Carabao Mango Burst
September 27th, 2025Another Thai energy drink but this time made in the UK – Carabao Mango Burst is full of flavour. It’s strong and tangy but sweet, very fruity and easy to drink. I’ve noticed that one of the ingredients is “burnt sugar caramel” and I’m not sure if that’s for colour, taste or both. It’s not sugar-free but it is reasonably low in calories at 49 per can and I think Carabao have managed a good compromise in this drink in terms of sugar content, fruit flavour and sweetness.
Red Bull Winter Edition (2025): Fuji Apple and Ginger
September 21st, 2025New for 2025 it’s the now regular special edition for Winter – this year Red Bull have gone with Fuji Apple and Ginger. Now I was very apprehensive about this one because I dislike both apple and ginger drinks usually, but I was pleasantly surprised here. You can certainly taste both the apple and the ginger, but neither are overpowering. It’s quite a smooth tasting drink, very sweet and the ginger does not attack the back of your throat at all but it does give the drink a slight warmth. Totally original and not what I was expecting, even the apple is subtle.
Red Bull Soda Energy Drink Blueberry Blackcurrant
September 13th, 2025A brief Red Bull history lesson: in the beginning was Krating Daeng, manufactured by TC Pharmaceutical (TCP). Red Bull as we know it in the West was derived from Krating Daeng for Western tastes in partnership with the owner of TCP, however products under the Red Bull brand name in Thailand are manufactured by TCP. This particular drink has been imported from Thailand and is very different to any Red Bull we might recognise in the West. It’s only very lightly carbonated and the flavour is mostly from blueberry as far as I can tell. Nearly all of the text on the can is in Thai so I’ve had to use Google Lens to translate what I can so apologies if any of the nutritional information is incorrect! A very nice energy drink and a change from the normal varieties we get in the UK / Europe.
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| Strength: | Visitor Ratings: | ||
| Caffeine: | 22mg/100ml |
Tags: Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Thailand |
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| Calories: | 4kCal/100ml | ||
| Size: | 250ml | ||
| Sold By: | Family Shopper, UK | ||
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Asda Diet CHRG Summer Fruits Energy Drink (2025)
September 6th, 2025Summer fruits is great for the summer it turns out. I can taste raspberry and cherry in this, but there are definitely other less identifiable fruits mixed in there. I enjoyed this, it was just the right strength of flavour with no strange aftertaste or sickliness. Top marks for taste!
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| Strength: | Visitor Ratings: | ||
| Caffeine: | 30mg/100ml |
Tags: Low Calorie, Summer Fruits, UK |
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| Calories: | 2kCal/100ml | ||
| Size: | 250ml | ||
| Sold By: | Asda | ||
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FruttaMax Thunder Max Energy Drink Syrup Original
August 30th, 2025If you have a SodaStream machine or similar carbonated water maker then you’ll know that the syrups you buy can make this a fantastic factory of fizzy wonder. I’ve reviewed SodaStream’s own-brand energy syrups before but this is a third-party offering from FruttaMax. When made up in a ratio of 1:23 with fizzy water you end up with an energy drink packing 32mg/100ml of caffeine according to the bottle. By my calculations for a smaller 450ml SodaStream bottle that requires about 20ml of syrup, or about 4 teaspoons. That isn’t very much at all, less than you’d typically use with genuine SodaStream syrups so I was concerned it might be a bit watery. Well, no, I was wrong! It’s spot on! What you end up with is a very passable ‘clone’ energy drink. It’s crisp and caramely, just as good if not better than most cheap clone cans. What’s even better is that this is the original full sugar version but only has 8 calories/100ml. The sugar-free version has got to be amazing if it wants to beat this. The concentrate will provide about 12 litres of diluted energy drink at a 1:23 ratio with water. You can of course mix this with still water if you don’t have a SodaStream machine but that might taste a bit weird.
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| Strength: | Visitor Ratings: | ||
| Caffeine: | 32mg/100ml |
Tags: Clone, Concentrate, SodaStream, UK |
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| Calories: | 8kCal/100ml | ||
| Size: | 500ml | ||
| Sold By: | Amazon UK | ||
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Carabao Orange Blast
August 23rd, 2025Orangey! I like this one, it was quite strong in terms of flavour, and the orange taste itself was very slightly tart and sweet rather than synthetic. It’s not revolutionary in terms of flavour but Carabao have managed to do a decent job of an orange flavoured energy drink.
Asda Diet CHRG Energy Drink (2025)
August 16th, 2025This is probably my favourite of all the own-brand clone drinks. Asda’s own-brand ‘Diet CHRG’ is smooth and tasty, exactly what you want from a bog standard ‘mixed fruit’ sugar free energy drink. No fancy herbal infusions, just a great taste at a great price. There’s no bitterness, no nasty aftertaste… it does the job well. Asda has been through a number of branding exercises with their energy drink ranges, originally calling it ‘Blue Charge’ and offering dozens of varieties over the years. This appears to now have matured into three flavours that I can find: original; diet; and summer fruits.
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| Strength: | Visitor Ratings: | ||
| Caffeine: | 30mg/100ml |
Tags: Clone, Low Calorie, UK |
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| Calories: | 3kCal/100ml | ||
| Size: | 250ml | ||
| Sold By: | Asda | ||
| Web Site: | |||
Celsius Live Fit Cosmic Vibe Fruit Burst
August 9th, 2025Interesting. I’m not sure what the official legal definition of ‘Cosmic Vibe’ flavouring is, but the can declares it as ‘mixed fruit’, which is basically what every Red Bull clone drink says it is. But this is not a clone. I’d say it’s sort of berry flavoured, more on the cherry side of things with a hint of citrus or pomegranate. There’s an odd bitter aftertaste but it’s not too strong. Mixed fruit is a good definition of what it is, but I wish they actually stated the specific fruits involved! Expensive and not as good as many alternatives, but mostly confusing with each sip.
| Taste: | Originality: | ||
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| Strength: | Visitor Ratings: | ||
| Caffeine: | 56mg/100ml |
Tags: Low Calorie, Mixed Fruit, UK |
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| Calories: | 3kCal/100ml | ||
| Size: | 355ml | ||
| Sold By: | Asda | ||
| Web Site: | |||
Asda CHRG Original Energy Drink (2025)
July 26th, 2025This is Asda’s own brand energy drink and is very different to the old Blue Charge from a decade ago. Gone are the fancy ingredients of carrot and hibiscus and we’re just back to a regular list of artificial things of dubious origin. Similar to the Sainsbury’s own brand energy drink this is also like a bitter and less pleasant version of Red Bull, but it’s smooth and drinkable – go for the sugar free version though is my advice, it’s smoother.
