Joker Mad Energy+Juice

It's been a long time since I got this. I've been neglecting it, but I don't see why I should, considering this is a Joker. Chan and I have always prized the Joker energy drinks, even before we knew how amazing and flavorful they were. The first Joker, the regular, was like a much more flavorful and crisp Monster. The second, the Joker Lo-Carb, was a clone of the Monster Lo-Carb, but also ramped up on flavor. So naturally, I think it should make sense for this to be extremely flavorful as well. The question is, "How does this relate to a Monster flavor?" Since all these Monster clones have been at least similar to the different Monster flavors, I'm wondering what a juice Monster clone has to offer. Perhaps it's a clone of the Khaos. Less likely, it could be a clone of the M-80. I'm going to find out.

I popped the can open, a sound I've missed. The first whiff I get is reminiscent of the Lost 5-0, with nice peachy mango-tangerine juice, but also that characteristic underlying Monster flavor. The smell has extreme depth which is simply amazing and that's very, very hard to find in many drinks. I believe this drink also may contain some white grape, that gives it a nice, smooth, tanginess. As it turns out, I'm absolutely right, without peeking at the ingredients. The fruit juices in here include apple, orange, pear, peach, tangerine, pineapple, and white grape. Out of those fruit juices, I can easily taste the tangering, white grape, orange and the very sour pineapple. I forgot to mention, the color is half-opaque peachy-orange, which is about what you'd expect from this sort of juice. I don't totally see how the apple and pear make a big difference, since they make short and hardly noticable appearances. My guess is they're fillers in a way. In terms of gumminess, this thing is a breeze and the carbonation is fine and comfortable. The only thing holding this back is that pleasantly painful sourness from the pineapple, I'm guessing. That'll be the only thing that probably bothers most people, since I know many people aren't used to sour drinks. If you think a Monster is sour, trust me, this is going to be unbearable.

With a Monster, or at least a drink made by Monster, you can always expect the most awesome kick. I'm not kidding. Some drinks may simply give you energy and/or focus. Monster goes so far with the kick, it's like a transformation from boring to insane. So what causes this sort of amazing boost? Well, I thought, since this is a Monster clone, that the energy ingredients would be slightly less than that of a Monster. Nope, that may be true for the Aces, but Joker stays true the the Monster recipe, with 2500mg per serving, 5000 total of the energy blend: Glucose, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and Maltodextrin. Added to that, there's 2000mg total of Taurine and 200mg of Panax Ginseng. Then there are the vitamins: A, C, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6 and B12. The only sad thing is that the B Vitamins are in 100% amounts per serving, while C and A are not. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing presumably the lamest drink ever, the Rush! Lite, having more vitamins. That's the only bad thing about this, but otherwise, it's a total slam dunk. I'd recommend this to hardcore energy drink junkies, but not so much to average drinkers. You won't like the sourness.

Taste: 8.3 - Very deep, fruity, sour taste
Kick: 9.3 - Hardcore kick, man
Overall: 9.1 - Hard to beat this one

Reviewed by: Jeff

Joker Lo-Carb

Walking in to that same Big! Lots we found the first BooKoos and Jolts in, we were incredibly surprised to find all three Jokers plus the Joker Lo-Carb and Joker+Juice. Joker has an awesome can design with a simple blue background and and a mad jester giving the impression of a sick and out of control drink. Since the regular Joker was a Monster clone, I bet that I can count on this to be a lot like the Monster Lo-Carb. The ingredients look suspiciously similar with the same energy ingredients: 1000mg of Taurine, 200mg of Panax Ginseng, and 2500mg of the Energy Blend per serving. Just like the Monster Lo-Carb, this drink uses glucose in addition to sucralose and acesulfame potassium, the artificial sweeteners. This might be done to give it a bit of a genuinely sweet taste to the artificial sweetness. I haven't had a Monster Lo-Carb in a while, so I'm interested in trying this.

Smelling this, I think it's a little fruitier than the regular Monster Lo-Carb with more hints of pear and grape. In the background, there's that cinnamon. From what I am tasting, there don't seem to be any different flavors in here than in the Monster Lo-Carb, but for some reason they seem more intense and delightful. The last time I had the Lo-Carb, it tasted really diluted, but with the Joker Lo-Carb, there's no diluted taste and I can really get into it. The sweetness starts out tasting really good because of the glucose, and then transforms into artificial and metallic sweetness, no doubt from the ace-k and sucralose. The flavor the sweetness carries along is very close to the Monster Lo-Carb, but in my mind, better, because it seems fuller and tastier. This thing went down incredibly fast and I suppose for the price you get this at Big! Lots for, 60 cents, it's worth it.

Now with one of these Monster clones, you might know what to expect of the energy ingredients; these drinks' last paragraphs typically look the same. Because this is a clone of the Monster Lo-Carb, you've got those same two artificial sweeteners, Sucralose and Acesulfame K, but with Monster's usual trick of pairing those two with good 'ol Glucose to provide a more natural sweetness. Because of this, you'll see 3g of sugar in the Supplement Facts instead of the usual zero in sugar-free drinks. That goes to show how this is different than a pure sugar-free drink. As for energy ingredients, they all appear to be exactly the same as a Monster. Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Sodium are the vitamins in here. As for energy ingredients, you've got 2000mg total of Taurine, 400mg of Panax Ginseng, and 5000mg of Monster's energy blend, which includes Glucose, Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and Maltodextrin. The only other ingredients not mentioned are Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, "Color Added," Benzoic Acid, and Sodium Choride (salt). I'm glad to have tried this and I cannot wait to see how the Joker Juice compares with Monster's juice drinks.

Taste: 8.7 - Monster Lo-Carb replica with tons more fruity flavor
Kick: 7.8 - The Monster kick, enough said
Overall: 8.6 - Great lo-carb drink I'd have anytime

Reviewed by: Jeff

Joker Mad Energy

I was in shock when I found the Joker. You wouldn't even believe where or how I found it as well. Well, for starters, I was at Big! Lots just stocking up on some of my favorite drinks when I reached my arm way back behind the energy drinks and pulled out something, something 16 ounces and black... In awe, I stood staring at the Joker for 15 seconds, no reaction whatsoever. I managed to pull out two, one being for Jeff, and then what do you know, only .60 cents a can. I've heard so many great things about Joker and I wanted to review it as fast as I can. After being chilled overnight, I pull it out of the refrigerator and shudder glancing at the evil can design. It's basically a Joker, perhaps even a medieval Jester, just staring at you, in front of a black background. Joker has a font on the can that is supposed to look fun, as if you're at a carnival, or a circus. If I hadn't heard of Joker, I wouldn't be so excited to try it, and think that it would just be another Monster/Red Bull clone, but I know it's supposed to taste like Root Beer. What an odd energy drink flavor! Okay, well I'm just about ready to open this one up.

I quickly opened up the can to expose a Red Bull clone apple-raspberry taste. My hopes then went down. Just as I expected, an amber color pours straight out of the can of Joker. I'm actually really impressed with Joker, because instead of making a plain Red Bull clone, Joker went with a rich apple-citrus flavor, fading away with a wild berry and slight sarsaparilla. Joker is one energy drink an untrained taste wouldn't know the difference between it and a Monster, but Jeff and I, on the other hand, taste a crisp, sharp, sweet flavor; most likely due to the sucrose and glucose. That just goes to show that the sweetener can make or break a winning energy drink. That's why I believe that Joker makes the Best Taste List, because you can't beat it's crisp, natural flavor. Just like a Monster, Joker has really no aftertaste, but leaves you with a tasty root beer kind of flavor. It's also just about as carbonated as Monster, having a really small amount, as well as no apparent gumminess. Overall, Joker passed the test, in terms of taste, aftertaste, carbonation, and gumminess. Joker obviously made the Best Taste List, now let's see how well the kick is.

The Joker Mad Energy has the same exact ingredients as a Monster, in fact, it's canned at the same place as Monster. It's got carbonated water, sucrose, glucose, citric acid, natural flavors, taurine, sodium citrate, color added, ginseng, caffeine, sorbic acid, riboflavin, and maltodextrin. Per can, you get only 220 calories, slightly more than Monster, but still pretty low. Theres 27g of sugar per serving, which is 54g per can. An average amount of 2,000mg is what you get from taurine, and 5,000mg of energy blend, same as a Monster. I guess this drink is almost exactly the same as a Monster, but a slightly different taste, being sweeter and richer. I would definitely stock up on these Jokers if you see them, because it's one of the best Monster-like energy drinks around. However, unless you're an avid energy drink fan, you may think it has the same taste as a regular Monster, and I know I will probably get comments on this review such as: "Why is this on your Best Taste List?" or "It just tastes like a Monster, nothing special." But trust me, get into energy drinks, and you'll love Joker for sure.

Taste: 9.2 - A sweet, crisp multi-flavor taste that will not bore you
Kick: 8.5 - With 5,000mg of energy blend, you're in for an average kick
Overall: 9 - This one passed, for sure

Reviewed by: Chan