Lucozade Sport Elite Citrus

Brilliant! I have missed this drink – it used to be called Lucozade Fuel+Focus and it was my running drink of choice. Non-carbonated, sweet lemon flavour, and caffeine too, it was brilliant to keep you going. Thankfully they’ve brought it back and rebranded it as Lucozade Sport Elite (Citrus… there’s also an Orange version).

Red Bull – The Silver Edition (2013) Citrus

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.

Mountain Dew Energy – Game Fuel

Wow! I do love Mountain Dew, and it’s always annoyed me that you can’t get the same range of flavours here in the UK as our US cousins enjoy. Well, Game Fuel is at least a step in the right direction. Released as a special flavour in honour of the launch of Halo 4, this Citrus and Raspberry drinks tastes awesome. Unlike most other Mountain Dew varieties, this one isn’t fluorescent in colour either. It’s fruity and refreshing, and only (compared to other energy drinks) lightly caffeinated. I hope it is a permanent addition to the range.

Mountain Dew Sugar Free

Finally, the great flavour of Mountain Dew, without the calories that go with it. Sadly, this is a low calorie version of the UK version of Mountain Dew (dubbed Mountain Dew Energy), but nevertheless it’s nice and refreshing on a hot day. The flavour is identical to Mountain Dew Energy – I couldn’t even tell that they’d used sweeteners instead of sugar, so the flavours they added must be pretty potent.

Mountain Dew White Out

Yummy! Another imported can purchased at Americandy. This drink tastes like a very smooth lemonade. There’s no sharpness to it and the balance of carbonation, citrus flavouring, sweetness and sickliness is just right. Not the best Mountain Dew but certainly near the top. It’s also the first Mountain Dew which doesn’t seem to contain a radioactive colouring. This drink is just a cloudy  white colour (as the name suggests) which makes it similar in appearance to a traditional lemonade.

Rip It Shot – Citrus X

Yay! An energy drink brand with lots of different flavours of energy shots instead of the normal boring single flavour in full-fat and sugar-free. Rip It Shots are ALL sugar free, and they’re all based on flavours from the main Rip It line. This flavour sort of tastes like a bitter version of Rip It Citrus X – you can taste the oranges. It’s nice as energy shots go and can be downed without gagging which is good going compared to some energy shots (ahem, Target Urban…)

Rip It – Citrus X

This drink definitely has orange in it. Probably loads of other citrus fruits too, but I’m sure it uses Orange as its base flavour. It’s very slightly sharp tasting, but mostly sweet and sickly. I wouldn’t suggest this drink if you’re after something refreshing, but it’s certainly filling and substantial! The taste is pleasant and the kick is decent so drink very early on in the day. This is only the second Rip It variety I have tasted so far and it was always going to be a downer from the superb Power flavour, but this is still a decent drink in its own right even if it can’t match up to its bigger brother.

Mountain Dew Voltage

Another can from Americandy imported from the US. Described on the can as “Charged with Raspberry Citrus Flavor and Ginseng” it is certainly unusual. Apparently it was created as the result of a national vote and it is definitely an unusual flavour. It’s very refreshing as per Mountain Dew original but with an obvious raspberry flavour. Lower in caffeine that a normal energy drink, but with enough to count! If only they sold this in the UK… (hint, hint Pepsico). Unlike original Mountain Dew, this drink is blue in colour which should give a clear indication that it won’t taste the same, but of course that means it contains Mountain Dew’s trademark food colouring ingredients!

Mountain Dew

The original US Mountain Dew is my favourite drink ever so obviously it’ll get full marks for taste and originality! This can was purchased in a store called Americandy in Cardiff who specialise in imported American produce. It’s sadly not widely available in the UK with the inferior Mountain Dew Energy being the flavour touted over here. Jammed full of high fructose corn syrup and concentrated orange juice, this proper Mountain Dew is possibly the best thing in the world ever apart from chocolate.

The taste is slightly of citrus but not sharp in any way at all and the colour is the trademark fluorescent yellow. It doesn’t have a huge caffeine hit but that’s not what this drink is all about. It’s full of sugar, a bit of caffeine, but mainly it is nice and refreshing especially on a hot day.