Zen Republic

I’m going to keep drinking these “natural” energy drinks until I find one I like. Sadly I’m still looking. This drink has the highest caffeine content per serving for a drink of this type that I’ve seen so far: 46.5mg/100ml. I believe most of this comes from the range of natural ingredients: Kola seed, ginger, yerba mate, lemon, lime, green tea, guarana, chilli, green coffee and cinamon. It has quite a quick to it and will wake you up good and proper.

As for the taste, I’d say it is an acquired one. To me, it’s like an earthy cola flavour with a very sharp citrus spike in it. Quite sickly to drink and causes a sharp inhale when you take your first sip but it is different to the other “natural” drinks which tend to have a tropical flavour. Worth a go if only for something different.

Pussy

Full marks for an original flavour but I just didn’t like it. The main ingredient appears to be white grape juice which gives the drink a very sharp edge and makes it taste quite sickly. It claims to be a more natural energy drink which I’m all for, including guarana as well as a lot of other ‘botanical extracts’.

It’s an interesting marketing strategy that this drink is taking, the name of course standing out amongst others, but it doesn’t really seem to fit with the natural energy image – it’s almost like the drink is trying to aim itself at two different markets simultaneously. Personally I’m giving it a thumbs up for the effort but a thumbs down for attainment.

As a side note, I believe this drink was made famous by an appearance on BBC’s Top Gear as a Christmas gift stocking filler idea.

Red Rooster

Without a doubt this is a Red Bull clone. A very nice one at that, and the taste is not far off its rival, but it isn’t quite as smooth or potent. This is a mid-range energy drink as far as price is concerned and unfortunately it tastes no better than either Lidl or Aldi’s considerably cheaper own brands. Whilst it is a nice energy drink in its own right, sadly it’ll never me by first choice if stacked alongside the usual suspects.

Mountain Dew Energy

Last year was an exciting year. Finally, Mountain Dew returned to the UK. Sadly my excitement was short-lived because Mountain Dew Energy (the word Energy being important) was not the same as the Mountain Dew I had sampled from The States, or even the same as Mountain Dew from my childhood. They appear to have replaced the all important “Orange Juice From Concentrate” ingredient found in the original with the word “Flavourings”. The taste is very similar but not as nice, and it gives me a headache afterwards. If only they’d release proper Mountain Dew and its various special edition alternative flavours over here.

The actual flavour of Mountain Dew is pretty unique. It’s a very subtle fruity flavour, but the main characteristic of the drink is its fluorescent yellow colour. I remember the original UK version containing the Quinoline Yellow additive to achieve this, however I think this has been removed now in Mountain Dew Energy due to allergy concerns.

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.

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.

Red Bull

What kind of energy drink review site would be complete without a review of Red Bull itself? Not the original but certainly the most widely known and available product, it is my favourite and most people’s first experience of an energy drink. Based on Asian tonic drinks and created by a clever Austrian, it’s now a worldwide phenomenon. Most people are familiar with the ‘Red Bull Gives You Wings’ cartoon adverts, or will have heard of the Red Bull F1 team. It’s everywhere you look…

It’s a very sweet carbonated drink that grabs you at the back of the throat. Some say it is an acquired taste, which would make most Red Bull clones an even more acquired taste, but I loved it from the first drop. You can get it everywhere pretty much so you’ll never be far from a can if you need one.

Mixxed Up Classic

Lidl’s own-brand Red Bull clone with a very slight sour undertone. Mixxed Up is probably at the top of my list for own-brand energy drinks. It’s very palatable and very cheap at only 29p per can (at time of writing). It gives a moderate kick and has no nasty lingering aftertaste like so many other cheap drinks do. It’s usually available in-store on promotion if you buy 6 cans, and the staff don’t bat an eye if you pick up an entire shrink-wrapped tray of 24 cans and take it to the checkout. There’s also a sugar-free version which I can highly recommend, and the classic loses out only slightly to its lower calorie sibling.

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.