Hydrive Blue Raspberry S

If you recall, Jeff and I reviewed a couple of the original Hydrive flavors, a neat find at Big Lots. Although the tastes weren't exactly appealing, it interested us because we really hadn't found a drink that was bittersweet, tasted a bit salty, yet lacked the necessary all-around flavor of an energy drink, so to speak. We most likely weren't the only ones to have the same mindset, so Hydrive went back into the lab and reformulated a new batch of energy drinks. They released six new flavors, Blue Raspberry being one of them. A good difference between the older formula and the newer formula is the designated function of each flavor. For instance, the Blue Raspberry's function is strength, as it claims to formulate strength with Vitamin B12, Maca Root, Ginkgo Biloba, D-Ribose, and L-Leucine. From past experience, most avid energy drink users have been exposed to D-Ribose, Vitamin B12, and Ginkgo Biloba (Most commonly found in Rockstar). A new ingredient I'm not sure I have tried before is the Maca Root, though from a bit of research, Maca Root helps rebuild weak immune systems, restore energy and endurance, and give minerals to a poorly-nourished body.

Giving the bottle a quick shake, I twist off the cap and notice a light mixed berry aroma. Unlike previous Blue Raspberry energy drinks like Jolt Blue Raspberry, this has a very subtle berry scent and flavor. Although its dark blue color suggests a more deeper, pure raspberry flavor, (such found also in various candies) it's light on the pallet. A few sips in, I start to taste a sour bite usually found in berries, though unlike the original, it's delightful, and ridding of bitterness. With only 30 calories, it's formulated just right; therefore very little sucralose is noticeable when tasting the raspberry/blueberry drink. Instead, it's sweetened very lightly with sucrose, the common table sugar. Because it's non-carbonated, Hydrive goes down smoothly, and makes for a great thirst-quencher, especially on a hot afternoon like today. About half-way through the bottle, some initial soft raspberry flavor becomes lost, which is hard to explain, but happens in a lot of low-calorie/sugar-free drinks. In terms of flavor, it reminds me most of the blue Gatorade G2 (A low-cal alternative to Gatorade). The taste fades rather quick, leaving only a sour aftertaste and a reminiscence of berry. Overall a good twist of a light Blue Raspberry drink, especially in a 30 calorie bottle.

Like stated above, the strength energy blend is appealing, as instead of having just caffeine, taurine, etc., you get some of the natural stuff too. Maca Root and Ginkgo Biloba come from an autotrophic source (plants, trees, etc.), while Vitamin B12, L-Leucine, and D-Ribose are all organic compounds that aid in energy, strength, muscle output, you name it. In each bottle, there's purified water, sucrose, citric acid, sodium citrate, caffeine, preservatives, gum arabic, natural flavor, taurine, sucralose, monopotassium, L-Carnitine, L-Arginine, Vitamin B5, Glycerol Ester of wood rosin, and Blue #1. In a bottle, you get 30 calories, only 6g of sugar, and a Proprietary energy blend of 265mg. A regular Monster or Rockstar has about 2500mg of energy blend. In comparison, it may seem like much more, though Hydrive, if you recall, skips out on the caffeine and taurine overload to make sure the consumer gets the smaller amounts of organic ingredients essential to strength and a good kick. Speaking of which, within about 20 minutes or so of finishing the bottle, I notice myself much more focused, awake from the Sunday-morning fatigue, and not over-the-top jittery. Instead of your cup of Joe in the morning, grab one of these portable 15.5 ounce bottles of strength.

Taste: 7.5 - Mild raspberry with a delighting sour bite, though partially bland at times
Kick: 8 - Great improvement of focus and energy; I feel loads more restored
Overall: 7.8 - Solid low-cal Hydrive; much better than the original

Reviewed by: Chan

Trek Nitro Blue Raspberry

Interestingly enough, foreign countries have their own take on American Gatorade, or even American Energy Drinks. Trek is Canadian Gatorade, which is pretty darn cool to me, finding it, although I've never even been to Canada. They then released their next wave of drinks named Nitro, which is fortified with taurine, caffeine, and B Vitamins and consisting of three general flavors. These flavors are Blue Rasberry, Grape, and Red Berry and have a ton of sugar, 71g in 20 ounces. Of course, all companies have their down times, and as you might now know, Trek has went out of business. I do recall trying Trek Nitro about 5 months ago and remeber it being insanely dull and way too sweet. I would say it took me a good few days to drink the whole bottle, as it took away all my craving for sweetness. Maybe my taste buds have matured, but if not, I know I'm in for a great deal of sweetness that I know will upset any persons stomach, like mine especially. Checking the sweeteners inside a bottle of Trek, I can easily see why this drink is dull, and too sweet. There's HFCS, as well as sucrose, and that is obviously too much for a sports drink. All I know is, if I were craving some sweet liquid to satisfy my need for sweetness and rehydrate me, it wouldn't be Trek. I really don't want to be choking on gumminess on the middle of the field.

Upon twisting off the handy cap with a hole type-thing for easy handling and peeling off the sealed plastic lid, I immediately find an aroma just like the Jolt Blue Raspberry, very pure berry. Just looking through the clear plastic, I note a blue color that is extremely deep, with no brightness whatsoever. Trek Nitro Blue Raspberry contains a flavor that is a bit of a let-down, having very little actual blue raspberry flavor, and just a sweet, sugary primary flavor, much different than the scent. Taking more sips, I feel just a bit tired already of the flavor, being just the same dull mild raspberry flavor with the sugary consistency of that stuff you feed to the hummingbirds. I had mentioned earlier, this stuff is meant to hydrate you and give you the energy you need for exercising, but I would not even attempt to use this throughout working out. It seems this is a drink that's good for the kids who like sugary sweet filled drinks, and just anyone else who isn't planning on doing anything physical. So in general, sure, it's a good, drink for the any day person, but doesn't accomplish it's psychical activity goal. On gumminess, I believe you know, it is a problem, but you know, with a lot of sugar comes a lot of gumminess. Since it's notably sweet, I've decided to come back when the drink is at room temperature to try it out. It tastes just a bit less sweet, and there is more of a corny flavor from the HFCS, with some raspiness from the berry. Overall, Trek Nitro failed to fulfill it's goal in making a sports drink, but it really isn't all that bad as just a plain old juice with energy ingredients.

On ingredients, Trek seems like just any other energy drink, standard ingredients. Trek's ingredients read as following: Filtered Water, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, natural flavors, citric acid, taurine, glucuronolactone, caffeine, inositol, niacin, FD&C Blue #1, and B Vitamins. Mostly standard ingredients, but as you see, HFCS and sucrose do not really mix, but just produce an offset sweetness. Per 20 ounce bottle, you get a massive 290 calories and an even larger 71g of sugar. I would always say how it's healthful to split these kinds of sugar-loaded energy drinks with a sibling or relative, or even a friend, you can also stow it away in the fridge and enjoy it later too. Based on what I felt an hour after drinking about 16 ounces, I can let you know it's just about the same kick you'll find from a Monster, but add another few ounces and the kick is just a bit better. The kick lasts about 3 hours and is mainly jitteriness, with very small amounts of focus here and there. All in all, I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed Trek Nitro drinking all of it, but I didn't find it as bad as I had prior to reviewing it. A helpful tip: if you're wanting a drink for refreshness during activities such as sports or exercising, do not seek out a sugary drink such as this one, just stick with plain old water and have an energy drink afterwards.

Taste: 7.2 - Not a bad blue raspberry flavor, but gets boring towards the end
Kick: 8.3 - Although it has standard energy ingredients, it is 20 ounces, which means it's got an above-average kick
Overall: 7.6 - I would say, stick with Jolt Blue Raspberry if you were up for a raspberry flavored energy drink

Reviewed by: Chan

Jolt Blue Raspberry

I've had the opportunity to review this drink for a long time now, but something always comes up. I was originally panning to review this drink last week, but I found the Red Jak and couldn't resist. I then wanted to review it a few days ago, but I just didn't have the time. So today, I cleared part of my day and decided to review this drink, no exceptions. This is my first Jolt review, I'll also be reviewing the Jolt Ultra as well, expect that one to be good. Jolt makes their drinks in 16 ounces and 24 ounces, both sizes having their own line of drinks. For example, they have the Jolt Blue and the Jolt Blue Raspberry as well as the Jolt Cola and the Jolt Power Cola; odd but hey, energy drinks are energy drinks. This Jolt looks the same as all the other ones, 75% black and 25% the color of the drink, this one being blue for raspberry. You may say this drink looks the same as the Jolt Blue, but here's where you're wrong, it says 'Blue Raspberry' under 'Jolt', rather than 'Blue'. Jeff noted the blue raspberry taste in his Jolt Blue, so I'm expecting a better version of blue raspberry, deeper, more flavor, smoother. I've heard that this is a lot better than the Jolt Blue, I trust it is, but I want to find out right now if it is or not. Here it goes...

I peel off the plastic which comes off in one piece and twist off the cap. It makes a nice loud pop then revealing an irresistible pure blue raspberry aroma, almost to die for. The color is a plasma blue color, looking like crystal with just a little bit of fizziness. The taste is even better than the scent having an insane cotton candy and blue raspberry mix, reminding me of carnivals and Jolly Ranchers. As I take more sips, I start to notice a familiar flavor, Pop Rocks. I don't know why, but that neat Pop Rocks flavor just came to my head once I took a sip of the 24 ounce Behemoth, maybe because Pop Rocks make a deep blue raspberry flavor the same way Jolt Does. I haven't found my way through many blue raspberry energy drinks thus far, but as of now, this has to be my favorite blue raspberry energy drinks. However, the reality is, I know of many blue raspberry energy drinks I need to review, all having the potential to be better. Jolt isn't afraid to put a lot of carbonation in their energy drinks, that's why I'm downgrading Jolt Blue Raspberry. The carbonation in this drink seems to be heavy and delivers a burning sensation going down the throat, and just a bit going into the mouth. I have to say, for having HFCS, this Jolt allows no gumminess and actually has a crisp flavors, rather than a dull flavor, found in the Kronik and the BooKoo Berry, which if you recall separated those from the Best Taste List. Overall, the Jolt Blue Raspberry was one of the best HFCS energy drinks I've had in a long time, outtasting the Kronik, BooKoo Berry, and the Freek line. The one thing that bugged me was the amount of carbonation, thus separating it from the drinks on Best Taste List.

The ingredients list shows carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, taurine, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors, sodium benzoate, caffeine, sodium citrate, gum arabic, Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin, guarana, ginseng, and niacin. Jolt does a good job of masking the HFCS in this drink because it's a fairly fresh and sweet drink, not really a lot of dullness. A few ingredients over is Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin, which helps Jolt rid the gumminess and rid the dullness caused by the HFCS. It's always great to have that when you see HFCS. Per 24 ounce can, you get 360 calories and 90 grams of sugar (You're better off splitting this guy with someone!). If it were 16 ounces, you'd get a fairly decent amount of sugar, more than a Monster, but not as much as the Jeff Gordon or the Max Velocity. The calorie count is also not bad, but just watch out, any more than 24 ounces can be dangerously bad for you, way too much sugar. The kick is pretty insane, having a lot of caffeine and guarana, although the amount is undisclosed. If a 16 ounce Jolt has 220mg of caffeine, how much does this one have? 330, incredible. The kick is massive, being a 24 ounce can, but not worthy of the Best Kick list, because it's 24 ounces, not 16. In general, I was very pleased with this energy drink, and I'm sure you will too, just be aware of your sugar intake and caffeine intake with this Blue Raspberry Behemoth.

Taste: 9 - I was amazed by the fresh Blue Raspberry flavor, and the lack of gumminess is really what will impress you
Kick: 9.2 - The kick is insane, being a 24 ounce can with a lot of sugar and caffeine, DO NOT drink if you are sensitive to caffeine. Fair warning.
Overall: 9.1 - I would buy it again, but now I know to split it with someone

Reviewed by: Chan

YJ Stinger Enraged Raspberry

I've got a whole lot of drinks to review, including some great ones like Jolt Power Cola and BooKoo Wild Berry Zero Carb, but I pulled this thing out of my fridge instead. I wanted this one because I was hankering for some classic raspberry flavor I heard this had. Also, it would be a great drink to compare to the Jolt Blue and the upcoming review of Jolt Blue Raspberry. I'm not too happy to know that there are about 30g of sugar per serving, 32 per can. I am definitely not one for super sweet drinks, and the sweetness in the Enraged Raspberry is probably going to really bug me. Perhaps that is the reason they only come in 8.4oz cans. Probably by the end of this review, I'm going to be glad this isn't 16oz. I've already discussed the look of the can so I'm going to tear in.

I popped it open and observed. The smell is pretty faint blue raspberry with a kind of weird metallic wang I've never smelled before. Odd, but I'll forget about it for now. I poured it out and the color nearly blew my mind. I haven't seen such an electric sky blue before. With a small sip, I taste a very tiny and lame berry that I can just barely tell is raspberry. I thought it might take me a larger sip to get he taste right, but that's not true. It's still fizzy with fine carbonation and hardly any flavor. I was thinking this would be packed with flavor, but I was wrong. Also surprising, it isn't super sugary like the Freeks and some of the BooKoos. It's instead just at the right level, but I still taste that weird salty or bitter something; I'm not sure what it is, but I can't seem to enjoy the drink with it in there. Well, when I block it out, the drink still doesn't seem to impress me. It tastes not as sweet as the Jolt Blue, but then there's a whole lot less flavor with no tartness whatsoever. I wouldn't buy this again, nor would I recommend it to anyone. It's just totally mediocre.

Well, I do feel a kick, but it's just below average. The energy ingredients aren't listed in their amounts, sadly, but they are in the ingredients. Caffeine comes in after the third ingredient, Citric Acid, which should have given the drink a nice acidity. Taurine follows, then there's Ascorbic Acid, which also failed to give the drink some sourness. The rest of the list is as follows: B Vitamin Stack, Yerba Mate, Guarana, Ginseng, Blue 1, Natural and Artificial Flavors, and Potassium Sorbate, as a preservative. I can't tell how much of what is in here, but it looks like the predominant energy ingredients are Taurine and Caffeine. Toward the end of the ingredients is where you see Ginseng and Guarana, telling you there's very little. The kick may vary depending on your Caffeine tolerance, meaning coffee-holics won't get much. This drink is just a drink you want to skip for something better.

Taste: 5 - Faint and muted fake raspberry
Kick: 6 - Delivers slight alertness, nothing more
Overall: 5 - Forget about it

Reviewed by: Jeff