200 Energy Drinks Reviewed & Counting!

Well I have finally hit the 200 mark. That's right I have reviewed 200 different Energy Drinks since I made my first post on April 25, 2006. It took me an entire year to get the first 100 Energy Drinks Reviewed, but since then I have picked up the pace and reviewed another 100 in about 6 months. There has not been quite as much controversy during this 100 reviews as there were in the last 100 reviews. However, there were plenty of interesting energy drinks.



There was no Cocaine Energy Drink to stir up the media. However, in recent weeks there has been a flare of media coverage relating to Energy Drinks with Alcohol (which I covered over a year ago). Back then the ED / Alcohol market was somewhat small, but now it has grown tremendously and it seems that kids are able to buy these energy drinks with alcohol just as easily as the normal kind. What are we supposed to do about it seems to be the question on everyone's mind. Well some states are calling for an outright ban and some people in the media are blaming the energy drink companies for making the packaging too similar to the regular energy drinks. I do have my opinions on this subject but I think I will do what I do best and stick to reviewing. You guys can hash it out on this topic.

So what else has happened over the last 100 reviews?
Well I have updated my Best Energy Drinks and Strongest Energy Drinks lists to include beverages that were reviewed in the last 100. Both ended up seeing a couple additions so stop by and check it out. Besides those two lists I have had the privilege of trying some really good and really bad energy drinks over the last 6 months. I won't mention any of the crappy ones; however, I will mention one of the good ones that rather intrigued me. The ingenious WheyUP, an energy drink with 20 grams of protein in it that should do fairly well since this type of market was previously untapped.

What Are the Big Boy's Up To?
The last 6 months and 100 reviews showed that the big boys (except for Red Bull) are trying to expand their product lines. The Monster Energy Drinks line up expanded with the addition of coffee flavored ED's. I have only had the opportunity to try one, but the initial results did not seem too bad. On top of this Pepsi Co. released two new products to try and take advantage of those consumers looking for a higher caffeine kick, but not necessarily from ED's. These two products, Diet Pepsi Max and Mountain Dew Game Fuel have mass appeal, extra caffeine and an extremely small price tag. While not necessarily ED's, they do give a cheap kick.

Where's the Energy Drink Market going?
Well the trend of more energy ingredients (mainly caffeine) seems to be where a lot of ED's are going. I have reviewed two separated drinks that both had over 500 milligrams of caffeine. Compare that to the highly controversial Spike Shooter of 6 months ago that only (???) has 300 milligrams of caffeine. So where do we draw the line? Who knows, but this draws back into an article I wrote over a year ago about energy drinks and age limits.

Caffeine content of ED's continue to increase which plays into the fact that Sizes continue to increase as well, (I think there is a 32 ounce Monster Energy in the works). The more volume, the more caffeine and people don't always look at serving size. One 32 ounce Monster would be equivalent to four 8.4 ounce Red Bull's!

On a positive note ED's have been introducing healthier alternatives to their normal sugar laden products. These lo-carb, sugar free, low calorie ED's are something that the public really needed as most people don't know that you can easily take in 300 calories per drink. And if you have 2 or more per day those calories can really add up. Good thing I am an active person.

More choices
I have it made. I get to try a new ED almost everyday, but the majority of the public is still stuck on the big 3 brands (Red Bull, Monster, Rock Star) even though there are countless new drinks being introduced almost daily. I believe in 2006 there were almost 500 new ED's introduced and who know's how many have been introduced so far this year. They range from functional beverages like Function Alternative Energy to novelty drinks like Jimi Hendrix Liquid Experience. Heck there was even a drink created for the Christian Religious market called 1 in 3 Trinity.

So whatever niche you are currently in, trust me you are in one whether you know it or not, stay tuned for an ED that is targeted directly at you. Heck, maybe it will be a 144 ounce slushy with 1000 milligrams of caffeine targeted at little leaguers. Wait, do they already have that?

Talk to you in another 100 or so reviews!