh, but it's not listed in the Nutrition Facts... That's a disappointment. Next, there's Glucuronolactone, which is also standard and Guarana. Ooh, then, it lists Mate Extract. Yerba Mate is a tea that has many beneficial health effects. I've had it made as a tea before, and I've always felt great after it. Now, I see the Hemp Seed Extract and Grape Seed Extract. Grape seed is a great thing to see in the drink, because it's a believed-to-be antioxidant and which delivers many great benefits to the body. Other than that, all I see is vitamins and Caffeine, along with Inositol. These are all things you'd regularly find in an energy drink, and it doesn't surprise me that they're in there. Boy, I'm wired. This is powerful stuff!
* Whoa!!! Thirty minutes after having this drink, I was seriously wired. The Jack Herer 420 Hemp Energy Infusion, I found out later, delivers some INTENSE energy. You HAVE to try this one.
Taste: 7.6 - Above average, and tasting very natural
Kick: 10 - Simply amazing, the amount of energy you get from this little can!
Overall: 10 - A great one to try
Reviewed by: Jeff
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