Rockstar Energy

Rockstar Energy has a distinct and quite synthetic taste. It’s a pleasant tasting drink with a hefty kick of caffeine and sugars… totalling 60 calories per 100ml that puts it at the potent end of sugar rushes. The can’s design does make it look like you are drinking a can of lager, which could cause raised eyebrows in your office should you choose to consume it there – be prepared to explain it away. I think that has something to do with the black can with a gold star on it. It doesn’t have a great aftertaste, but the drinking experience overall is quite good. Keep it cold because the taste starts to go downhill once it warms up.

Relentless Inferno (Orange)

Does anyone remember being given Calpol as a child? I’m not talking about the original purple liquid, I mean the Calpol for older children. It was orange flavoured and drinking Relentless Inferno immediately reminded me of orange Calpol. That’s no t a bad thing, but it’s the most accurate way I can describe the flavour. It doesn’t have the usual background taste of Relentless at all, it just has a very sweet syrupy orange flavour. It gets quite sickly towards the end of the huge can, and is not ideal as a refreshing drink for a hot day. I’d suggest it is suitable for sipping slowly over a few hours while working away at your coursework or latest project deadline… slow is the key here.

Monster Ripper

I may stand corrected on this one, but I believe that this drink was Monster’s first attempt at making something a bit different. They’ve combined their energy drink formula with apple, passion fruit, pineapple and guava juice to give it a tropical flavour. Regular readers may already be aware that I’m not a big fan of tropical drinks, but this one is much more pleasant. Maybe it’s because they’ve managed to mask any sharpness to the flavour, it really is a very sweet and fizzy tasting drink.

As energy drinks go, this is quite refreshing and unique. There’s no doubt that it is a Monster drink – it still has that distinct Monsterness about it that sets this brand apart from the rest.

Relentless Devotion (Berry Juiced)

Ribena with a kick. That’s how this drink is best summed up. It’s described as being Apple and Berry flavour and the blackcurrant really stands out. It’s a very potent drink with all the fruit juice giving a powerful sugar rush, and the usual 32mg/100ml caffeine content helps of course.

It’s the first ‘berry’ flavoured drink I’ve tried so far which actually tastes like real fruit and not a synthetic approximation. On that basis it is getting reasonably high marks on originality because it doesn’t taste at all like an energy drink.

Relentless Libertus (Sugar Free)

This is the Sugar Free variety of the Relentless franchise. Instead of just marketing it as a low calorie version they’ve given it its very own name, and for good reason I might add. It isn’t just a de-sugared version of Origin, it is a whole new flavour. The bitterness of Origin is missing, but you can still tell that it is part of the Relentless brand. It tastes slightly watery compared to other energy drinks, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as this is what stops it being too sickly or too sweet.

The balance is just right in this product and although it’s not the best flavour out there, it manages what I would consider a well deserved middle ground: decent kick, sugar free, no bad aftertaste, and a flavour that should be acceptable to most.

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.

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.