Guarana Force

April 17th, 2013

I’d never seen this one before at all so was quite keen to sample its French delights. It has a very low caffeine content as energy drinks go, comparable to Mountain Dew Energy in the UK so  I wasn’t expecting much of a kick. It is a Red Bull Clone, but on the sweet side and very watered down making it quite a light tasting drink. I’d recommend it as an energy drink for later in the day when you don’t want a full wake-up, but just have a hankering for the taste.

Overall Rating:
(2.2/5)
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Caffeine: 15mg/100ml Tags:
,
Calories: 45kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Carrefour, France
Web Site:

Shark Stimulation

April 13th, 2013

Discovered at a bar of all places, I had to ask them not to open it before serving. Quite bitter in taste, very much like the European own-brands to some degree and sadly not as nice as I wanted it to be. Branding and can design is great though, and the kick from the product itself is no different to any other regular energy drink, but sadly this is just another clone of the brightly coloured horned creature.

Overall Rating:
(1.8/5)
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Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
,
Calories: 45kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Dewstow Golf Club
Web Site: Click here

Carrefour Taurine Force

April 10th, 2013

Without a doubt this is a Red Bull clone, but instead of taking the usual supermarket tactic of making soured and bitter version, they’ve gone down the Aldi route and made a nice sweet drink. If you happen to be near a French Carrefour hypermarket or supermarket then you can’t go wrong with trying this drink. There’s also a sugarfree version which will probably be published next… The thing is, there’s so many different drink names on the can that I’m not sure what to call it – I’ve settled on Taurine Force as it’s the most prominent label, but the confusion gets more confusing (!?) as you’ll see when I review the diet version.

Overall Rating:
(2.1/5)
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Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
,
Calories: 46.5kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Carrefour, France
Web Site:

Euro Shopper Energy Drink Sugar Free

April 6th, 2013

I maybe putting this second in my list of nicest Red Bull Clones. It was very similar to Red Bull Sugar Free, but with a little bit more bitterness (a tiny eeny weeny amount more). This will give Aldi’s Red Thunder a run for its money and the deciding factors will now have to be price, availability and convenience. It’s a lot nicer than the non-sugar-free version of Euro Shopper’s Energy Drink and whether that is down to a ‘new improved’ flavour exercise that has happened since I tried the original I’m not sure – I may have to re-evaluate.

Overall Rating:
(3.5/5)
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Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
, ,
Calories: 2kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Premier Stores, UK
Web Site:

Burn

April 3rd, 2013

Another French energy drink, which I believe I have also seen in Spain, Germany, Italy and Croatia but NOT the UK! It’s really nice and very different so gains points on originality. The colour is bright red and the taste, I think, is raspberry. I say ‘I think’ because I’m not 100% sure – I didn’t get the raspberry breakthrough until I took a sip after munching a double chocolate cookie and suddenly had a chocolate and raspberry moment (those two flavours go together very well FYI and create quite a memorable lasting taste). Wake-up-wise it packs a standard 32mg/100ml caffeine punch plus Guarana so you’ll know you’ve had one. Top marks and I hope they bring it to the UK soon – I’ll post a news article if I hear anything.

Overall Rating:
(3.8/5)
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Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
,
Calories: 57.1kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Carrefour, France
Web Site: Click here

Blue Bolt Cherry and Blackcurrant

March 30th, 2013

An interesting combination – I think that Sainsbury”s have just taken a summer fruits cordial, added some carbonated water, and dropped a couple of Pro Plus tablets in to the concoction. I’m not sure this is a necessary addition to the own-brand energy drink market but all the supermarkets seem to be trying to out-do each other at the moment.

Overall Rating:
(2.4/5)
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Caffeine: 30mg/100ml Tags:
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Calories: 48kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Sainsbury's
Web Site:

Rockstar Super Sours Green Apple

March 16th, 2013

Rockstar does it again with their original ideas. Whilst not particularly sour, it is reminiscent of the apple sour sweets you used to get when you were a child but much more palatable. I was concerned that a sour drink would be more suited to a smaller can but I was wrong – this drink was moreish and refreshing. Top marks all around!

Overall Rating:
(4.2/5)
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Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
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Calories: 59kCal/100ml
Size: 500ml
Sold By: Lifestyle Stores
Web Site: Click here

Red Bull – The Silver Edition

March 9th, 2013

Do you remember the good old days when alcopops such as Hooch and Metz ruled the bars? Well, another member of that bygone family was the Smirnoff Mule, and the Silver Edition of Red Bull tastes pretty much as a remember that tasting, only with less vodka of course. The lime flavour is pretty strong and sour but works. Out of the three special editions, I’d put this one as my second favourite. It’s refreshing, but only just – any stronger and it’d be far too sickly.

Overall Rating:
(3.8/5)
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Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
,
Calories: 45kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Asda
Web Site: Click here

Red Bull – The Blue Edition

March 2nd, 2013

Red Bull are full of surprises. I thought this would be my favourite of the three new editions. As it happens it isn’t – it’s good, don’t get me wrong on that, but it was a tad too sharp to be my favourite. So far, the Red edition is holding first place. The drink is tart and fruity, but very sweet. Slightly too sickly if I’m being honest but it still gives you the standard Red Bull kick. It tastes premium and is a good fit in the Red Bull range – I can’t say it’s all that original because I’ve tried blueberry energy drinks from the US before and it’s pretty similar to those.

Overall Rating:
(3.1/5)
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Originality:
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Visitor Ratings:
Caffeine: 32mg/100ml Tags:
,
Calories: 45kCal/100ml
Size: 250ml
Sold By: Asda
Web Site: Click here