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.

Zen Republic

I’m going to keep drinking these “natural” energy drinks until I find one I like. Sadly I’m still looking. This drink has the highest caffeine content per serving for a drink of this type that I’ve seen so far: 46.5mg/100ml. I believe most of this comes from the range of natural ingredients: Kola seed, ginger, yerba mate, lemon, lime, green tea, guarana, chilli, green coffee and cinamon. It has quite a quick to it and will wake you up good and proper.

As for the taste, I’d say it is an acquired one. To me, it’s like an earthy cola flavour with a very sharp citrus spike in it. Quite sickly to drink and causes a sharp inhale when you take your first sip but it is different to the other “natural” drinks which tend to have a tropical flavour. Worth a go if only for something different.

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.

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.

Crazy Amsterdam

A special thanks goes out to Steve C. for bringing this one back from Amsterdam for me. I’ve censored the image of the can slightly for obvious reasons… I’d like to keep the rating of this site as universal as possible. The label on the can didn’t give the caffeine strength of the product but I’ve been informed by the manufacturer that it is 32mg/100ml. A note about the manufacturer actually – Protaste Drinks produce a generic energy drink in a shiny silver can over which retailers and promoters can apply their own label. I’m assuming ‘Crazy Amsterdam’ is an attempt at cashing in on Amsterdam tourism by doing just this.

As for the flavour, well, it tastes like plastic. Very syrupy and synthetic tasting with a lingering aftertaste that I can’t recommend. This drink is all about the label and should be considered as more of a souvenir than a taste sensation.