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.

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.

Monster Rehab: Tea + Lemonade + Energy

This drink surprised me: it didn’t have the usual Monster flavour that I was expecting. Being non-carbonated, it shares more in common with some of the Rockstar drinks instead, but is still very nice. It mostly tasted like still lemonade, but did have a note of tea about it even if it was very faint. There’s nothing else out there on the market quite like this, so full marks for originality, but I am a little disappointed that it didn’t jump out as being a Monster Energy drink from the taste.

Rockstar Punched Fruit Punch

Nice at first, but the taste got tiring quickly. In fact, the aftertaste hung around for the rest of the day. It’s not refreshing, but sickly and sweet, and I can’t quite put my finger on what the taste reminded me of.

Rockstar Sugar Free PerfectBerry

The opinion of people surrounding me whilst I drank this was overwhelmingly about the smell. I didn’t notice that, but taste-wise it was highly perfumed! It was quite a synthetic berry flavour and in keeping with Rockstar tradition, very smooth to drink. The can size was smaller than usual at only 355 ml, and the associated caffeine kick was therefore lessened accordingly.

Rip It – Stinger Mo

This is very interesting…. it’s basically what you’d expect from a normal energy drink. But… it’s not a Red Bull clone, it’s a Monster Energy clone! I don’t even have a category for Monster Energy clones because as far as I’m aware this is the first, so I’ll just have to mark it down on originality. Or is it more original because it has copied someone other than Red Bull? That aside it’s a great tasting drink and has all the sweetness and flavour of Monster Energy so if you like that you won’t be disappointed. What’s with the name though? Maybe I’m just too old now and don’t get it, but it would be nice to have a clue as to what the flavour of the drink is going to be written somewhere on the can, and the Stinger Mo name doesn’t give me any clues either.