Red Bull Sugarfree

Exactly the same as Red Bull, but with all the sugars taken out and a load of sweeteners put back in. Now, you don’t get quite the same immediate sugar rush as you would with the original, but the lasting effect is the same. You don’t get the sugar crash, which is a bonus, and I like the chewy flavour you get from the sweeteners. I’m giving this the same marks as the original Red Bull because, when put side by side, I’d go for the sugarfree version every time… but it’s not as potent.

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.

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.

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.