XENERGY Raspberry Lemonade

Cost: $1.99 Cost Per Ounce:$0.25 Active Ingredients:Caffeine, Taurine, Guarana Extract, B-Vitamins, Ginseng Taste Rating:9 Kick Rating:8.9 Final Judgment Rating: Energy Drink Ratings Explained XENERGY Raspberry Lemonade Review: Well it has been an extremely long time since I did a review here. I would have to say I am quite backlogged with requests to review drinks and shots. So if I have not gotten back to you, please just try again. I hope to be a little more active on here in the future, so hit me back up if you need a review done. Anyways, as I said I had quite a back log of reviews to do. As I am staring at 30+ different brands on my shelf, I notice a couple different flavors of XENERGY. I thought to myself, XENERGY used to be one of my favorites, so what better way to start reviewing again then trying out one of their newest flavors. Looking at the XENERGY website, I see they have way more flavors then I rememeber them having. The last new flavor I reviewed of theirs was the Xenergy Blu Pom and that flavor was fabulous. So let's see if their latest concoction of Raspberry lemonade is of the same quality I remember. XENERGY Raspberry Lemonade Review: Taste Not a lot has changed since the last review in 2009. Still a 16 ounce can and still looks like all of the flavors have zero calories. Back in the day, I mean waaay back when I first started reviewing energy drinks, Circa 2005... if an energy drink had zero calories, you pretty much had to choke it down. Well, the market has come a loooong way since 2005 and plenty of brands have great tasting low or zero calorie options. Xenergy is definitely one of those brands. While the lemonade flavor is pretty strong, the hint of Raspberry definitely takes away the bite. At zero calories, this thing is smooth. Taste Rating - 9.0 XENERGY Raspberry Lemonade Review: Kick You would think after 7+ years and over 450 Reviews of Energy Drinks I would be pretty much immune to anyting a brand can throw my way. Well, I probably have a higher tolerance than the ordinary person, but I can still get a kick from a 16 ounce can and the Xenergy Raspberry lemonade definitely delivers this kick in a nice sugar free package. With a laundry list of energy ingredients that include 190 milligrams of caffeine, guarana extract, b-vitamins, taurine, panax ginseng extract and inositol you definitely get the kick you are looking for. Not the strongest on the market, but definitely worth it! Kick Rating 8.9 XENERGY Raspberry Lemonade Review: Final Judgment I am pretty glad of the 30 or so brands of energy drinks and shots I had sitting in my cabinet, that Xenergy was the first one I chose to get back into the review game. I feel I picked up right where I left off... reviewing quality products that deliver the kick promised. Seems like Zenergy did the same thing. Can't wait to try their other new flavors! Final Judgement - 9.0

5-Hour Energy - Pink Lemonade Review

Cost: $2.99 Cost Per Ounce:$1.50 Active Ingredients:Caffeine, Taurine, B-Vitamins Taste Rating:9.2 Kick Rating:9.5 Final Judgment Rating:9.5 Energy Drink Ratings Explained

5-Hour Energy - Pink Lemonade Review: It has been quite some time since I have posted a new Energy Drink Review... In fact I was actually contemplating retiring from reviews for awhile since I have really not had the time to keep up religiously like I used to. Even with my email box full of review requests I couldn't muster the time to do any new reviews. That is until I saw the new Pink Lemonade 5-hour Energy in Upper Michigan while on my way out to the backcountry for a couple days. The bright pink bottle seemed like it was glowing, beckoning me to buy it, in fact I swear it was calling my name even before I turned into the gas station. Upon further inspection of the 5-hour Energy Pink Lemonade bottle I see that it is tied to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer crusade and that 5-hour will be donating a minimum of $75,000 to the charity. Pretty sweet, but upon furthe inspection of the 5-hour website I see that they will be giving $0.05 for every bottle sold to the Avon Foundation. That may not sound like a lot, but if you have seen any of their latest commercials, you will remember that they sell 9 million of those little buggers per week and since 5-hour Energy will donate five cents through December 31, 2012 that amount could add up quick. The addition of the new Pink Lemonade flavor means that they now have 9 different varieties for you to choose from... 6 original strength, 2 extra strength and a decaf. So hypothetically let's say that the new Pink Lemonade sells 1 million bottles per week... donation period lasts for 12 weeks. So 12 million bottles at five cents would mean a donation of $600,000. Now that's hypothetical, but the strength of the product and success of past new flavors leads me to believe it is entirely possible. Well enough fluff, let's move on to the review to see if the new 5-hour Energy Pink Lemonade was worth coming out of semi retirement for...

5-Hour Energy - Pink Lemonade Review: Taste Well the last flavor that 5 hour Energy came out with was extra strength grape and the flavor seems to have been well received by the market as well as with this reviewer. Now it is fairly obvious that the new Pink Lemonade is geared towards the female demographic, but hey I am more than man enough to try out the new flavor. And boy was I glad I did. The new shot tastes exactly like what you would expect a Pink Lemonade flavored drink to taste like... Pink Lemonade. Well hello Mr. Obvious, that was so enriching of a taste review. Well hard to describe a Pink Lemonade flavor I guess. I can tell you that it is not a sweet Pink Lemonade, but that the Lemonade flavoring is quite strong. As far as a medicinal aftertaste there was absolutely none. After 8 years of being the leader in energy shots, I think they got the flavoring down pat! This is by far the best tasting shot they have come out with...although the pomegranate is a close second. Taste Rating 9.0

5-Hour Energy - Pink Lemonade Review: Kick Well I normally take energy shots before some kind of physical activity and since I was on my way to a backpacking trip the new shot would be put to the test immediately. After a 4 hour drive I arrived at my destination... stiff from sitting and a little tired from the drive I cracked open the bottle and in two sips I quickly finished the shot. Now I was ready to take off on my 22 mile hike to get to camp. In the terrain the hike would take me about 6 hours. All I can say is I am glad I took the shot as the kick was just as good as all the other flavors. I felt focused and energized after the long drive. The hike took just under 6 hours and I still had plenty of energy to setup camp for the night and still enjoy the sunset on the shores of Lake Superior. Kick Rating 9.5

5-Hour Energy - Pink Lemonade Review: Final Judgment Great new flavor and I am more than glad that it called out to me at the gas station. I have missed reviewing and this was by far the best way to come back. I even managed to donate $0.05 to the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade which you can learn more about here. To sum up, best tasting flavor yet. Energy formula remains solid. Supplied the focus and energy I needed without the crash and without the calories I don't want. Final Judgment - 9.5

SK Energy Shot Review

Cost: 2.99 Cost Per Ounce:$1.18Active Ingredients:Malic Acid, Caffeine, B-VitaminsTaste Rating:8.6Kick Rating:8.8Final Judgment Rating:8.7Energy Drink Ratings ExplainedSK Energy Shot Review:

So this new"ish" energy shot... ok not really new at all as it was introduced over a year ago in 2011. I have actually been meaning to review this ever since I heard that SK, formerly known as "Street King" energy shot was being pushed by none other than 50 Cent. Sounded logical, I mean 50 cent has had pretty good success with Vitamin Water so why not dive head first into the energy shot market??? But then how do you take on the market leader, 5-hour Energy? Well it seems that SK's approach was find a celebrity, add a touch of charity (1 energy shot = 1 meal for a hungry child) and then claim one more hour of energy (6 vs. 5). So how well has it done? To date it looks like they have given away 3.5 million meals through the The World Food Programme. It also looks like they are softening the name as well. SK sounds much better than Street King when you have a philanthropic note right on the top of your energy shot... Anyways, I am not really here to judge how their marketing or sales are going, really just here two give my 2 cents on Taste and Kick.

SK Energy Shot Review: TasteFirst off SK comes in two flavors Grape and Orange Mango, both of which come in a larger than industry average (2 ounce) 2.5 ounce a. Maybe that's where they get the extra hour of claimed energy??? Instead of doing two separate flavor/taste reviews like I have done in the past on the over 450 + reviews... I am just going to lump the two together in this one review. Grape... well, guess what it tastes like grape; albeit a watered down slightly powdery grape. You know sort of like when you drink a Gatorade, then you go to a race (e.g. 5k, 10k, marathon) and they give you that ready mix version. Sure it tastes like Gatorade, but it's watered down and has a slightly odd taste that is hard to describe. Anyways, SK Energy does a much better job on the Orange Mango flavor. Much more of a tropical blend that is less watered down medicinal tasting. So if you are going to give SK a try, I personally recommend the Orange Mango, but that's just my two cents. Taste Rating (combined Grape and Orange Mango) - 8.6


SK Energy Shot Review: KickSo almost 25% more shot than the Market Leader and you get one extra hour of claimed energy... not too bad considering they are roughly the same MSRP. But does it actually deliver... extra 0.5 ounces or not? Well the energy drink ingredients include the following; Malic Acid, Caffeine, Sodium Citrate and Citicoline for a total "Rebel Energy Blend" of 464 milligrams. Compare that to the market leaders non "rebel" energy blend of 1870 milligrams and you get... pretty much absolutely nothing as the energy blends are nothing alike. What is alike is that SK Energy seems to have taken the same stance as the market leader and states that the caffeine is comparable to a cup of premium coffee. So, how's the damn kick already??? Well to be honest I wasn't floored. It is not the strongest energy drink I have ever tried, nor is it the strongest energy shot. It does the job, but is pretty standard when it comes to energy shots. Kick Rating - 8.8


SK Energy Shot Review: Final JudgmentDecent taste, decent price and kick is decent. All in all a decent product. The 1 energy shot = 1 meal for a hungry child is a nice philanthropic touch too. It also doesn't seem readily available. I have been all over the Midwest and Nortwest US recently and have yet to bump into one. SK will definitely carve itself a nice little niche in the market, but I don't think it is superior to the current market leader. But that's just my two cents. Final Judgment - 8.7

Energy Drink Gift Baskets!

Looking to send your friends, co-workers or loved ones a little bit of energy? Why not send them a Massive Energy Drink Gift Basket? The folks at Wow Gift Boxes recently sent me a gift basket full of Monster Energy Drinks and other goodies and I was thoroughly impressed with the packaging and selection. So next time you are considering sending a gift basket, consider sending the gift of energy. You would be suprised how many energy drink junkies there are out there :). Along with a slew of Energy Drinks the recipient also receives the following:

• Hot Fudge Brownie Gold – A scrumptious, decadent hot fudge brownie that anyone will enjoy.
• Claeys Kettle Fresh Fudge Gold Box – a scrumptious box of fudge that is hard to resist.
• 2 Gourmet Butter Toffee Popcorn Bags – Crunchy, fresh, sweet gourmet popcorn to please.
• Hand Written Greeting Card – A full size, elegant card – you choose the theme. We will hand write your note with love!
• Gorgeous Gift Box & Bow – All is housed in one of our designer gift boxes to keep your recipient in suspense until the last moment.

Enter Code "THANKS15" at the checkout for 15% off all orders!

Golazo Energy Drink Review

Cost: $1.99
Cost Per Ounce:$0.17
Active Ingredients:Caffeine (Guarana), B-Vitamins, electrolytes
Taste Rating:8.2
Kick Rating:8.5
Final Judgment Rating:8.4
Energy Drink Ratings Explained

Golazo Energy Drink Review:
Well I have been sitting on these samples of Golazo Energy for some time so I might as well let everyone know MHO about the Futbol inspired energy drink. Golazo, meaning "super goal" in Spanish is supposed to be introducing new sports hydration flavors in 2012, but as of now it comes in both regular and sugar free "original" versions in a pretty typical 12 ounce can. Headquartered in Seattle and manufactured in Portland with only high-quality ingredient list containing no artificial or genetically-engineered (GMO) ingredients does set Golazo apart from most of the competition. Another thing that sets Golazo apart is the Energy + Hydration claims. The hydration just comes in the form of electrolytes, 125 milligrams to be exact in a 12 ounce can which is comparable to the electrolytes in an an 8 ounce serving of Gatorade. So caffeine and electrolytes...?? Anyways, on with the review of Golazo.

Golazo Energy Drink Review: Taste
First off the claims by Golaza regarding taste are as follows: "Latin-inspired Mango-Limón flavor." While I definitely taste the "limon", I don't see too much mango taste coming from either the original or sugar free versions. While there is a slightly bitter aftertaste, it really is not too noticeable. It does seem to have a slight bitter aftertaste, somewhat similar to Kronik Energy Drink. With either 90 calories total for the original or 10 for the sugar-free version, the taste is on par with most of the competition but not at the top of my list. However, taste is subjective, so to each their own and the sugar free and original versions are comparative in taste. Taste Rating - 8.2

Golazo Energy Drink Review: Kick
Each can of Golazo Energy drinks has roughly 100 milligrams of natural caffeine (Guarana) along with a decent dose of b-vitamins and Yerba Mate. Overall the kick in a 12 ounce can of Golazo would be on par...maybe slightly more than an 8 ounce can of Redbull. Not one of the strongest energy drinks on the market but I don't think that is the market they are after. With the combination of hydration in the form of electrolytes I would almost put this in the functional beverage market. Either way decent kick... Kick Rating 8.5.

Golazo Energy Drink Review: Final Judgment
While Golazo is not going to be making my list of Best Energy Drinks I do have to say the addition of electrolytes is a nice touch. While two of the major three (Monster and Rockstar) have also started incorporating electrolytes into their beverages, I always find it refreshing to find a smaller start up take on something a little different. Check them out on their website or growing Golazo Nation on Facebook. Final Judgement - 8.4