Monster Energy

A nice big can and a pleasant sweet flavour. This is Monster Energy’s flagship drink featuring in addition to the caffeine and taurine ingredients such as L-Carnitine and Ginseng. Wikipedia tells me L-Carnitine is an antioxidant as well as being used as part of the treatment routine for angina sufferers and kidney disease patients. Hmm, it does also allegedly improve sperm quality though… Monster Energy is one of my favourites and has a very distinct flavour easily placing itself apart from the crowded Red Bull clone market. The trademark ‘M’ logo will be familiar to many as it emblazons many sponsored sports events – keep your eyes open for the many different Monster varieties which all have a unique flavour.

Red Bull

What kind of energy drink review site would be complete without a review of Red Bull itself? Not the original but certainly the most widely known and available product, it is my favourite and most people’s first experience of an energy drink. Based on Asian tonic drinks and created by a clever Austrian, it’s now a worldwide phenomenon. Most people are familiar with the ‘Red Bull Gives You Wings’ cartoon adverts, or will have heard of the Red Bull F1 team. It’s everywhere you look…

It’s a very sweet carbonated drink that grabs you at the back of the throat. Some say it is an acquired taste, which would make most Red Bull clones an even more acquired taste, but I loved it from the first drop. You can get it everywhere pretty much so you’ll never be far from a can if you need one.

Mixxed Up – Sugar Free

Lidl’s low calorie version of their “Classic” variety tastes almost the same. The difference is due to the sweeteners and gives you that chewy aftertaste, but of course as with any sugar-free variation you miss out on the associated sugar rush and crash. I quite like avoiding that but I know many people don’t, but it’s good to know that there isn’t much of a flavour difference otherwise. Due to its price and lack of sugar, this is the drink that I stock up with in bulk in my garage.

Mixxed Up Classic

Lidl’s own-brand Red Bull clone with a very slight sour undertone. Mixxed Up is probably at the top of my list for own-brand energy drinks. It’s very palatable and very cheap at only 29p per can (at time of writing). It gives a moderate kick and has no nasty lingering aftertaste like so many other cheap drinks do. It’s usually available in-store on promotion if you buy 6 cans, and the staff don’t bat an eye if you pick up an entire shrink-wrapped tray of 24 cans and take it to the checkout. There’s also a sugar-free version which I can highly recommend, and the classic loses out only slightly to its lower calorie sibling.

Monster Lo-Carb

Almost exactly the same as the original Monster Energy. You can’t tell from the taste that it is a low calorie version though because the flavour is so sweet, almost sherberty. I like it a lot because it doesn’t give me a sugar-low afterwards like the original but it can get a little sickly towards the end due to the large can size. During a recent holiday in Europe I noticed that these were also being sold in 250ml cans which would make them a little easier on the stomach.

Relentless – Origin

Imagine Red Bull, but slightly more bitter tasting. It’s in a double-size can and just as strong so you do get quite a kick from it, but I can’t get past the bitter aftertaste making it a good choice if there’s nothing else available. If it is sitting on a shelf next to a can of Monster, I’d personally go for Monster.

Cougar Lifestyle Shot – Berry

I am most definitely not the target audience for this particular energy drink, but given that it exists I had to give it a try. Cougar lifestyle shots, for women; advising on the bottle to provide “Age Defying Energy” are aimed at, shall we say, the older lady who… actually I’m going to let The Urban Dictionary handle this one.

After drinking this I can’t (or won’t?) say that I suddenly found myself eying up younger men, but I did get the rush of energy expectedly provided by these drinks. The caffeine hit comes from the usual added caffeine and more unusually green tea extract. In fact, if you check out the product’s web site and look through the ingredients, you’ll see a whole host of natural additions which are aimed at women (you drink Aloe Vera?? Apparently so.) . The flavour was very nice. The bottle says Berry, but I’d say it was the same flavour as the cherry powder in a Double-Dip (remember them?). I know it’s not aimed at me but it tasted great, gave me the wanted caffeine hit, it is very different to Red Bull and has zero calories.

Power Up

After all the effort expended in the search for new energy drinks abroad, I find this in my local shop. This drink is helpfully summarised on the can: “Liquid Strength, Power Up, Extra Strong, Original Formula, Feel the Energy, Enjoy it Icecold [sic]”.

Given that it’s only 35p, I consider this to be a bargain.The flavour is very different to Red Bull with a flavour that should be sour but is very sweet – I’m sure I’ve tasted this flavour in another drink before but I can’t place it. The ingredients are the standard energy drink affair: caffeine, taurine and sugars so nothing to stand it apart from the crowd.

The “Extra Strong” slogan is misleading to say the least. The caffeine content is 30mg/100ml which is lower than Red Bull and most premium energy drinks, but the same as most bargain basement ones. Now, Power Up Products in Manchester, do you do a sugar-free version?

SoBe Pure Rush – Tropical Twist

Pure Rush is not a Red Bull clone. It tastes like pineapple, orange and fruit stuff so fits the ‘Tropical Twist’ flavour descriptor nicely. I personally didn’t like the flavour, but the concept all using all natural ingedients to provide the energy boost does appeal to me. Hopefully they’ll bring out new flavours.

Update October 2015:
The ‘Pure Rush’ name appears to have been dropped and the can now features new artwork. Other than that, this is the same product as before.