Guarana Antarctica

“O Original Do Brasil” apparently… and another apparently, it’s the second most popular soft drink in Brazil after Coca-Cola. Finally, stocked by Tesco, it is available in the UK. If you’re expecting a massive energy hit from a guarana extract beverage then you’ll be disappointed. The caffeine estimate is a generous 1mg/100ml – which I suspect is over estimated. Flavour-wise, it’s unique. There’s something slightly fruity about the taste, a bit appley with a hint of pear. Of course, those fruits aren’t actually in the drink, I’m just trying to describe the flavour of guarana itself – try it for yourself because it’s very different to any other soft drink I’ve tried..

Relentless Apple and Kiwi

I don’t generally like the taste of apples, either the real fruit or the synthetic flavouring version…. so I tried this drink with a low opinion already formed. It actually surprised me because I now want to get another can of this. The flavour is light and sweet, but not too sweet. It’s fruity and moreish, and packs quite a punch of wake-up-ness – I really enjoyed this new Relentless variety, and it’s definitely original – there’s nothing out there I can compare it too even if I look through my list of USA drinks… This one is unique to the UK for the moment so go buy it and try it and help it stay on sale!

Monster Rehab Rojo Tea

After the Monster highlight that was the Lemonade + Tea version of Rehab, I expected this one to be great. Sadly, it tasted like someone had dipped an old teabag in some cranberry squash. Bleurgh. It was sweet, and could have been refreshing, but the stale taste of tea with every mouthful was sickening. Having said that, full marks for originality because no-one else has been stupid enough to make this daft combination.

Red Thunder Diet

This is my favourite Red Bull Cone of all time. It has the perfect mix of  smoothness, sweetness and value for money which makes it stand out from the crowd by miles. If you want to stock up on energy drinks then buy six-packs of these in Aldi. Let’s hope they don’t try to ‘improve’ the taste in future versions.

Crunk Mango-Peach

This drink is very strong in flavour and caffeine. It’s not to my taste as I found it far too fruity. It’s a tropical drink really but without the pineapple twist that you usually get. Not my favourite Crunk really but I had to try it of course! It contains the usual proprietary Crunk mix of random aphrodisiac ingredients which I’m sure they’ve invented the names of (legal disclaimer: they haven’t, the names are just strange).

Kick

Simply just another Red Bull clone. Sorry… it’s also an expensive one at that too. It tastes okay, but as the can cost £1 I personally think you’d be better off getting a more original brand, or an actual Red Bull for that price (you can still find Red Bull for a pound if you shop around).  It was nice, but really, when you’re paying premium prices you expect something a bit different!

Rip It – Lime Wrecker

I had been looking forward to this flavour, saving it for a special moment. I was a little disappointed. That isn’t to say that this isn’t a nice drink because it really is, but I was expecting something a little more refreshing whereas Lime Wrecker tastes more like someone has poured lime cordial in to lemonade. It was good, but not as I’d expected. It did wake me up quickly though given the high caffeine and sugar content but for me it was a little on the sickly side. If you don’t appreciate food colourings then this may be the Rip It for you – it was almost clear with only a very faint green tint to it.

Monster Absolutely Zero

Is it possible to tame the Monster? It turns out it is. Usually, to drink a can of Monster I require a very specific set of conditions. I must be in the mood for the very sweet flavour, the weather must be warm, and I must have a reasonably empty stomach. Well, Absolutely Zero has fixed at least two of those. The sickliness associated with Monster has been smoothed somewhat by the introduction of sweeteners, which means I can cope with it even when I’m not hungry. It still needs to be a warm day though, and the can must be straight out of the fridge! Monster is rarely my favourite energy drink brand, but it’s up with the big boys and Monster Absolutely Zero is probably top of the Monster list right now.

Amp Energy

Thanks to Americandy in Cardiff and their extortionate prices, I have now sampled an imported can of Amp Energy for the tidy sum of £4.50 per can. Of course, I expected big things for this big price and I was not disappointed. At first I believed it tasted like no other energy drink out there, then I decided it had certain qualities similar to Mountain Dew. It was smooth and not too strong in flavour, yet very, very sweet. And then I noticed the big Mountain Dew logo on the side of the can. It turns out that Amp Energy is a US Energy Drink spin-off brand of Mountain Dew.. basically Mountain Dew with Taurine and bumped up caffeine content. This isn’t a bad thing because it’s really nice, and I hope that Pepsico consider bringing this brand to the UK – it’s very different to anything we have on the market here so I reckon would do very well.

Oh, yes, and the review of this product! Fruity and sugary and smooth and very sweet. A massive buzz from the caffeine and sugar.