Bawls G33k B33r

As Jeff and I continue our vast quest to locate every energy drink being mass-produced, we run into various different flavors. Mentioned in my most recent review, fruits make up most of the energy drink flavors, though you do occasionally run into a flavor that stands out from the rest, more interesting, and overall better. Another quick stop into BevMo revealed some usual drinks, nothing to be ecstatic over, until I searched down below the rest, of course. Along with a few dusty bottles of Bawls original, I was more than excited to find a few bottles of Bawls G33k B33r. Most have not heard of Bawls, nor tried it, mainly because Bawls doesn't advertise as much as say, Monster or Rockstar. Yet if you've ever tried Bawls, you know it's really the stuff. In case you've forgotten to check out the Bawls review, I'll rundown what you may have missed. Bawls is particularly light, mostly carbonated water with a nice tinge of lemon-lime, and an added grainy flavor. It's much easier to drink than a Monster, thus explaining why each 12 ounce bottle drains swiftly. If you take a glance at the G33k B33r, you see the bottle is much darker than both the Bawls, and the Bawls Sugar Free, being dark brown, with a silver cap finish. The term 'G33k B33r' confuses me a bit, though I may be out of the loop for why they would substitute the e's for 3's. Anyways, I'll assume that since the bottle is brown, and I see there's the term beer, to expect a flavor of root beer; let's check it out.

Twisting open the easy cap of the Bawls, I'm not surprised to find a strong, aromatic blend of sarsaparilla, the root in which flavors root beer. The scent is real powerful, as if Bawls overloaded it with tasty flavoring, rather than lame high fructose corn syrup. Pouring it into a cup, Bawls G33k B33r takes the color of any other root beer soda, dark brown, not surprise there. If you've ever tried root beer, in the form of a soda, you may notice it's a bit dull from the amount of sugar they load into each can, such as A&W, or Mug. To compare Bawls to those major label companies, Bawls is much, much better, mainly because there is not nearly as much sugar as a can of soda, thus bringing out the true flavor of root beer. Swigging a few ounces into the mouth, Bawls surely impresses me, as my prediction is accurate. This G33k B33r is sweet, but definitely not as sweet as what you'd find in any other can of pop. It's hefty dosage of sarsaparilla flows into the mouth, with an equal balance of sugar, allowing more actual root beer flavor, and less dullness of the high fructose corn syrup. Of course there's high fructose corn syrup in here, but it's noticeable to be on the low side, as there's hardly any dullness. Unlike most of my reviews, I can't really describe the flavor into much more detail; Bawls G33k B33r is simply a less sweetened root beer, nothing more. Bawls brings little aftertaste to the party, perhaps just a bit of pure root and excess sugar. It wouldn't hurt to state the fact of low gumminess, as well as carbonation. Overall, I enjoy to see a change in the energy drink production, in terms of flavor, and honestly, Bawls did a great job of remaking my favorite soda into an energy drink.

Bawls isn't too big on energy drinks, unlike most energy drink companies, yet there isn't much disappointment from what you find. Taking a look at ingredients, I find a rather small list, as apposed to my most recent review, No Fear Bloodshot. Here's the complete list: carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, sodium benzoate, caffeine, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, and guarana extract. Caramel color is found in almost all dark-colored sodas and energy drinks, not for the taste, but obviously to give it that brownish tinge, like caramel. Bawls brags about their "Highly caffeinated beverage," though with past experiences with Bawls, I can't really find that energy you get from caffeine. Since I can't seem to locate the caffeine amount on the bottle, I'll assume they are exaggerating, and say it's no more than average. technically, their name is Bawls Guarana, so again, perhaps their energy is mainly coming from a different source, guarana, yet I'm not too sure that's enough to fully energize one who drinks a bottle. Per 12 ounce bottle, you get only 130 calories, as well as only 36 grams of sugar. Being that one serving is a whole bottle, that's pretty darn good. Comparing Bawls to select energy drinks, the serving size is larger, yet it has fewer sugar and fewer calories than, say, Jeff Gordon's energy drink. All in all, if you do happen to come across a bottle or two of these, feel free to pick one up, rather than a can of Mug or A&W. For more taste, and less sugar, Bawls is definitely approved on Canned Reviews.

Taste: 9 - Remarkable, robust sarsaparilla/root beer flavor, with very little dullness from high fructose corn syrup
Kick: 7 - Unfortunately, Bawls doesn't have the ingredients to deliver a good enough kick
Overall: 8.5 - I wouldn't count on Bawls for much energy, though root beer was accomplished almost perfectly
Reviewed by: Chan

Bawls Guaranexx Sugar Free

I'm wanting to review something today not strong, but light since I'm feeling a bit tired and what not. I checked my energy drink fridge and decided the Bawls Guaranexx Sugar Free fulfilled my craving exactly. If I remember correctly, the regular Bawls was extremely light, I mean there was barely any flavor. So, following the rules of sugar free energy drinks, this one will be even lighter. Or it can have the alternative affect of being artificially sweeter hence more of a lame flavor. I'm going to assume it has the second affect of being pretty lame because of the amount of artificial sugar in it, most likely Sucralose. In fact, I'm going to check right now and tell you it's sweetened with Sucralose and Acesulfame Potassium; okay I just hope it's masked well. The 10 ounce glass bottle has a great, simple bottle design being just words like "Bawls", "Guaranexx", "Sugar Free" in a blue font. It has tiny bawls pounded out of the bottle for traction, perhaps. Nobody wants to drop an energy drink, do they? I'm guessing a flavor that's almost pure artificial sweetener, with maybe just a bit of 7up/Pixie Sticks/Lemon Drops flavor. Well, I may think it's not going to be that great, but I'm going to find out anyway.

I hurt my fingers twisting off the cap, but I got to it and found it hard to target a scent inside the bottle. It smells more like Splenda and lemon, with some sharp alcohol aroma, reminding me of nothing really. The color, I forgot to mention, is clear, just like water, no bubbles or a foamy head. Now, the flavor has to be so unappetizing I don't feel like drinking one more sip. If you could pour Splenda inside carbonated water, and add just small, and I mean small dash of lemon-lime, you got this horrid taste. I'd have to admit, this is one of the only drinks I'm putting on the Worst Taste List, only because this is the most artificial energy drink I've ever tried or reviewed. It tastes almost like the Rockstar Sugar Free, but less tropical flavor and more artificial flavor. Almost finished with the can, I experience major stomach pain, due to the extremity of the Sucralose and Acesulfame K. It's not too carbonated, at least not so much as to bug you while you drink it, although I hope you don't purchase one. The aftertaste is where it gets even worse; it's a powerful artificial lemon-lime taste in the back of your tongue. It really is bad. Bawls Sugar Free isn't gummy at all, but there's many factors that make up for the gumminess, as you should know by now. Overall, Bawls Guaranexx Sugar Free was a complete failure. It's an addition to the Worst List, nor do I recommend it.

The ingredients are nothing special being water, citric acid, potassium benzoate, natural guarana extract, artificial flavor, caffeine, Sucralose, and Acesulfame Potassium. It also notes: "Warning: This product contains high levels of caffeine." Now, just a bit of research reveals that this drink only has 110mg of caffeine in the whole 10 ounce bottle. What? Yeah, that's right, only 110mg. Well, every company has their own way of falsely promoting their products. Per bottle, you don't get any calories, nor do you get any carbohydrates and sugar. They should mention it's artificially sweetened on the nutrition facts, I think. Actually, coming back to the review, I find myself pretty hyper due to the discovery of massive amounts of guarana in the drink complimenting the minimal caffeine. It's pretty surprising how the taste is horrid but the kick is pretty good. I only recommend you get this drink for the kick, just ignore the taste. All in all, my stomach is killing me, and it will yours too, but hey, I was curious and I needed to review it.

Taste: 2.7 - It's no better than putting Splenda in 10 ounces of carbonated water
Kick: 8.6 - The kick is pretty great; I liked the amount of guarana in it, as well as some caffeine
Overall: 5 - Don't get it, unless you want a better than average kick

Reviewed by: Chan

Bawls Guarana

Wow, I found the Bawls Guarana energy drink. I was surprised to see a galore of energy drinks at a local BevMo, including the Bawls. I've heard from relatives and friends that Bawls was a pretty awesome energy drink, in terms of taste and kick, so you can tell I'm pretty excited to check it out. Odd enough, Bawls looks like a miniature sized 20 ounce bottle of Sobe or some soda and has a dark, dark blue color, so I have no clue what color to expect from Bawls. In fact, Bawls is so small, its only a measly 10 ounce bottle, with a (Hopefully) twist of cap. It has a simple bottle design, the word Bawls in all capital letters and Guarana under it. I guess I'll expect a Coca Cola-like taste, with some citrus, possibly. Obviously, the bottle reveals nothing to me, in terms of even guessing what the color or taste is, so I'll have to wait just a few more minutes. On second thought... I think I'll just cut this paragraph short and get to the review.

I was expecting a lot of trouble opening it, but actually it took less time than a can does... Well, anyway, I opened it up to get a mild 7up aroma, but with a somewhat odd secondary scent. Bawls comes out an unexpected clear color, with the visible gas bubbles rising, just like 7up, or Sprite. I was very pleased to get a mild carbonated water taste, with some noticeable naturally sweetened orange-lime flavor. I forgot to mention that Bawls was created by a college graduate who wanted an alternative energy substance, rather than coffee. Man, it's so light on the palette, I could seriously drink it all day long, and have no problem with it, besides the fact that I might get a bit messed up from the caffeine. It has no aftertaste and fades away extremely fast, which leaves you wanting more and more. Bawls is pretty cool on carbonation, having just about under moderate and goes really fast. If you have a light energy drink, you can probably guess that it has pretty little gumminess, which is entirely true with Bawls. Overall, Bawls is going to be the new craze because I believe everyone will enjoy because its awesome light taste. I'll tell you, if you get Bawls Guarana, you need to get two because they do go fast.

Bawls has some pretty standard ingredients. Let's talk. It's got carbonated water, corn syrup (Less sugar), natural guarana extract, artificial citric acid, sodium benzoate, artificial flavors and caramel color and caffeine. It's got way fewer ingredients than your average Monster and Red Bull, having no vitamins, ginseng, sucrose and glucose, and taurine. Bawls is one energy drink that's way out there. One that maybe I would try again, but it's just not worth the kind of money you pay for it. It's just like what I thought, a bit dull, but pretty mild and somewhat addicting. Per bottle, you get only 120 calories, 32g of sugar (Not bad, but good be better due to its lack of flavor), and the caffeine amount... undisclosed. I tried researching the caffeine amount, like Jeff suggested, but found no results. I'll guess it's above average, probably around 100 or so. Overall, I'm not going to give Bawls a bad rationg only because an energy drink this light is a rarity and frankly, I enjoyed every ounce of it.

Taste: 7.7 - I had trouble deciding whether or not to give it this high of a rating...
Kick: 9.5 - This kick really ranks up there, I'll say
Overall: 8 - Okay, if it weren't for the kick, this drink is a skipper

Reviewed by: Chan