Jetset Tonic

Some would call an energy drink company crazy for making such a flavor, tonic. Jetset, I'm sure, wasn't made fun of because they're not only an energy drink company, but a energy drink mixer as well. Jetset isn't that great taste-wise, or kick-wise, but I'm sure as a mixer they would do pretty good. I know Jetset Tonic will give a pretty bland and bitter flavor, but that's okay because it's not usually meant to be drunken by itself. The can design is once again pretty cool. Around the upper rim of the can, there are clocks with times from around the world like: Rome, San Fransisco, Dubai, Ibiza, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Paris, Buenas Aires, Miami, Tokyo, London, Las Vegas, Rio, New York, and Chicago. It's a bit random if you ask me, but whatever, it's not bad. The background is their usual swirl, but this time the color is light orange, like the color of an orange creamsicle. On the back of the can, there's a silhouette of a DJ wearing headphones and mixing records with the phrase "Mile High Energy" below him. Well, I'm still expecting a rebound from Jetset, let's see if they can actually soar a mile high.

The scent as I pop open the can is bitter tonic, just like the stuff you buy in the mixers aisle, bland. Jetset Tonic has a pretty clear color to it, aside from the many tiny bubbles from the carbonation. Hm, interesting. It's flavor seems to be pretty sweet, with little bitterness from the tonic in the background. I'm going to try my best to determine the 'sweet' flavor you get from taking a sip. I'm going to say it's syrupy sweet, next to a minor amount of original Red Bull flavor, but later gets attacked by a bitter tonic flavor and dissipates fast. About towards the end of the can, the flavor gets a bit dull from the HFCS and the bitterness kicks in the form an awkward flavor. The aftertaste is not so much a taste, as much as more of a feeling on the sides of the mouth. It's that feeling of bitterness that closes up the back of the cheek. It's not too carbonated, just a basic carbonation you get from most Monsters and Red Bulls and all the clones around it. Although I can taste some of that dull HFCS, I can't seem to find any gumminess within. I'll try chugging it...the result is yet the same, no gumminess, only that bitter feeling. Overall, it tastes a whole lot better than I had expected it to taste like, beating the Club Soda and tasting more like the Original, but not as sweet.

The ingredients in this 10.5 once can are in a hard to read small and shiny silver font goes like this: Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, taurine, caffeine, quinine, natural flavors, inositol, guarana, ginseng, and niacin. I've seen quinine in the Howling Monkey Cola, but it's a key ingredient in tonic water. In fact, the quinine was added to the drink as a prophylactic against malaria, since it was originally intended for consumption in tropical areas of South Asia and Africa where that disease is endemic. The quinine also gives it that 'glow' when immersed into darkness. It contains HFCS, which in this drink, played a pretty big part by giving it a dull, syrupy taste. Per 10.5 oucne can, you get an average 130 calories (If you do the math), and a small 29g of sugar. It's an okay amount of sugar for the amount of sweetness in the drink, as well as the amount of calories for the amount of flavor. I admire Jetset the most for the great amount of energy ingredients they place in their energy mixers. You get 1,000mg of taurine, 120mg of caffeine, 25mg of guarana, and 25mg of ginseng. After the drink and after the kick, I think I really enjoyed the Tonic the most. If you're one of those people that just want to drink this itself, I'm going to tell you to do so if you had a choice between all the Jetsets.

Taste: 6 - Aside from the bitterness, there was a decent syrupy Red Bull-like flavor
Kick: 6.5 - The kick was actually somewhat better than that of the other Jetset flavors
Overall: 6.2 - You know, it's not so much an energy drink, but a mixer, so I have lay off on the mediocre flavor it delivers

Reviewed by: Chan