Relentless Libertus (Sugar Free)

This is the Sugar Free variety of the Relentless franchise. Instead of just marketing it as a low calorie version they’ve given it its very own name, and for good reason I might add. It isn’t just a de-sugared version of Origin, it is a whole new flavour. The bitterness of Origin is missing, but you can still tell that it is part of the Relentless brand. It tastes slightly watery compared to other energy drinks, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as this is what stops it being too sickly or too sweet.

The balance is just right in this product and although it’s not the best flavour out there, it manages what I would consider a well deserved middle ground: decent kick, sugar free, no bad aftertaste, and a flavour that should be acceptable to most.

Euro Shopper

This is clearly another Red Bull clone created as a budget brand to fill up the chiller cabinets in corner shops. It has a very slightly aniseed taste compared to Red Bull which gives it a bit of an unwanted aftertaste. For 35p you can’t really complain though – it is an energy drink, it gives you energy, job done I suppose! If you’re after something that tastes good though, buy something else.

Relentless Immortus (Tropical Juiced)

Another bloomin’ tropical flavoured energy drink. I don’t really like tropical flavoured anything but for completion of this site it must be done. I have to say, it’s one of the nicer tropical drinks I’ve tried so far, very refreshing and fruity with a good hit of sugar and caffeine to boot. Much better tasting that Origin but I still prefer Libertus.

Mixxed Up Light

Lidl have rebranded their Mixxed Up Sugar Free drink as Mixxed Up Light. At first I thought it was just a can design change, but when I tasted the drink I’m sure they’ve altered the flavour too. I can’t be 100% certain because I’ve not done a side-by-side comparison yet, but I’m sure it tastes slightly fruitier than the old one. Looking at the ingredients reveals nothing, they are identical, but proof that the drink has changed slightly is in the nutritional information panel: Salt Equivalent of the sodium is up from 0.23g in Sugar Free to 0.25g in the Light variation. So… something is up. Taste-wise it’s not a change for the worse, and it is moving away from being a Red Bull clone.

Target Energy Shot – Life

As far as shots go, some of them are really nasty tasting. This one is okay however – it has an unidentified fruit flavour with a slightly sour note. For a single caffeinated shot it isn’t that strong and it also has no sugars to give you an immediate sugar rush. The main reason for a shot is for the immediate wake-up kick that they give you and not the taste, so sadly this product is quite expensive when compared with alternatives such as Lucozade and Red Bull shots which deliver more punch.

Pussy

Full marks for an original flavour but I just didn’t like it. The main ingredient appears to be white grape juice which gives the drink a very sharp edge and makes it taste quite sickly. It claims to be a more natural energy drink which I’m all for, including guarana as well as a lot of other ‘botanical extracts’.

It’s an interesting marketing strategy that this drink is taking, the name of course standing out amongst others, but it doesn’t really seem to fit with the natural energy image – it’s almost like the drink is trying to aim itself at two different markets simultaneously. Personally I’m giving it a thumbs up for the effort but a thumbs down for attainment.

As a side note, I believe this drink was made famous by an appearance on BBC’s Top Gear as a Christmas gift stocking filler idea.

Red Rooster

Without a doubt this is a Red Bull clone. A very nice one at that, and the taste is not far off its rival, but it isn’t quite as smooth or potent. This is a mid-range energy drink as far as price is concerned and unfortunately it tastes no better than either Lidl or Aldi’s considerably cheaper own brands. Whilst it is a nice energy drink in its own right, sadly it’ll never me by first choice if stacked alongside the usual suspects.

Mountain Dew Energy

Last year was an exciting year. Finally, Mountain Dew returned to the UK. Sadly my excitement was short-lived because Mountain Dew Energy (the word Energy being important) was not the same as the Mountain Dew I had sampled from The States, or even the same as Mountain Dew from my childhood. They appear to have replaced the all important “Orange Juice From Concentrate” ingredient found in the original with the word “Flavourings”. The taste is very similar but not as nice, and it gives me a headache afterwards. If only they’d release proper Mountain Dew and its various special edition alternative flavours over here.

The actual flavour of Mountain Dew is pretty unique. It’s a very subtle fruity flavour, but the main characteristic of the drink is its fluorescent yellow colour. I remember the original UK version containing the Quinoline Yellow additive to achieve this, however I think this has been removed now in Mountain Dew Energy due to allergy concerns.

Red Bull Sugarfree

Exactly the same as Red Bull, but with all the sugars taken out and a load of sweeteners put back in. Now, you don’t get quite the same immediate sugar rush as you would with the original, but the lasting effect is the same. You don’t get the sugar crash, which is a bonus, and I like the chewy flavour you get from the sweeteners. I’m giving this the same marks as the original Red Bull because, when put side by side, I’d go for the sugarfree version every time… but it’s not as potent.