React

Another big-time contender emerges, sponsoring Reel Big Fish from off-of scateboarding game sound tracks as they tour the US. It is a Red Bull clone, butgets the balance just right and for only 99p for a 500ml can it’s reasonably priced too. The can looks good (even if the logo is trying to be a little ‘Relentless’) and the drink tastes good. Sadly the main web site at time of writing doesn’t appear to house anything other than a logo of brand, so you may want to check out the Facebook page instead: http://www.facebook.com/reactenergy. This brand has potential – I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a sugar free version and I’m hoping they go the way of Crunk and Rip It and start to produce other flavours.

Crunk Citrus

Now, I’m not sure who copied who, but as far as I’m concerned the flavour of this drink is identical to Rockstar Recovery but slightly carbonated. It tastes amazing to me! It’s a little trickier to get hold of in the UK because it has been imported by the reseller, but if you do come across a can then go grab it.

Rockstar Xdurance

I really do like Rockstar Energy Drinks! They’re just so different each time. Whereas with Monster, you get the Monster taste sneaking through in whichever flavour you purchase, with Rockstar they’ve managed to make each one individual. Xdurance very lightly carbonated but not flat, and tastes of blueberries. It’s a very different flavour and I was quite excited to have found it in a tiny newsagents near where I live. It’s jam packed full of caffeine and calories and tastes amazing with added pomegranate and acai for fun. I did at first think it might have been the world’s first counterfit energy drink until I looked it up on Rockstar’s web site, because of a typo on the can (see the image below). “Rockstar Xdurance is Dfsigned to give you…” yes, it’s dfsigned not designed… oh well.

Rockstar Punched Guava

This had a very refreshing fruity flavour and was a pleasure to drink, especially on the scorching day on which I did drink it. There was no sickly aftertaste, no artificial chemical taste, just nice and fresh and fruity. Rockstar have managed to get the combination of sweetness and energy blend just right and this drink, along with Rockstar Recovery are among two of my favourites of all time.

Crunk

At first I thought the drink to be quite watery, but it grew on me as I worked my way through the large can. This drink is not native to the UK and appears to be imported from the USA by the looks of the ingredients and nutritional information panels. I found it in a local independent supermarket along with three other flavours of the same brand which will all get their 5 minutes of fame on this site in good time.

Flavour wise, it’s very juiced up and fruity, but with no artificial taste to it. The can goes on about ingredients like Horny Goat Weed and so forth (check out the official site for full information on the ‘proprietary blend’) which may add to its potency, but as the can promises to invigorate and arouse me I decided to investigate a little further. It turns out a number of the ingredients are renowned for their aphrodisiac qualities. All I’ll say is you can definitely tell it has a very decent kick of caffeine or something similar because I was wide-awake!

Rip It – G-Force

A massive can yet again, but a very nice flavour somewhat similar to Crunk’s Grape-Acai flavour and had the same childhood memory restoring effects. Very moreish and refreshing especially in the hot weather but higher in caffeine and calories than the Crunk alternative. They both tasted very similar, but G-Force is also available in sugar-free so you can sample this without the sugar hit too. I’ll review the sugar free version soon, but in the meantime you need to get hold of one or both of these grape flavoured drinks – very different.

Rockstar Energy Cola

I expected this to taste like a very cheap cola but was pleasantly surprised. It’s quite a mild flavour which means it’s not too sickly at all. I know, it’s a cola and the rules of Fizzy Wake-Up say that colas/cokes etc can’t be reviewed on this site because they don’t officially count as an Energy Drink. Well this one is different because it contains a pumped up amount of caffeine along with guarana and taurine which basically means it’s like a cola blended with an energy drink. As colas go it’s expensive, but as premium energy drinks go it’s reasonably priced. I’m classing this as a one-off purchase as there are better tasting energy drinks and better tasting colas out there.

Rip It – F Bomb

I love this flavour! The front of the can shows a picture of cherries, blueberries, a pineapple, and some other indistinguishable fruits, but the overall flavour that comes through is the cherry. It’s not a natural cherry flavour by any means and is very reminiscent of double-dips in the same way that the Cougar Lifestyle Shot is. The higher than average caffeine content plus the huge can size make this very awakeness inducing and that strength along with my high scores on taste will probably push this drink near the top of the ratings chart for a long time to come.

Rip It – Power

Very interesting… Rip It Power is my first taste of the Rip It range of energy drinks. I believe that this particular one is the ‘original’ flavour, but I can’t quite put my finger on what that flavour is. The web site doesn’t enlighten me either so we’re going to have to rely on my taste-buds. So, I thought at first there may be raspberry in it, but the colour is a cloudy dark yellow (more on the orange side than Mountain Dew style). I think it’s probably raspberry and a citrus fruit like orange mixed together but it’s certainly a combination that works well. The caffeine content is pretty high so don’t drink too many at once because it does pack a punch. Right, there’s literally loads more flavours of Rip It to try and I’m really hoping that it hasn’t peaked early – I’ve never seen a brand with so many varieties before which includes different flavours of energy shots too and several low calories options.