Let me take the guess work out of buying energy drinks for you! Energy Drink Reviews

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!! We are gonna sample some CRUNK!!! today. Whaaaaaaaat??

Lets crack open this 250mL can and see what we get…. first we see a murky / cloudy cranberry color that provides a decent aroma. Once you take a sip you will notice that CRUNK taste better than it smells. (that’s a good thing compared to some of the other drinks that fool ya with a great aroma) We found minimal carbonation, minimal aftertaste and a definitely unique flavor that separates CRUNK from the other “baby aspirin” energy drinks out there. The pomegranate juice may be the source for interesting flavor that arouses your taste buds. (I didn’t see a specific juice % content on the can)

CRUNK is loaded with the standard goods and all kinds of additional goodies: horny goat weed, ashwaganda, grape seed extract, milk thistle, ginko biloba, skull cap, white willow bark, damiana and black carrot extract (for color).

CRUNK is unique drink and is worth a shot if you haven’t tried it yet.

CRUNK!!! Energy Drink was co-created and launched in 2004 by the late beverage industry legend Sidney Frank, creator of Grey Goose vodka and founder of Sidney Frank Importing Company (importer of Jägermeister), along with Lil’ Jon, the Grammy award winning artist and producer who is still onboard with CRUNK!!! as Chief Brand Advisor.

This drink is just BAD… I am sorry readers I can’t even review this!

FTBM is so friggin nasty, the smell of it when you crack the can is horrific and if you decide to taste it…. you’re in for a nasty surprise! You have been warned, avoid this drink!

This is the only thing you can do with FTBM:

I just found this at the grocery store last night and had to give it a try. Mountain Dew Voltage - Charged with raspberry citrus flavor and ginseng.

I am guessing this is standard Dew that they added a new flavor and some ginseng. The sugar content is still 76g for a 20 oz bottle which is the same as regular Dew.

Voltage has a ROBUST flavor that stimulates every taste bud in your mouth!!! I was surprised at the level of flavor Voltage delivered. I want to describe the flavor as blue… if you ever tasted any blue drinks this what came to mind. Lets now really focus and see what flavor we can taste…. I am tasting some generic berry with little bit of tart. I really can’t pinpoint the flavor of this drink past berry but it has a solid huge taste that will make you say “DAMN!”

I didn’t notice any energy boost over a standard Dew. I would not buy this again but I was glad I did try it just so I witness the flavor explosion Voltage delivers.

Let’s jet into the weekend with Jetset Energy Original review!

Jetset has a fun looking can with the Austin Powers swirl effect in the background, the DJ working a pair of turntables on the backside of the can and all the world clocks at the top of the can. I did notice the can was slightly large than a Redbull at 10.5oz (310mL) so you score an extra swig or two with Jetset!

Lets crack this can open and start this review………. Jetset offers a very similar aroma to the ‘bull and has a strong orange/gold color that draws your attention. The color, aroma and taste also remind me of a drink called “Dark Scorpion” and that was a tasty drink also. Jetset has very fine micro bubbles that assault your tongue, I am not a fan of heavy carbonation but I enjoyed the micro bubbles! I also noticed some there is a metallic aftertaste if you take a small sip but if you take a big swig you don’t notice it that much. There is a slight aftertaste/cottonmouth but nothing more than a light residue film that disappears after 60 secs.

Jetset has a slightly tart flavor, it’s milder than Monster but similar to Red Bull.  Edit 8/7/08  I just had another Jetset and I noticed more cottonmouth and aftertaste than I had originally posted.

Jetset offers the usually suspects:HFCS, 1000mg taurine, 50mg inositol, 25mg ginseng, 120mg caffeine, 25mg guarana and B vitamins.

If you are out and about, grab a Jetset and let me know what you think.

Monster Energy is up for advertising on just about anything these days! I was just in Vegas for a convention and the monorail looks pretty cool! When you are inside they have a video playing with various Monster sponsored athletes (BMX, Moto-X ect….)

They also have a Monster vending machine that sells the 16oz cans for $2. Now that’s one of the best deals in Vegas. NYNY hotel was selling 8oz cans of Redbull for $4.25

I was hoping to find some new drinks out there but nothing new or interesting……

Amp Elevate is part of a new 3 flavor release by Mt Dew.  The can design is similar to the others but I really dig the blue color combo and blue pull tab!

Elevate is branded as “Focus” with L-Theanine, this is the first energy drink I have sampled that has highlighted this amino acid that is normally found in tea.  Theanine has been shown to reduce mental and physical stress and also promotes alpha wave production in the brain.

Let’s crack this open and see what we get!!!!  I spy a crimson maroon color that is slightly cloudy upon pouring in a cup. (Very similar to Chambord liqueur)  The first sip produces a very sharp taste followed by strong carbonation that assaults your tongue.  I can handle the strong carbby feel that Elevate provides, it’s not overpowering or distracting.

Elevate is listed as a “Blast of Mixed Berry” and I will agree 100% on that, there is almost any kind of berry you can think of…. blueberry, cranberry, raspberry, blackberry and it finishes up with a light citrus aftertaste and a slight filmy residue on the roof of your mouth!

As for the goodies it seems that L-Theanine is the highlight that provided a nice focus factor (which could be all BS but I thought so), only 248mg of taurine, 160mg of caffeine, 148mg of guarana and 34mg of ginseng.

I would have no problem drinking Elevate anytime, it was refreshing, not overpowering and besides the slight filmy aftertaste I’d give this 2 thumbs up!

Today I found a can of Amp Traction at the local C-store this morning and had to pick it up. The can looks cool but the $2.69 price tag was not… (OUCH) but me being the energy drink whore I couldn’t pass it up.

Amp Traction (AT) has a black & purple can with a purple pull tab releases a heavy grape aroma once opened. The grape aroma is very inviting, smells good and so far the whole package is looking nice. Once we sample the AT we discover a very faint grape taste, the aroma does not even come close to matching the taste at all… I would compare this to a mild tasting Mountain Dew Pitch Black, it was a very forgettable taste that left me disappointed.

AT has very minimal carbonation, light metallic tingle on the tip of your tongue but does leave that filmy residue on the roof of your mouth. I would give this drink a high “hawker factor”… you could produce a mean high volume hawker to spit after just 1/3 of a can of Amp Traction.

Traction includes taurine, guarana, caffeine, d-Ribose, ginseng, HFCS and B vitamins.

Overall I could drink a whole can of this with no problem, but it tastes like a plain dull grape soda.

I have reviewed Frappio in the past but they have released a new can design I wanted to share with you.

I am still not a huge fan of any of the coffee energy drink but I’ll let you decide.

Frappio Espresso Latte (iced coffee with Ashwangandha) Ingredients: Brewed Coffee, milk, sucrose, natural and artificial flavor, sodium bicarbonate, pectin, dipotassium phosphate, caffeine, carrageenan, Ashwangandha.  Not a real inviting list of ingredients there…..

Radioactive Energy (RE) comes in a 10.5 oz can with a vinyl overlay label. The label is pretty cool since it will glow in the dark BUT you need to hold the label to a light to “charge” it for a better view.

RE has a dull yellow color with no foamy head when poured into a glass. I really couldn’t smell a distinct aroma that was describable so I will call this a dull aroma.

Radioactive has a very sour / bitter taste that will really make you pucker up on that first sip. I did not find my first sip pleasant at all, I was ready to pour out the rest of the can….. RE is not sweet tasting by any means but it is very dry and has a blah aftertaste that I can’t pinpoint. RE is a very forgettable drink, it does not have an qualities that really make this stand out besides the name and label. I do have to mention that this drink gets SLIGHTLY better after the first few sips, but I would still have to rate this 5/10.

Save your $2 and pick a different drink!

Today we are going to review a drink that Emilie was so kind to donate to the site. Mini Thin Rush (MTR) comes in a 2 oz plastic screw top bottle with a plastic color wrap and the slogan of “Feel the RUSH!”. The label shows various activities such as swimming, bike riding, tennis and basketball.

Mini Thin Rush claims

*Instant Energy

*No Crash

*Sugar Free - less than 1 carb

This version of MTR is berry flavor and once you open the top it has a very fragrant fruit punch aroma that is very pleasing, reminds me of Hawaiian Punch. We have just sampled Rockstar Punch not too long ago so I was thinking MTR may be similar due to the aroma and solid red color….. I was wrong in every aspect of that assumption. MTR taste nothing like it smells, this has a very medicinal flavor that reminds me of Robitussion cough syrup. I could even create a new category called Jekyll and Hyde since this is such a drastic change from smell to taste. Once you get past the medicine taste MTR will leave a slight metallic aftertaste.

OK, enough with the taste… what does 6 hr energy do for you? The first time I sampled this drink I didn’t really notice much of a pick up boost…. I then tried it again the next day and noticed a good 3 hr boost of energy that didn’t crash on me.

Bottom line: Mini Thin Rush does not taste good BUT it can give you a energy boost without having to drink a 16 oz can of other drinks. Twist the cap, slug it down and move along!