Muud Original

Coming back from a brief break of caffeine, I decided I needed to review something that'll give me enough boost for a good few hours. With this energy from coffee, I plan to see if I find jitteriness, focus, or just plain energy for exercising. I'll discuss this when I finish up the last paragraph, however. Like Jeff mentioned with the espresso Muud, we thought we were all finished up reviewing coffee energy drinks, until I came across the line of Muuds outside of town. Having never heard of Muud, I must think they make other energy drink, aside from coffee, but apparently they only make coffee. I notice a few differences between this and another coffee energy drink, there is not a bit of caffeine listed in the ingredients list, and it has much more sugar (28g per serving). Seeing this much sugar startles me a bit, having perhaps a flavor of coffee that's too sweet, and not robust enough, much like the Java Monsters. Because of the can design, I might think otherwise, perhaps being mean, and robust just like a real coffee would be. There are 3 shots of espresso per can in the Muud, knowing that makes me want to crack it open and receive this kick.

As soon as I open this can of Muud Original, I dive my nose in and determine a scent just like the Full Throttle Coffee, line, being nicely robust with equal sweetness. Like almost all coffees, there's a simple light brown, with a nice, thick consistency to it and obviously no carbonation. I was a bit thrown off taking a few sips of the Muud, seeming like nothing I've ever tasted before. When you first sip at this drink, it tastes like a thick, almost gelatinous basic coffee flavor, and then a wave of overpowering sweetness shortly following. A few more ounces into the drink, there is a sense of bitterness, just like drinking a real coffee without the cream added in. Although you may think the sweetness counteract the bitterness, it oddly does not. It does taste like it's a bit 'overdone', in terms of being sweetened, and being well tasting for a coffee. It is hard to drink more than half of the can without having a stomach ache, you know, the kind you get from too much sugar. In terms of gumminess, there's no up front gumminess, but there's a bit lingering from the sucrose. Chugging a few ounces, I found some roughness in the back of my throat, the sort of which is found from the coffee's strong flavor. Overall, my expectations were too high for Muud, and to me, it really is nothing more than an over sweetened can of coffee.

In one can of Muud Original, there are pretty simple, yet important ingredients, which read as following: coffee, milk, sucrose, water, cellulose gel, sodium phosphate, natural flavors, cellulose gum, and carrageenan. Seeing sucrose as the proprietary sweetener is definitely reassuring, but too much ruins the whole drink, no matter the sweetener. Like just about all coffee energy drinks have milk, to give it that consistency and the milky, creamy flavor, and just a bit of sweetness too. I can't say I'm too familiar with all the cellulose gel and cellulose gum ingredients, but I do know they are found in all coffee drinks, whether it's coffee energy or just coffee. Per can, there's an insane 300 calories and a crazy 56g of sugar. Let's make some conversions here...for 300 calories you can have a 16 Monster and a half of a Monster. I'd rather have that than a can of sweet coffee. Usually, coffees have very little real sugar added into it, but this Muud is literally sweetened like any other energy drink, even more than a Monster. Knowing this, I think I'm going to stick with my method of drinking half the can, and saving the rest for a later date, maybe morning. I recommend this method for drinks with an overpowering amount of calories, and/or sugar. All in all, if I were craving coffee, and I had the choice between this and, let's say, any of the Java Monsters, I'd definitely go for a Java Monster.

Taste: 7 - Way to sweet for a coffee, and just no real coffee flavor is present
Kick: 7.7 - It's hard to find a kick, especially nursing the drink over a long period of time
Overall: 7.4 - I know these are rare, but don't get fooled by the rarity, any Java Monster or Full Throttle Coffee beats it a long shot

Reviewed by: Chan

5-hour Energy

A five hour energy shot is probably most useful in the morning, at the start of your day, when you've got everything ahead of you. That's what I'm about to do now; have the 5-hour Energy before the start of a long day. In theory, it should work perfectly, since it promises hours of energy, no crash later and zero carbs. The differences between this sort of shot and a regular energy drink, I'm guessing, are that shots have less caffeine, if any, and lots more vitamins. Reading the back of this, I see that is does have many vitamins, but also a very nice, large amount of energy ingredients. Instead of plain caffeine and vitamins, I also see some hefty doses of Glucuronolacone, Taurine, Malic Acid and many amino acids. I don't want to waste time on this paragraph, so I'll get to opening it.

This plastic bottle doesn't crack open like a can, but instead has plastic to tear from the top and a plastic screw-off lid. I take care to tear only the plastic surrounding the cap, as I need the bottom of the wrapper for the third paragraph. I decide to shake it for good measure and slowly twist off the cap. I should expect an artificial berry. My first whiff is that of sharp, sour blueberry/strawberry and then a secondary smell of tons of vitamins and supplements. It surely doesn't seem as bad as many people have described it to me. It's tough to drink from this tiny opnening, but I manage and at first taste bland strawberry, followed by an intense artificial blueberry that's very, very, sour, to be honest. Knowing many people who think a plain Monster is too sour, I don't think this would suit many people's tastes. The intense sourness goes on down the throat, causing extremely sour sensations as you swallow, enough to make me cringe and then make my mouth water afterwards. Though I can tell many probably wouldn't like this drink for that reason, I find myself taking more tiny sips anyway. Halfway in, the berry mostly fades into a generic chalky flavor and some of the energy ingredients or vitamins are somewhat noticable, tasting kind of bitter and sour. Though this by far isn't the best drink I've had, and probably not the best shot I'll ever have, it is a fun experience drinking it and feeling the extreme sourness.

From an energy shot of this sort, I should probably expect hours of steady, constant energy; what I got was almost constant and steady. For an hour or so, I was still a bit tired, sleepy, and disappointed. Then, nearly 45 minutes in, I felt an insane boost, like a constant rush of energy, sending me soaring 100 miles per hour. That lasted for about an hour and then dwindled, till I was back to normal and a little focused. What I did notice is that, though this promises no crash, it does get a little scary when you do rigorous exercise because you feel slight heart palpitations; something no energy drink enthusiast wants to feel. I suppose if you're going to have a 5 Hour Energy, make sure work you do is moderate.

So, looking at energy ingredients, this little bottle contains a cocktail of lots of interesting supplements, vitamins and amino acids. For vitamins, I see Niacin (150%), B6 (2000%), Folic Acid (100%), and B12 (8333%). For energy supplements, there's a hefty 1870mg of Citicoline, Glucuronolactone, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, L-Phenylalanine, Taurine, Malic Acid, Caffeine. Citicoline is something I haven't seen before, but search online doesn't yield much useful information. All I can deduce is that it's something naturally present in the body that has to do with energy levels. And as for N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, apparently, it's a precursor for chemicals such as dopamine and norepinephrine, chemicals that are related to the fight of flight response, motor activity, and mood. Speaking of mood, after this, I noticed my mood really elevated where I was hyper and ecstatic. I had little faith in the 5-Hour Energy, but I was surprised and delighted with its effects.

Taste: 5.2 - Tastes bad, but is fun to drink, I have to admit
Kick: 8.7 - Amazing burst of high-octane energy, though seemingly short
Overall: 8.2 - I'm not crazy about having another one of these, but it was a fun ride

Reviewed by: Jeff

Muud Dyn-O-Muud

Just when we thought we'd covered every single coffee energy drink left out there, we find a whole new line, Muud. Muud isn't advertised as an energy drink, but when the can says there is the equivalent of 4 shots of espresso per can, you know you've got something powerful in front of you. I've looked up the average amount of caffeine in one shot of espresso, and one site says there are about 77mg of caffeine per 1.5oz shot. That means there are 51mg in every ounce, which I think is the more traditional serving. If there really are 4 shots of espresso in here, that would mean there are roughly 205mg of caffeine per can; quite a hefty dose, when compared to Monster's 142mg per can and Red Bull's 81mg per 8oz can. The thing to remember, however, is that this is not a purposeful energy drink, but, as it mentions on the can, an "all natural premium coffee drink." What that means is that there won't be any other energy ingredients but caffeine. I take that as a sign that results may vary, in terms of energy given.

Immediately after I popped the can open, I noticed a very nice, rich, and robust coffee bean smell dominating with a small hint of milkiness. Unlike pretty much every single coffee energy drink, this drink has some serious coffee flavor, which right off the bat, gets me excited because I've been seeking a drink like this for a long time. Since I can already tell this isn't going to be a watered down, overly-sweetened kid's drink, I'm predicting that the color will be much darker, as a result of less milk and sweetener. I slowly poured it out and, to be expected, I saw a color exactly like coffee with a bit of cream in it, rather than light brown or tan. Taking a small sip, this drink is silky-smooth, starts off with a small bit of sweetness, tastes very milky, and then ends in very good, robust coffee and a rich nutty, bitter aftertaste. Lurking somewhere in the middle is a vague yet decadent mocha flavor. I have never been a fan of lightly sweetened coffee, but this is making one out of me; it's so good. To a non-coffee lover, this may seem not sweet enough until you warm up maybe a quarter of the way through. Honestly, before this drink, I haven't liked bittersweet or semisweet coffee. Now, I understand what makes it so good. It isn't necessarily the sweetness that makes it addictive; it's the contrast between sweetness, nuttiness, bitterness, and robustness of the coffee. Already, it's over and I'm trying to see if I feel the equivalent of 4 shots of espresso.

Because Muud is simply a coffee drink and not a purposeful energy drink, its ingredients list is relatively short. From beginning to end, the list is as follows: coffee, milk, water, sugar (Sucrose), natural flavors, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, disodium phosphate, postassium hydroxine, and carrageenan. The first four ingredients are pretty obvious, although I would rather not see water, becuase it makes me think this is diluted. The last ingredients look like thickeners, emulsifiers and preservatives, including carrageenan, which is a seaweed used to thicken products. On kick, Muud does well depending on your caffine tolerance. The amount of caffeine in it is likely less than or equal to the amount in a small cup of Starbucks. If you're somebody who regularly has coffee, this might have no effect. On the other hand, for someone who has a low caffeine intake, this will do a good job of getting you wired for a good hour or two. Even for someone like myself, who has a bit of a tolerance for caffeine from drinking energy drinks, having this at 7PM kept me up all night. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone, because of its wonderfully rich coffee taste and high energy yield for a non-energy drink.

Taste: 9.4 - Rated superb by me, a non-coffee drinker
Kick: 7.5 - Quality caffeine kick
Overall: 8.6 - I would love another one of these

Reviewed by: Jeff

Turn Left

Seeing Turn Left at a Big! Lots really appealed to me, most likely because of the rare can design, having to do with race cars and going fast, although it's fairly different than what you'd normally see. I find it a bit cliche to base an energy drink with a theme relating to fast speeds, horsepower, racing, you know, it's just so every-day for a company to do that. Because of the cloned can design, I'll bet to find a flavor just like a Monster/ Red Bull. Knowing this, I can now bring my hopes down just a bit, though maybe it's better than a Monster, or perhaps not even a Monster or Red Bull clone at all. Going back to the can design, it looks most like a NASCAR game, due to the multicolored cars racing on a black paved track with advertisements covering most of the cars. Behind the cars are the zoom lines you see artists draw showing how fast a car is going. Above all, there's the phrase, "Turn Left" along with two flags behind it. I find Turn Left's motto a bit cliche as well, "Liquid Horsepower." You know, you cannot really see an energy drink nowadays without seeing the same basic motto, being "Pure Energy/Fuel" or "Liquid Horsepower."

After opening up Turn Left, I have to say, my hypothesis was right on the dot, a true Monster Clone, but with much more sweetness to it. As you are reading this, you may know by now the color of it, golden amber, just like any Monster, Red Bull, and anything in between. Curiously examining the flavor, I'll note it tastes almost significantly different than a Monster Clone, I mean staying in the general area of Monster Clones alike. Instead of that crisp feeling you get when swigging a few sips of a Monster, it's being filled with an uncommon sweetness, and a slight amount of dullness. I analyze the flavor and find the sweetness is an incredible vanilla, with no artificialness mixed in, just pure vanilla flavoring. Although, I can conclude the fact that there's corn syrup, it's not all that dull. Drinking more of Turn Left, the sensation is more caramel and vanilla, and less simple Monster apple, berry, and citrus, tasting a lot like a caramel apple, without the struggle of biting in the apple and the caramel getting everywhere... As for gumminess, I found it quite interesting to see Turn Left create a Monster Clone with HFCS, and not for it to be gummy at all. Compared to a Monster, I'd say this drink is less carbonated, hence giving it an overall richer flavor to it. Overall, I'm starting to get used to these Monster Clones, and I can conclude that this was perhaps even better than any Monster, tasting higher class, with more diverse flavor than a usual apple-berry-citrus.

As for ingredients in a can of Turn Left, it seems to me it's basic and much less than any Monster-like drink I've reviewed. There's a standard, yet simple list consisting of: Carbonated water, corn syrup, citric acid, taurine, sodium benzoate, caffeine, inositol, natural and artificial flavors, dextrose, nicotinamide, calcium D pantothenate, pyridoxine, hydrochloride, and cyanocobalamin. Simple ingredients, though not many Monster Clones are sweetened with corn syrup and dextrose. Most of them are usually sweetened with sucrose, glucose, and/or Sucralose. Per can, there's a raw count of 242 calories and only 56g of sugar, not bad for a sweet drink like this. I used to say this a lot when drinking energy drinks with HFCS, "When sweetened with HFCS, energy drinks need to have more sugar contained, while drinks sweetened with sucrose and glucose do not need to have as much sugar." I can prove this statement wrong, however, because high fructose corn syrup is more potent than sucrose and glucose. Anyway, on energy ingredients, this drink is mean, having 1900mg of taurine and a nice 190mg of caffeine. Reviewing a high caffeinated energy drink late at night isn't the greatest, but I can handle it. Coming back a few hours later, I'll let you know the kick is insane, lasting about 3 hours, and nothing but jitteriness. All in all, the best Monster-Clone you'll find out there, in terms of taste, and even kick.

Taste: 8.6 - Incredible vanilla-caramel apple flavor, though if it were more crisp, it would have been nearly perfect
Kick: 8.8 - With 190mg of caffeine, I was truly jittery for quite awhile
Overall: 8.7 - I must say, this is the best Monster Clone I can recall tasting, perhaps even better than a Monster

Reviewed by: Chan

Xyience Xenergy Mango Guava

Chan's the only one so far who's dealt with Xyience and the Xenergy drinks, but luckily, Chan snagged me one while he was on holiday in Vegas. So now I have possession of the Xyience Xenergy Mango Guava. Mango and guava seem like two wonderful tropical fruits that would go together nicely. It wouldn't be too difficult a flavor to pull off with real fruit juice, but knowing Xyience does not use any fruit juices whatsoever, the taste might be an issue. What I'm also concerned about is the sweetener. For some reason, Xyience sweetens all of their drinks with Sucralose, which we all know is my least favorite sweetener. In Chan's review of the Xyience Big Apple, I remember how he disliked the artificial sweetener's taste and the massive gumminess. I doubt I'm in for as much gumminess, but I can't imagine this not having an unappealing sucralose aftertaste. Hopefully, Xyience's reputation for making great sugar-free drinks proves to be true.

I popped the can open without haste and was very delighted with a lucsious, flavorful, and clean peachy mango that's moderately artificial. In fact, it's just a bit more natural than those gummy peach rings you find in little bags with a little bit of that characteristic guava from the Rockstar Juiced Guava. Once you smell that, there's really nothing more. To my surprise, the color came out completely clear, instead of the yellowy red I had predicted. Tasting this for the first time, it's actually very good and that same amazingly overpowering mango-peach-guava flavor comes through, but not as strongly, as it's muted by the fine carbonation. At first, I'm thinking this ranks way up there with some really great drinks like the Rockstar Zero Carb and Monster Lo-Carb, but then I can taste the sucralose losing its sweetness and this drink getting a whole lot blander with that sweetness-mimicking effect of sucralose. Just like so many other drinks solely sweetened with sucralose, like the Pure Fuel, this drink loses all sense of sweetness and takes on a sort of sour and artificial taste instead. Just like Diet Coke. If you've had Diet Coke, you know that feeling of fake sweetness that doesn't satisfy one bit. Although the flavor itself is incredible, the sweetener kills it. I would love to see this done with good 'ol sucrose and glucose.

I'm not familiar with the Xyience kick, but it did serve me well. The energy ingredients include 2.68g of taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, guarana extract, panax ginseng extract, inositol, and l-carnitine. Taking a good look at that, the energy ingredients look very strong. This is the first time I've seen a 16oz drink exceeding the standard amount of 2000g of Taurine per can, with 2.68g. All of these strong energy ingredients add up to a screaming kick that should get you flying for a good two hours and then give you good alertness for about three more. Though I don't recommend this for its flavor, the kick is favorable.

Taste: 7.5 - Kudos for amazing flavor, but marked down for crappy fake sweetness
Kick: 9.2 - Does very good, even compared to Monster
Overall: 7.9 - Good on kick, lame on taste for the most part

Reviewed by: Jeff

Ed Hardy Orange

Being disappointed about the lack of good drinks out on the market and being reviewed, I wonder if I'll ever find any more perfect energy drinks. I hesitated buying the Ed Hardy Orange at a local BevMo, but I ended up getting it anyways with little confidence. I have found previous Ed Hardy energy drinks to be pretty lame on flavor as well as extremely gummy, being sweetened with only sucrose. To me, if an energy drink is only sweetened with sucrose, and is still extremely gummy, something must wrong with the drink, either a hidden sweetener or something along those lines. An exception with mediocre energy drink is the flavor variation, which in this case, is orange. Orange, it seems, is usually the best when it comes down to energy drinks and all their flavors, so perhaps Ed Hardy Orange will be the best out of all of them. It's can design seems to be particularly neat, being a dangerous looking tiger head snarling with its mouth wide open. The color differentiation is amazing on the tiger, being red, yellow,black, and white, blending in well. The background is just a plain orange with a white font used for various words and phrases.

Opening up the can, Ed Hardy Orange smells most like Talon, but with much less power and an odd sharp taste to back it up. I have to say, I wasn't expecting the color Ed Hardy gave, and to me, it looks most like urine. It just has that dark yellow and cloudy color, plus the carbonation. Honestly, I am the most disappointed with this Orange flavored drink tasting a lot like artificial orange with lemon-lime notes in the background. It has a sense of tonic in the background, resulting in a bitter aftertaste, and to me, tastes a lot like vomit. It reminds me of an orange version of a Max Velocity, only because of the weak flavor and the vomit-like sharpness. Drinking more, I find it tastes vitaminy, just like the FRS Orange and the those Flintstones Vitamins. Ed Hardy really carbonates their energy drinks, almost like a soda, but without the phosphoric acid. After having trouble drinking half the can, I find that dryness in the back of my throat, sort of like the kind you get after drinking cranberry juice, I guess you can consider that gumminess. Overall, Ed Hardy had a weird flavor to it, almost indescribable. It tasted at least decent until the flavor really sunk in and delivered the artificial, vitaminy, sharp orange flavor with the dry aftertaste.

Ed Hardy's ingredients are fairly simple yet they differ from some other energy drinks. They go as following: carbonated water, sucrose, citric acid, taurine, natural and artificial flavors, caramel color, ascorbic acid, caffeine, glucuronolactone, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, niacin, inositol, Vitamin B, and riboflavin. I'm glad to see an energy drink classic, sucrose, but just sucrose by itself doesn't produce enough sweetness, which was what happened in this drink. I'd say a pro to Ed Hardy is really that there's not one trace of Sucralose in this entire can, making it more enjoyable. A handful of energy drinks lack needed energy ingredients to help produce actual energy, like guarana and ginseng, this beverage lacks it. Per can, you get a minimal 220 calories and only 56g of sugar, just a tad bit more than a Monster, but definitely not as good. For a light drink like this, I'm surprised to see even that much sugar and that high of an amount of calories. All I see in terms of energy ingredients is taurine, which is an average 2000mg. Hm, no caffeine amounts are noted, interesting. All in all, Ed Hardy was lame, but addicting, for it got a bit tastier towards the end of the can, but yet not nearly as good as a Monster. I feel Ed Hardy is a complete let down in the energy drink community.

Taste: 6.7 - In general, a lame vitaminy orange flavor, but improves towards the end
Kick: 7 - The kick isn't nearly as great as an average energy drink, due to the lack of guarana and ginseng
Overall: 6.8 - Don't let the fierce tiger on the can lure you into grabbing a can of these...

Reviewed by: Chan

Kronik Entourage

Knowing what you're going to get before you actually receive it can sometimes be a bit of a bummer, this relates to just about anything. Say your birthday comes up and you take a peek into someone's car, or room, and see they got you exactly what you have been wanting. In the energy drink socialization, knowing the exact flavor you're about to guzzle before you open it can be a disappointment, that's most likely I will try to refrain myself from looking at the ingredients list before having the drink itself. With the Kronik Entourage, I was in so much excitement after finding a can of it, I immediately took a glance at ingredients to find a few disappointing ingredients, like HFCS and Sucralose. Aside from sweeteners, the main flavors are a bit plain for a juice energy drink being just white grape, pear, and orange. Being such a mean energy drink company, I am almost positive Kronik can pull off a great ensemble with just those three fruit extracts, but I really can't be too sure until I open it up. Unlike a regular can of Kronik, the Kornik Entourage has orange barbed wire going astray all over the can, rather than just a segment of it on one part of the can. Seeing 80% Juice reminds me of the M-80, although the M-80 is sweetened with sucrose and glucose, and has more fruit ingredients.

Opening the can of Kronik, I find an aroma that best fits that of the original Kronik, with the fruity presence of the Monster Khaos. Out of the can, Kronik Entourage seems to be the color of light and carbonated orange juice, or perhaps even apricot juice, with little consistency. Sadly enough, Kronik failed at making a juice drink filled, instead, it tastes more like a dull orange-apple soda. Taking the first few sips, I note a flavor of mainly orange and apple, but it's harder to find even more flavor being covered in a wave of extremely dull corny syrup. I don't recall ever tasting an energy drink where I can actually taste more corny flavor than the primary flavor, Kronik Entourage has to be the first. In general, it tastes disappointing, with little real sweetness, and no actual fruity consistency I was hoping for. Along side that disappointing mess, I found an artificial aftertaste, like pure Spenda with little orange and white grape background. Having the traits of the soda, I felt it is necessary to note the amount of carbonation seems to be that of an average soda, but without the phosphoric acid. It could be that I'm not drinking a lot of this, but there seems to be not so much gumminess, although a few large gulps could prove me wrong. Overall, knowing a good company like Kronik, they would impress me with an amazing juiced up energy drink, but instead it was poorly structured, with artificial and cheap sweeteners.

Kronik really doesn't have as many ingredients, hence being less complex, here they are: carbonated water, white grape juice from concentrate, per juice from concentrate, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, orange juice from concentrate, natural flavors, caffeine, Sucralose and yellow 6. On energy ingredients, there's taurine, glucosamine, glucuronolactone, gurana, ginseng, inositol, milk thistle, and ginkgo biloba. Per can, there's a wasteful 280 calories and a not-as-bad 64g of sugar. Not many energy drink have I come across with 280 calories, that's just extreme, and I would not consider getting another. On energy ingredients, you get 200mg of taurine, 100mg of guarana, 100mg of ginseng, 50mg of milk thistle, and 50mg of ginkgo biloba. After finishing the can with much hesitation, I'll conclude the kick is pretty darn good, just like the other Kronik flavors, delivering much focus and not so much jitteriness. If you would happen to cross Kronik Entourage's face, do not get drawn in by it's mean can design. Just stay with the regular Kronik, if you trust Canned Reviews. So, after saying that, Kronik Entourage does not compare to the kings of juice energy drinks like Ace Juiced, Monster M-80, or Joker+Juice, but would be considered a lower class juice along with the Monster Khaos.

Taste: 6 - Just a terrible take on a juice energy drink...perhaps it would have been better without the HFCS and the Sucralose
Kick: 8.5 - I cannot stress how good Kronik's kick is packed in each can.
Overall: 6.5 - A lame overall flavored drink that frankly tasted more like corn than it did juice...

Reviewed by: Chan

Rumba Energy Juice

Man, never before have I seen an orange-juice like energy drink, without the carbonation. To me, 100% orange juice with energy ingredients in one 16 ounce can is two thumbs up, being a fan of orange juice and energy ingredients. Rumba comes out with a can design that catches the consumers eye, having blue stripes going down the can leading to half an orange at the bottom. In large, messy font "Rumba" is slapped across the top part of the can as well as "Energy Juice." I like the stamp on the orange reading "100% Juice" and "Non-Carbonated"...perhaps this is a drink I want to have as an early morning pick-me-up. The flavors are morning-friendly, and the kick would perhaps get me through half my day, rather than going straight to a tartly fruity Monster or Rockstar. By the way, Rumba is usually not found in standard grocery stores, but is found in the most random places, like where I got mine, in a gas station in practically the middle of nowhere. I'm expecting from Rumba just a plain orange flavor, but perhaps some earthiness and a slight tartness shortly following. Well, I won't ramble much longer, so here comes the next part of this review.

I break open a can of Rumba expecting a non-carbonated and possibly flat orange juice aroma and a scent similar, but with more of a dirty bite to it. Of course, it's color is a standard orange,but with a lot of cloudiness and what seems to be pieces of pulp. Knowing that, I see 100% juice on the label, which convinces me even more that there's potentially pulp in this can. After a quick swig, I analyze a flavor that tastes quite odd, much different than most orange flavors I've come across. I would most likely describe the flavor as a slightly minty and somewhat 'dirty' orange, with a bitter bite shortly following. Rumba makes their energy juice really stand out, I think; it's flavor seems to be more on the natural side and more organic, if you will. About half way, I find myself taking larger sips, more often, most likely due to the amount of sugar and therefore causing a sip-addiction. There seem to be some more notes of other fruits, like pear, apple, and white grape. The general flavor of Rumba is a distinct, yet light on the pallet dirty orange, but not so light as to drinking it too fast, or you will most likely end up like foolish me and get a stomach ache. Gumminess luckily did not play major role in the drink, supposing there would be any. Finishing up the can, I can conclude the flavor was quite disappointing due to the amount of sweetness and the peculiar minty note, but there was a bit of earthiness made it more distinct. The last few ounces of the drink are thicker than the rest, due to the amount of pulp from the pear, apple, white grape, and pineapple.

I'm extremely curious to find out what I just drinking, so a quick glance at the back of the can reveals ingredients such as: filtered water, fruit juices (water, orange, apple, pear, peach, tangerine, white grape, pineapple), apple puree, glucose, taurine, natural gum stabilizer, natural flavors, ginseng, citric acid, ascorbic acid, caffeine, niacin, guarana, glucuronolactone, Sucralose, maltodextrin, inositol, and beta carotene. First of all, I'm a bit shocked to see all those fruits in what's supposed to be an orange flavored energy juice, but I guess it makes it that much better. I also notice a great sweetener in Rumba, glucose, although Sucralose managed to sneak its way into this drink like it does with most others nowadays. Per can, there's about an average 240 calories and about an average 56g of sugar. Yet again, a sweet drink without much sugar, which I think is from the glucose not needing much sugar to be sweet. As for energy ingredients, it has a standard 5000mg of energy blend per can, which is about the same as an average energy drink, like Monster, Ace, or Joker. You also get a standard amount of taurine, which is 2000mg as well 400mg of ginseng. All in all, I have to agree with the others who say Rumba isn't bad, but just plain weird when it comes down to taste.

Taste: 7.7 - Odd, yet nice distinct and smooth orange-apple-pear flavor
Kick: 8 - When it comes down to energy ingredients, it's nearly the same as a Monster, hence producing the generally same kick
Overall: 7.8 - Good drink to have for a decent kick and smooth flavor, but I wouldn't rely too much on these as an every-day energy drink

Reviewed by: Chan

Golly Guarana

Golly, I've never heard about Golly Guarana. Found at a 99 Cent Only Store, this looks to be a simple yet solid Guarana-based energy drink. Now, this is an instance where we need to know exactly what Guarana is. Guarana is actually a plant, the seeds of which are harvested because they contain about five times the amount of caffeine as coffee beans. I wouldn't buy into the hype surrounding Guarana about how "bad" it is. Those commercials for Five Hour Energy that give Guarana a bad reputation, I'd say, are bogus. After all, Guarana is just a plant, a berry to be specific, that grows commonly in Brazil. After reading up some more on the plant, I get the idea that this is a Brazillian drink, since Guarana soft drinks are quite common in Brazil. I decide to check the back of the can to see where this is from, and it turns out it's from Orlando, Florida. So maybe it's not from Brazil, but perhaps it may be just as authentic, considering there's a high concentration of Latin demographics in Florida. I've never had a Guarana soft drink before and I'm quite curious.

I wasn't sure exactly how Guarana is meant to flavor a beverage, but when I think about it, it makes sense since Guarana is a berry after all. I popped the can open and got a smell like subtle strawberries and blueberries and a sort of earthiness like acetone, giving it a very fresh smell. As I pour this out of the can, it has a medium brown-amber like a nice toasty ale, similar to Diesel, except with less carbonation. Tasting this, it's not the most flavorful drink I've ever had, but has a clean, fresh, unique berry taste with an also clean and fresh aftertaste that must be characteristic of the berry. When I drink it from a cup, where it has time to settle, some of the carbonation leaves and lets the flavor come out. However, when I drink it from the can, it stays cold longer, but the carbonation hinders the flavor a bit. I'd be able to describe this to someone is as a subtle Diesel with less flavor and less carbonation or maybe as a drink similar to a Rockstar, since it has not much flavor. It isn't very gummy at all, but the carbonation does get in the way. Overall, I'm not wowed by this drink, since it lacks some flavor and it also lacks an original flavor. I don't doubt that there are more flavorful guarana drinks out there.

What's funny is that nowhere on this can are the words "energy drink" mentioned. Golly Guarana is simply labelled as a soft drink, with the "natural extract of guarana." That may be why this drink has such a short ingredients list. Everything in here includes carbonated water, HFCS, natural and artificial flavor, guarana extract, citric acid, and sodium benzoate. With that short of an ingredients list, there's no way this could top any real energy drink. The only energy ingredient in here is Guarana Extract, and I'm going to guess that it's in low amounts just because I found this at a dollar store. On sugar, this whole 12oz can has 35g which means just over 23g per 8oz. Compared to common energy drinks, that's not a large number, and the calorie count is also slightly low, being 140 per can, working out to 93 calories per 8oz. There's not much more to say about this drink. I was hoping for something really original with a nice kick for Guarana, but it doesn't seem to be doing much more than, say, a cup of tea would. Sorry, but I can't get into the Guarana drinks. I'll stick to my Caffeine.

Taste: 7.3 - Fresh berry but also pretty bland
Kick: 5.5 - No better than a soda
Overall: 6.5 - My expectations were too high

Reviewed by: Jeff

Arizona Green Tea Pomegranate Lite

You thought the Arizona energy drink reviews were over, but no. There's one more Chan and I have yet to review, the Arizona Green Tea Pomegranate Lite. I've never known green tea and pomegranate to be a good combination, but perhaps they are. Maybe the earthiness of both blends well together. I don't know; I'm not the expert. What I do know is that I've seen the two flavors paired before in herbal teas and I suppose it's a common mix. What I'm wondering about is whether this drink will have pomegranate juice or rather is simply brewed with pomegranate. A quick scan of the ingredients reveals "pomegranate and apple juices from concentrate." I suppose that's a good thing, but it might mean less pomegranate flavor than straight pomegranate juice. I don't blame Arizona, however; pomegranate is not cheap. Above the nutrition facts, it reads 5% juice, which I'm thinking could be misleading since maybe that juice is concentrated. I'm interested in observing the pom flavor.

I popped the top open without haste and waited for a smell. The smell isn't the strongest I've smelled, but it's quite pungent for a tea. The smell is sweet, leafy green tea mixed delightfully with fruity pomegranate juice. What comes to my mind early is that this smells a bit too luscious to be pomegranate. It turns out the apple in the mix adds nicely to the pomegranate, making it smell much fuller. When I pour this out, I'm expecting a nice amber color with a tinge of pink, buy it turns out Arizona goes all out with a dark, rosy hue. The first sip makes me happy, being crisp and sweet and luscious, but not too sweet, which is a very good thing. It seems either the 18g of sugar is enough or there's some sugar in the pomegranate and apple concentrates, which I had never really considered. No matter, the flavor has lots of presence, tasting like luscious pomegranate-apple juice with no bitterness and a hint of woody green tea. I think it tastes better because of that nice rounded, yet crisp honey sweetness taste. Along with that, there's a small amount of carbonation that leaves the drink early on and the gumminess never becomes a problem. Though this tastes sugary, I know it's not, since 18g is nothing. I can call this a winner, since it's natural, tastes good for what's in it, and apparently is chocked full of antioxidants. If you're a fan of Arizona, I'd advise you to pick one up.

I'm not experienced with Arizona's energy blend, or their "performance blend," but at a glance, it looks pretty nice. 80mg of Caffeine per serving closely matches that of Red Bull, and the Taurine content is at the standard 2000mg per can. All else, including, Panax Ginseng, Inositol, Guarana, and Glucuronolactone is set at 100mg per serving, 200 per can, and it looks like Milk Thistle is thrown in at a measurement of 70mg total. As for vitamins, I'm not so impressed, seeing Calcium, Iron, and Vitamin A listed, but at 0% amounts, which is odd. Usually, you want to specify what is in your drink, not what's not. However, I see 100% total of your daily Vitamin C in the whole can as well as 200% total of Pantothenic Acid (Calcium Pantothenate, B5), Vitamin B6, and B12. The rest of the ingredients are Premium Brewed Green Tea Using Filtered Water, Sucrose, Pomegranate and Apple Juices From Concentrate, Orange Blossom Honey, Malic Acid, Vegetable Juice, Citric Acid, Monopotassium Phosphate, and Sucralose. This seems to be a slightly odd ingredients list. For the first time ever, I see "Vegetable Juice," which I certainly say is a good sign or bad. Also, I don't like to see Sucralose, especially in a tea drink. Though I didn't taste it in the drink cold, I now taste its presence and I feel it doesn't belong in this sort of drink. But no matter, with only 140 calories, it's a decent low-calorie choice tea energy drink. I'm not absolutely crazy about it, but it definitely is worth a try.

Taste: 7.8 - Favorable crisp, honey-like pomegranate-apple green tea
Kick: 7.2 - Nowhere near Monster, but gives some nice jitteriness and alertness
Overall: 7.8 - I can't say anything against this drink

Reviewed by: Jeff

Talon

You know, it's always funny to see knockoff brands of energy drinks outplay the big brands in taste and in kick. I can name quite a few off the top of my head that are better than, say, a Monster: Joker, Ace, Deton 8, you get the picture. I came across Talon the other thinking it's just going to be another lame Monster Clone, until I examined it closer. It turns out Talon is Circle K's line of energy drinks and will not taste like a Monster, but will taste more like citrus, hence the "Golden Citrus" phrase listed at the top. Now, you may think that it's probably just a citrus flavor, not the original, but that's where you're wrong. It clearly states "Original" along a banner largely across the top of the can. Below that is an awesome-looking golden fiery eagle with large talons used for attacking anyone that comes near it. It's wings are spread, making it look even more fearful as will as its fierce black eyes. In the same golden color, Talon is stenciled in the largest font, and covered with sharp thorns, perhaps the same as the claws on the eagle. To top it off, there's a nice black background with artistic thorn vines lightly colored in gray. Okay, let's claw into this beast and see what its got.

Breaking the can open, I find a scent that's unlike your average citrus, but more like pure lemon-lime and orange, without the dullness which usually is provided. I would say it smells most like Squirt but obviously crisper. Talon's color is an extremely unusual bright, fluorescent yellow hue, relating most to lemon candies, you know, just bright and unexpactant. My first thought on this drink is just pure amazement. To me, this drink tastes totally like a crisp version of Mountain Dew and Squirt put together. The main flavors are lemon-lime, orange, grapefruit, and perhaps a bit of tropical punch in the background. Knowing this crisp, I check out the ingredients list to see the two powerful sweeteners: sucrose and glucose, wow! It's extremely uncommon nowadays to find energy drinks sweetened with sucrose and glucose, and if you were to find one, it's hard to find it without Sucralose as well. Luckily, Talon contains no Sucralose, which is pretty easy to guess even without looking at the ingredients list. It's lightly carbonated so it makes it even more refreshing, with litle exceptions. It has a sour bite to it after drinking the whole can, most from the aftertaste, but some from the original flavor. Overall, Talon impressed me throughly, being the crispest and most refreshing citrus flavored energy drink I've reviewed so far

On ingredients, Talon has ingredients that reminds me of ingredients that were in energy drinks when they first were released. They read as following: carbonated waster, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, taurine, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavors, glucuronolactone, ginseng, caffeine, guarana, modified food starch, niacin, acacia gum, ester of wood rosin, and brominated vegetable oil. Now, as you see, sucrose and glucose is a long-lost combination of sweeteners that I really haven't seen in an energy drink since I reviewed the last Monster. A lot of these ingredients are commonly found in citrus-flavored energy drinks, like brominated vegetable oil and modified food starch, espsecially found in the Rip Its. Per can, you get about an average of 240 calories and an unexpacting 56g. For that little sugar I was extremely surprised to see only 28mg per serving, just a bit more than a Monster. As for energy ingredients, you get 174mg of caffeine in the whole can, more than a Monster, and a bit more than in regular energy drinks. There's a usual 2000mg taurine, 50mg of guarana, and 100mg of ginseng. Coming back about an hour and a half later, I can say the kick was fantastic, although it was mostly jitteriness. All in all, taste-wise, and kick-wise, Talon has to be the best Citrus energy drink around.

Taste: 8.8 - Most crisp and natural-tasting citrus energy drink around
Kick: 8.7 - Great kick, lasted for a good 3 hours with a slight crash afterwards
Overall: 8.7 - Man, you really have to dig your talons into a few cans of these...I'm interested in seeing how the Sugar Free Talon compares.

Reviewed by: Chan

Damzl Fuel

Demographics play a large part in the human life, and it seems as though they are playing the same part in the marketing of products nowadays. It's not uncommon if you encounter, say, an energy drink with bright, pink colors and phrases like "A Women's Energy Drink" or "Not for Dudes." There's also drink with gang-relating illustrations, like Independent, or 18 Dummy Cherry Lime; they just will do anything and everything to attract a customer to a sale. I do not care what a drink has labeled on it, for I just take it and review, even if it is only for a certain demographic. From experience, I have found flavors in these types of drink to not appeal to me so much, but I would understand it appealing to the demographic aimed to, like the Go Girl. Just like the Go Girl, Damzl Fuel comes in a slender 12 ounce can, with the usual pink color and the repellent phrases. One thing I first noticed on the face of this can was the phrase "Not for Dudes" which explains to me a flavor perhaps not so exciting for men. The font appears to be tough, looking like it was spray painted on randomly. A calligraphy-like font is used to make out the name "Damzl Fuel" with a large "D" wearing a crown over it. This drink totally looks like it's not for me, I'm interested to find out.

The Damzl Fuel has a scent that reminds me most of the Rip It Chic line of drinks, and sort of like the Go Fast. Along with the aroma, Damzl Fuel's color is common, looking like a basic light red/dark orange. It seems to be a bit pink as well, but just not so much as it is red. Oh wow. I'm shocked by this flavor of lemon-lime and mixed berries such as strawberry, cherry, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, and anything else you find in mixed berry. Taking large sips, I find it hard to belive this is a sugar-free drink for there's little artificial flavor and more natural berry and lemon-lime. It reminds me of Sprite infused with mixed berry, or perhaps that Sprite Remix that was discontinued a good 3 or 4 years ago. What I think contributes to me thinking this is most like Sprite is the carbonation, for it seems to have phosphoric acid, but as a matter of a fact, does not. About more than half way through that can, there's even less artificialness, and tastes like a regular energy drink, or soda, for that matter, and I could swear I taste HFCS or something along those lines. To top it off, the whole flavor is light, but much stronger than any sugar free energy drink I've tried, giving it a great score in my book. On gumminess, I have to say, it's pretty clean, which totally throws my idea of hidden HFCS out. Overall, I can't get enough of Damzl Fuel, and it has to be one of the best sugar free energy drinks I've reviewed thus far. It would be pretty embarrassing walking to the checkout line with a few of these in hand though...

On ingredients, Damzl Fuel contains standard sugar free ingredients including: water, citric acid, taurine, natural flavors, Super Citrimax, sodium hexametaphosphate, inositol, caffeine, Sucralose, Magnesium Oxide, niacin, and riboflavin. I haven't noticed too many drinks saying just 'water', than 'carbonated water', because I can assure you it was carbonated. Uh, what else, oh, Super Citrimax. You may not know what that is, but I know exactly what it is: an appetite suppressor. It's the same stuff I found in the Go Girl, and I'll tell you, it was really hard to find an appetite for a good 3 or 4 days; man, get ready to lose a few good pounds after drinking a can of this stuff, which is why I do not advise drinking even more than one of these. After explaining that, I am brought back to the demographics talk. Energy drink companies that target women make the drink low calories and sugar free, but they put in that Super Citrimax for the same reason: "Women need to look their best," quoting Damzl Fuel, Go Girl, and Rip It Chic. Per can, you get a small 5 calories and no sugar at all. After drinking that, I'm fascinated they can still keep it sugar free and low calorie, and I mean extremely low calorie. All in all, if I can locate some more Damzl Fuel, I can name it my go-to sugar free energy drink, and I know you will enjoy it the same. On kick, I have to say, my octane is high and I feel completely energized, although I have no clue how much caffeine in this, I can easily say it's equally well.

Taste: 8.6 - An insanely natural tasting lemon-lime wild berry, reminding me of lemon-lime soda infused with strawberry
Kick: 8.3 - Great kick lasting me, oh, about 3 or 4 hours with a basic crash at the end
Overall: 8.5 - Honestly, I'll find it hard to top a sugar free energy drink like this one

Reviewed by: Chan

24:7 Green Apple

I need a lift and I say it's time for a simple drink. I want something I suspect to be simple yet bold and very tasty. Out of the drinks I have currently, I'm guessing the 24:7 Green Apple might fit those criteria, since it's been that way with the Orange and the Cherry Berry. I am a fan of 24:7's can design, with a black background and a sideways 24:7 that looks like a digital clock. Beneath it there are many smaller 24:7's giving this can a very cool and sleek look. There's a green ring at the top and below it there's a little symbol for a green apple. On kick, 24:7's haven't been exceptional, though I look forward to the taste. I don't want to waste time because this drink is getting warm.

My first whiff was little bit disappointing. I guess I was expecting too much, because this doesn't quite dazzle me. It smells like a fresh granny smith, minus some sweetness and with a little more sourness. The color when I pour this baby out reveals itself to be a wild shade of dark green, much like the color on the can. It's fluorescent in some ways, yet dark like British racing green from some angles. The smell from inside a glass is a little bit more artificial but still pretty weak and missing some sweetness. Tasting it, it's much the same, but toned down considerably on the tartness front. I was right when I predicted this to be a simple flavor, but it's not quite bold. In the smell, there's a small hint of that sourness from the caramel apple candy, but it does not transpose to the flavor. Sadly for me, this tastes very natural, like an actual green apple. What I was hoping for was a flavor like apple dishwashing soap. What it turns out to be is something more subtle and organic. What's good about this drink, however, is that there isn't much carbonation at all and the gumminess stays to a minimum. I have to say, I was not impressed by this drink, but it's a nice drink just to sip slowly. Toward the end of the can, it's reminding me of a Mexican soda, devoid of most flavor, but with crisp sweetness and accumulating gumminess.

On kick, I'm not expecting much, to be honest, since the Cherry Berry didn't deliver so much energy either. What this does have to offer in terms of energy ingredients is Sugar (Not HFCS), Taurine, Sodium Citrate, Caffeine, Glucuronolactone, and Niacinimide. The reason I list Sodium Citrate is because it's listed in parenthesis as an energy ingredient along with the rest. Sadly, similar to many drinks, 24:7 does not mention the caffeine content. It could be 140, it could be 250; it's impossible to tell. Based on what I feel now, I'm guessing it's close to 120-150 per can. A budget drink like 24:7 probably isn't going to dump huge amounts of caffiene in. The rest of the ingredients are as follows: Water, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1. Other statistics: Sugar content is 29g per serving, 58 per can, 120 calories per serving, 240 total. I don't have much to say about the kick; it's pretty straightforward. It seems to be constant gradual energy and nothing more. Unfortunately, my focus is about normal, which I'd like to see elevated instead. Overall, I don't see any real compelling reason to get this again. Both 24:7's I've tried have been disappointing.

Taste: 6.7 - Boring and weak natural granny smith apple
Kick: 6.3 - Doesn't compete with a Monster
Overall: 6.5 - I wouldn't care for another

Reviewed by: Jeff

Independent

I love it when I see something new that catches my eye instantly. This can be, say, at a store, or perhaps outside somewhere. For me, this is specifically energy drinks, like the Independent Energy, which I have been struggling to locate for quite awhile now. You would have guessed I immediately grabbed one of these at a Circle K that was on clearance for only 50 cents per can, beating Big! Lots' 60 cents per can. I don't know why Independent Energy catches my eye. Maybe it's the simple red-black can colors, or maybe even the basic, yet eminent name. Independent Energy just seems to ring when I think about it, and just sounds better than, let's see, Starbuck's Doubleshot Energy blah blah, so on, so on. Simple names really tend to be the better ones too. Just look at Amp, Monster, Joker, Ace, Jolt, Diesel, you see? This why, I believe, Independent will most likely go down in the history of great, simple energy drinks, in mine, and many other's books. Aside form the name, the can design is silent, eerie, and mysterious. There's a lonely man in a red hoodie and red beanie facing away from us and into the darkness. This could be one of a rare metaphorical can designs I've seen here on Canned Reviews, probably suggesting a grim future ahead for him, and nothing...but...darkness.

This sly energy drink cans opens up and contains a fragrance more like dull pineapple with some essence of pear and peach, totally unexpected. Independent delivers a color most like the red from the front of the can, but a tad more fluorescent and obviously, a foamy head. Okay, I'll try my best to determine a flavor. At first sip, the considerable amount of sharpness drags you away from the main flavor, which can be described as a note of pineapple and strawberry, which makes sense. A few sips into it, I tend to like it better, having more peach and pear added into the main flavor and little medicinal sharpness. About half way through the can, I have to say, this flavor is really something, I mean, crisp for an HFCS filled drink. The medicinal sharpness is nearly gone, and leaves a heavy block of pear and pineapple, and now not so much strawberry and peach. You may be wondering what I would relate this drink to, and I right now, I'll say it tastes more like Kronik and WWE Raw Attitude. What do those two have in common? Herby flavor. All three have ginkgo biloba and milk thistle, both partaking in the flavor. A quick check in the ingredients list shows Sucralose, which is pretty disappointing; I knew I tasted something artificial. As for carbonation and gumminess, both are equal, I mean, both have equal parts of carbonation and gumminess. Overall, you may not like it when you crack it open, but after a few sips, it gets better, but not great enough to be worthy of being in one's 'book'.

Independent seems to have ingredients that are more like today's energy drinks with carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, taurine, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, caffeine, glucosamine, glucuronolactone, ascorbic acid, guarana, ginseng, inositol, milk thistle, ginkgo biloba, niacin, and Sucralose. Well, you see how taurine is number three on the ingredients list, which usually calls for a massive kick, I'll have to see later. Caffeine, shortly follows it, which just improves my theory on a brutal kick. Unfortunately, it's got high fructose corn syrup, making it dull, as well as Sucralose, making it really artificial. Per can, there's an almost average 240 calories and a decent 58g of sugar, a bit more than a Monster, or Ace, or the same as an Amp. With only that much sugar, the drink had just that much flavor, really nice. Coming back a few hours later, the kick is exceptional. I felt more focus than jitteriness that's still going on, but sure to feel a crash soon enough. As you know, the Ginkgo and the milk thistle really did help produce some focus and the caffeine gave it that extra kick. All in all, I found this drink to pretty lame, dull, and artificial, but if it were sweetened alternatively it would have been amazing. For 50 cents, why not give it a try though?

Taste: 6.8 - A dull and artificial pear-pineapple flavor didn't appeal to me that much
Kick: 8 - Great kick, much focus was provided
Overall: 7.2 - If you catch one of these for cheap, go ahead and give it a try...otherwise, forget about it

Reviewed by: Chan

Joker Mad Energy+Juice

It's been a long time since I got this. I've been neglecting it, but I don't see why I should, considering this is a Joker. Chan and I have always prized the Joker energy drinks, even before we knew how amazing and flavorful they were. The first Joker, the regular, was like a much more flavorful and crisp Monster. The second, the Joker Lo-Carb, was a clone of the Monster Lo-Carb, but also ramped up on flavor. So naturally, I think it should make sense for this to be extremely flavorful as well. The question is, "How does this relate to a Monster flavor?" Since all these Monster clones have been at least similar to the different Monster flavors, I'm wondering what a juice Monster clone has to offer. Perhaps it's a clone of the Khaos. Less likely, it could be a clone of the M-80. I'm going to find out.

I popped the can open, a sound I've missed. The first whiff I get is reminiscent of the Lost 5-0, with nice peachy mango-tangerine juice, but also that characteristic underlying Monster flavor. The smell has extreme depth which is simply amazing and that's very, very hard to find in many drinks. I believe this drink also may contain some white grape, that gives it a nice, smooth, tanginess. As it turns out, I'm absolutely right, without peeking at the ingredients. The fruit juices in here include apple, orange, pear, peach, tangerine, pineapple, and white grape. Out of those fruit juices, I can easily taste the tangering, white grape, orange and the very sour pineapple. I forgot to mention, the color is half-opaque peachy-orange, which is about what you'd expect from this sort of juice. I don't totally see how the apple and pear make a big difference, since they make short and hardly noticable appearances. My guess is they're fillers in a way. In terms of gumminess, this thing is a breeze and the carbonation is fine and comfortable. The only thing holding this back is that pleasantly painful sourness from the pineapple, I'm guessing. That'll be the only thing that probably bothers most people, since I know many people aren't used to sour drinks. If you think a Monster is sour, trust me, this is going to be unbearable.

With a Monster, or at least a drink made by Monster, you can always expect the most awesome kick. I'm not kidding. Some drinks may simply give you energy and/or focus. Monster goes so far with the kick, it's like a transformation from boring to insane. So what causes this sort of amazing boost? Well, I thought, since this is a Monster clone, that the energy ingredients would be slightly less than that of a Monster. Nope, that may be true for the Aces, but Joker stays true the the Monster recipe, with 2500mg per serving, 5000 total of the energy blend: Glucose, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and Maltodextrin. Added to that, there's 2000mg total of Taurine and 200mg of Panax Ginseng. Then there are the vitamins: A, C, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6 and B12. The only sad thing is that the B Vitamins are in 100% amounts per serving, while C and A are not. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing presumably the lamest drink ever, the Rush! Lite, having more vitamins. That's the only bad thing about this, but otherwise, it's a total slam dunk. I'd recommend this to hardcore energy drink junkies, but not so much to average drinkers. You won't like the sourness.

Taste: 8.3 - Very deep, fruity, sour taste
Kick: 9.3 - Hardcore kick, man
Overall: 9.1 - Hard to beat this one

Reviewed by: Jeff

Vitamin Water Focus

You may be a bit confused that I'm reviewing all these Glaceau Vitamin Waters, but I'll assure that they are, in fact, considered an energy drink. I got the Focus the other day and I knew it was an energy drink because, after a quick glance at the ingredients, I spy B Vitamins, niacin, lutein, and electrolytes, good enough, right? So, I then find out that quite a few out on the market are actually considered energy drinks, so I guess I'll check those out a little later on. Perhaps I'll get a flavor more like diluted strawberry-kiwi only because they are water based, and those tend to be like that. I also believe there will be some vitaminy taste to it as well, you know, they do have vitamins, right? Knowing Vitamin Water, they do a pretty good job sweetening there water beverages, so I do think it'll actually have a flavor. Looking at the 20 ounce bottle, I see a basic wrapper reddish-pinkish-ah, I don't really know how to explain it, but you'll note the color from the picture (See left). The same color applies to background, which is the color of the drink, you know, that hard to explain color. Anyways, I'll keep this paragraph brief and go on with the taste.

As I twist off the cap, I find a scent that's quite unique being a sweeter-than-normal strawberry-kiwi aroma and possibly even some honey, but I can't be too sure. I mentioned the color before and maybe it's just me, but I seriously cannot determine a color. I'll go with pink, light red, and maybe some orange mixed together, as well as equal parts of cloudiness. Oh wow, what a nice flavor. It's a smooth mixture of strawberry and kiwi with an added bonus of natural sweetness and a whole lot of honey to top it off. Being uncarbonated, this drink seems to be even better with a nice consistency to it. What differs in this Vitamin Water than any other water based energy drink has to be amount of actual flavor. I mean, it has an up-front taste, with minimal watery flavor taken over, which, as you know, is a whole lot different than most I've tried. Aside from the main flavor, there's a sort of aftertaste that makes you want to drink more, and by the time you know it, it's gone. That flavor seems to be more like a sweeter version of the main flavor, but with more added honey to it and less strawberry-kiwi. It has a simple basic water energy drink gumminess to it, but nothing too malicious in the mouth. Overall, I still am yet to find a Vitamin Water that has not impressed me. These guys sure do know how to make beverages.

As for ingredients, each bottle of Vitamin Water Focus has vapor distilled, deionized, and/or reverse osmosis water, crystalline fructose, citric acid, ascorbic acid, natural flavor, vegetable juice, gum acacia, electrolytes, ester gum, Vitamin A, and B vitamins. I really have no clue how or what they use to filter their water, but I guess it's good, by the looks of the name. Okay, it's sweetened with crystalline fructose, which now, isn't the best if you didn't know. It's basically corn syrup, but based on corn starch, not fruit. Crystalline Fructose is made by isolating the fructose from high fructose corn syrup through hydrolysis. Some say crystalline fructose is just as bad as high fructose corn syrup, although that is only somewhat true, as you see. Per 20 ounce bottle, you ingest only 125 calories and a moderate 32g of sugar. For once, I must say, the calorie and sugar content actually match the amount of flavor provided in the drink, unlike most others I've tried. If you're wondering how much energy ingredients are found in a bottle of Vitamin Water Focus, I'll inform you that there's 125 mcg of lutein. I don't know much about lutein and how much is an even dosage in a drink, but I do know that it provides focus. All in all, I continue to be impressed with Vitamin Water's line of drinks, and I really do hope the last few I plan to review are going to be just as good.

Taste: 7.5 - Nice strawberry-kiwi-honey mixture with perfect amounts of sweetness
Kick: 5 - I can't be too sure I got an amazing kick, but I sure felt something
Overall: 7 - I would start sticking with these drinks for now on, if I wanted something not carbonated and water-based

Reviewed by: Chan

24:7 Orange

Hey, this is Chris, and today I'll be reviewing the 24:7 Orange. This will most likely be an interesting experience, as I've never heard of, or seen an orange flavored energy drink. I'm expecting something along the lines of a Sunkist orange soda. I've always enjoyed the can design of the 24:7 line, and I think the orange coloring scheme totally fits well with the design including the flying "24:7". I don't know what to think about 24:7 in general, as I've only ever had one of their drinks, and not enjoyed it much. I think 24:7 will probably be able to pull of a decent orange flavor, and I'm hoping it's not dull and boring with a hard to enjoy flavor that I quickly lose interest of. Back to the can, I really like the cartoony, and yet well drawn orange near the top of the can, that's really neat looking. I'm glad to see the fact that this drink is indeed sweetened with sugar! That means no overly bitter Sucralose flavor, AKA Splenda. I'm ready to pop open this can, and give this orange flavored drink a try.

The can opens with a nice, satisfying crack, and I go for a nice whiff of (hopefully) tasty, orange flavor. One sniff seduces me as I question the reality of the aroma wafting from this magical can. It smells wonderful, and reminds me slightly of Sunny Delight, with a very faint, yet very clear generic energy drink taste. One sip proves the same, and I'm already heavily enjoying this drink. It's pretty sweet, with a small tinge of bitterness. It reminds me of an orange soda taste, kind of like a Sunny D as well. It's pretty lightly carbonated, allowing you to really experience the smooth flavor. The taste is very clean, and I can very easily enjoy this drink. The aftertaste is almost the same, except it has a very faint bitterness to it, but the orange flavor is still there and very pronounced. The aftertaste, I just realise, is just like a real orange, because it has that sour and bitter kind of feel to it, that still proves to be tasty. There's a noticeable slight thickness to this drink, that gives it an interesting texture that I really like. The gumminess is very low in this drink, which is always a good thing. It's nice to have a drink that doesn't make you clear your throat of gummy liquid in between each sip. This drink goes down smooth with low carbonation and gumminess plus a fantastic, well pronounced flavor, and I'm totally enjoying finishing off this can of goodness.

Te one other time I've tried a 24:7, the kick was just alright, not great, but I'm not saying it was terrible. It's actually a more focusing buzz this time, and I'm having no trouble with things like jitters. The back of the can lists 58 grams of sugar, which is an awful lot for 16 oz. I notice the very common combination of taurine and caffeine, which are in virtually every energy drink known to man. There's also glucuronolactone, which is supposed to fight fatigue, so I guess this would be good for exercise and things requiring endurance like running. Also there's pectin and locust bean gum, which are used as thickeners and gelling agents for multiple food products. There's also vitamin B3, which I'm generally assuming is just a multipurpose health and well-being vitamin. I'm enjoying the nice focus and lack of jitteriness for this version of 24:7, and thinking that this is a really good drink in both flavor and kick. I'm really focused, and after exercising I get little fatigue, and improved performance and focus, as well as a lot of concentration. Overall, I have to highly recommend this drink based on the focusing kick, and the very vivid, satisfying, and clean taste.

Taste: 9 - Awesome, clean, smooth, luscious orange
Kick: 8.5 - Great focus and decent energy ingredients
Overall: 8.8 - Highly suggested, awesome value for the price

Reviewed by: Chris

Rush! Lite

Here's a plain example of something I sometimes call a dollar store drink. Rush! Energy Drink Lite. What gives it away has to be the crude can design. The bold, bland, cheesy font above the generic red woodgrain background makes me think it was made in paint or something. Typically, a label like this, printed in English and Spanish, is a sign of a generic, lame energy drink. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a drink nonetheless, and I'm in the mood, since it's been a long day, and I need something to cool me down and perk me up at the same time. I chose the Rush! Lite because I'm feeling like something sugar-free and it's rumored that it has a strawberry flavor, which I could go for. I'm going to find out.

I've missed that sound, the loud pop of an aluminum can. That first smell is lovely, with a very luscious yet also natural strawberry, almost like strawberry ice cream. The smell doesn't quite radiate, but stays near the top. I take a small sip and I can tell there's lots of flavor there, but quite a bit of carbonation and the taste of the sucralose which is undoubtedly in here is masking it. What I can tell is underneath is a semi-artificial strawberry that tastes like it belongs in a strawberry hard candy. When you're swallowing, that flavor essentially disappears and there's lots of sourness tingling down your throat, which I'm betting is because it's meant to hide the bitter energy ingredients. What's bad about this drink is the flavor of the strawberry gets subtler and harder to notice with every sip and it's quite gummy. The drink itself actually seems pretty think and it gives you that "soda or juice teeth" feeling, which is uncomfortable, because you want something that is clean and fresh, not muddy. Also, it's very noticable how the carbonation robs your tongue of surface area with which to taste the strawberry. And as with all drinks sweetened with sucralose, there's that phenomenon dealing with the drink not tasting sweet after about a quarter of the can, though it's holding up relatively well. I can't say I'd recommend this at all. Unless you like spending half your time coping with a gummy mouth from an unsweet and heavily carbonated drink.

It's taken me a while to finish this drink, which, as you should know, impacts the effect of the energy ingredients. What this drink has done so far is provide some alertness, which is good, but not enough from a 16oz energy drink. And even though, I have a suspicion it's just because I drank something, not necessarily because of what's in here. I would say I've almost got enough energy to get up and go for a jog with no trouble, but something in the drink denies me that ability by making my stomach upset just a bit. Actually, it's getting better, but it's never good when a drink makes you sick to your stomach, even just while you start drinking. After finishing this whole thing, now, I can't say I have heaps of energy, but I do feel much awareness and some nice vitality. I think that's because of the l-carnitine. I've read that it's necessary for the breakdown of lipids to produce metabolic energy. That's a great thing to put in an energy drink, definitely, because, as I'm finishing this up, some real nice energy is making my legs restless. As for the rest of the energy ingredients, there's taurine, which does absolutely nothing, d-glucuronolactone, caffeine, Choline, and Inositol, making up for a combined 2901mg of energy blend. Along with that, just like almost all drinks, are an array of vitaimins: C, Niacin, B6, B12, and Pantothenic Acid, all 100% or above per serving, which is exceptional. The rest includes carbonated water, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate, ascorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, red 40 and EDTA. Ah, I was close, but not quite correct. The sweeteners are in fact sucralose and acesulfame potassium, or "ace-k." Though I can't say this is the best energy drink in terms of flavor or kick, some of the ingredients I did like. However, by no means do I think it's worth drinking for a relatively weak kick in relation to many other drinks.

Taste: 5.5 - Almost nasty, very artificial-tasting and highly carbonated strawberry
Kick: 7.2 - I liked the focus and vitality, but I'd rather get that from a Vitamin Energy
Overall: 6.3 - Not worth the money, even 60 cents

Reviewed by: Jeff

Quick Announcement

Hey fellas, this is Chan and Jeff informing you about a slight change. Due to the decreased number of reviews being posted, we decided to let our buddy Chris in for a few reviews. Now, this is not permanent, but just until we can actually get to our quota in energy drinks. This is mainly a fill in for Jeff, although he will be dropping in for a review or two every once in awhile. As you may have noticed, Jeff has not been extremely productive lately. It's not that he's lazy, he just leads a busy life. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to send us an email at cannedreviews@gmail.com.

Go Fast Light

You know, they say Sugar Free just isn't as good as a regular, original, fresh energy drink. In most cases, that is true, but then there's that group of Sugar Free energy drinks that excel their regular siblings. Go Fast is one energy drink company that seems to 'wow' everyone, which leaves me guessing what the Sugar Free version will bring me, perhaps a flavor just the same or, if not, better. What I'm thinking right now is, "If Go Fast can create a drink so powerful and fresh, can they make a sugar free drink just as good?" I take a quick glance at the can, noting every detail on the can, like how the red blends with the nice aluminum silver background. I'm also curious to see how this one sweetened, most likely Sucralose and acesulfame K, but you never know. Ah, I see it's just Sucralose, but very small amounts of, as it's listed at the bottom of the ingredients list. Surpringly there's no acesulfame potassium, but there is artificial flavors, which really could mean anything, perhaps more artificial sweeteners. I notice the cliche phrase "Pure Energy" at the top of the can. To me, that phrase has lost all meaning because you should know by now how many energy drinks I have tried, most of them saying exactly that, that are extremely lame. Well, I have faith in Go Fast, let's see if it'll live up.

Hm, the aroma to this drink is almost exactly the same as the regular, and now I'm believing that's it another drink like the Kronik and the Kronik Sugar Free where I couldn't tell the difference. The color shows no difference being golden-yellow, like the color of honey itself. Hm, well I am proven wrong the taste. It seems to be much different than the regular Go Fast, but with a few similarities like strong strawberry flavor. The differences are that with this one, there's more of an up-front flavor, mostly fruit-like sourness, and there's definitely less Australiain Honey. As it fades away, there's more of an artificialness to it that lingers, but doesn't take over the drink like most do. I'd say the general flavor is an up front, subtle strawberry flavor, that's not so artificial for a Sugar Free drink. There's also not that much honey content, at least not so much as to actually tasting it. It has an aftertaste like one you'd find from an overly sweet energy drink, you know, that crude flavor in your mouth that just doesn't go away. As for gumminess, I'd say it's more gummy than usual for something this low in real sugar, but you know, it's really not too bad. It's carbonated the same way, just a bit, enough for you to feel it on the tongue, not so much that it's hard for you to swallow though. Overall, I must say, Go Fast has really impressed me, and until they come out with a new flavor, they are a true winner in my energy drink book.

Well, even the best energy drinks seem to have the shortest lists. This drink has a pretty short list, but a nice list on energy ingredients. There's carbonated water, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, honey, sodium citrate, caffeine, and Sucralose. Well, like I said earlier, it tasted not as artificial as other sugar free energy drinks, but that's probably because most of the sweetness came from the Australian Honey and the strawberry. It also notes artificial flavors, which could really mean anything, from more artificial sweeteners, to artificial strawberry, who knows? As for energy ingredients, there's B Vitamins, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, taurine, ribose, ginseng, guarana, ginkgo biloba, inositol, and milk thistle herb. Per 11.9 can, you get only 30 calories and no sugar whatsoever. I strongly advise you get this drink if you're into distinct sugar free flavors, and not just a usual Monster Clone (Monster Lo-Carb, Hansen's Diet Red, Etc.). I'm seriously glad to see Go Fast note "No (preservatives. No aspartame, no high fructose corn syrup." That tells me they know what and what not to put into an energy drink. Okay, the kick lasted a good few hours of mainly focus with some nice jitteriness to add on. Overall, this has to go onto my go-to list of sugar free energy drinks, and really does rank up there with the Kronik Sugar Free and the Rockstar Zero Carb.

Taste: 8 - Very tasty blend of up-front strawberry and a touch of honey to add on
Kick: 8.4 - Just like the original, the Go Fast Light produced a nice 3+ hours of focus
Overall: 8.2 - I would seriously consider buying another one of these just to have

Reviewed by: Chan

Vital Lifestyle Water Energize Dragonfruit

It seems like I have more water-based energy drinks than I had originally thought of. So, for the next few days I really wanted to review them and get them done and over with so I can stick with the main energy drinks, and trust me, I have some quality drinks coming in to be reviewed. Anyway, you never know which company will create their own version of an energy drink. Look, we have Snapple, Dasani, Aquafina, you know, just companies you really wouldn't expect. Now, I have one from a company named Vital, and I'm not sure I'm familiar with them, so please, if you are feel free to leave a comment and clue me in. In a 20 ounce bottle there's standard energy ingredients key for making the cut on being an energy drink. I see taurine, caffeine, inositol, Vitamin B, niacin, and all those great energizing ingredients. To me, this bottle looks a bit like it were from an older era, like the 80's because it has just has that old fashioned font and feel to it. It's main colors are white and a red-orange used on the wrapper and on the cap, which leaves me wondering why the color of the drink isn't red-orange, like the color dragonfruit is. I'm let down on the fact that they claim only a "Hint of dragon fruit." Well, perhaps it's not just a hint...

I twist off the cap and go in for a whiff to locate an aroma that's light, not up front, and somewhat irregular smelling. I mentioned earlier the color was crystal clear, a bit odd but I'll go with it. Oh wow, once I take my first few sips I start to find a thick watery flavor of almost nothing, and a light dragon fruit flavor shortly following down the throat. I find this dragonfruit flavor to be somewhat different than normal due to its unusually bitter, vitaminy, and surprisingly artificial. I love dragon fruit, I mean, who doesn't? It's got an addicting flavor to it, but when it's messed up, it's ruined and just disappointing. I can tell you, however, you may not taste the dragonfruit that well only because your taste buds aren't tuned as finely as mine and Jeff's, but if you were to taste, just know it's not great. I feel like I'm getting a great dose of needed vitamins drinking this, so I'd think that it's a plus for drinking one of these. Hm, it's surprisingly gummy for a drink not sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, although it is sweetened with fruit sugar, which is good. Overall, I know these water-based energy drinks aren't the greatest when it comes down to flavor, but I mean, you definitely feel energized and vitalized, if you get what I'm saying here.

On ingredients, Vital Lifestyle Water is pretty darn simple. It is a great alternative ingredient supplier having water, fruit sugar, natural flavor, malic acid, calcium pantothenate, inositol, caffeine, niacin, and taurine. Well, the fruit sugar made it taste even better as opposed to being sweetened with just sucrose. If you understand, fruit sugar tends to have a bit more flavor to it and a bit more bite, while sucrose is your every day, average table sugar. It's uncommon to see taurine in energy waters, though it's not proven to have an effect, I think it helps deliver the pounding kick. Per 20 ounce bottle, you get only a minute 40 (About) calories, and around only 13g of sugar. It's not that sweet at all, which I can easily guess at because it took a lot, even for me, to find a flavor buried in all that diluted watery mess. As for energy ingredients, there's quite a nice blend of 65mg of caffeine, 13mg of taurine, 18mg of niacin, and about 65mg of inositol. There's also a whole lot of other vitamins listed individually but I won't list them. After everything, I felt a nice boost that lasted under about an hour and I felt better after getting my daily amount of vitamins in one drink.

Taste: 4.5 - There really wasn't too much flavor in this, but you know, I'll let it go because I believe they weren't focusing too much on the flavor
Kick: 6.7 - Nice boost for an energy water it kept me moving around for a little while longer
Overall: 5.5 - Just an average drink, I'll stick with the Antioxidant Water line of drinks if I wanted something most similar

Reviewed by: Chan