Rockstar Tropical Punch Shot

With energy drinks on the rise, companies have to think fast for a new flavor. Once all the flavors are covered and being sold, they move onto the next generation of energy, 2-4 ounce shots. Shots are pretty convenient because they're obviously smaller, have less sugar, are more powerful, and are just less to drink if you need the energy right now, right here. So, when one company starts the trend, soon all the rest like Rockstar, Monster, and Amp fall in line to do the exact same, just their version of it. So far, I know Monster and Amp have created and released their energy shots, yet I have not spotted one. All I've seen is this Rockstar Tropical Punch, and the original Rockstar shot, so it's cool until I can find the other few out there. I also have word that CRUNK!!! has recently released their newest flavor, CRUNK!!! Berry; I really hope to find one of those too and review it with Jeff immediately. Well, following Rockstar's tropical 16 ounce energy drink's scheme, I see a design of just red, white, and black. Red, being on the cap and in the star; black being on the background; and white lettering. One thing I notice on the brim of the bottle is the caffeine content, 200mg. Some will argue that that is powerful, but I for one, believe that it is not powerful enough to sustain the same boost an energy shot would usually give.

Twisting the cap open, I dig deep for a scent that's almost exactly like the regular Rockstar Tropical Fruit, but all the scent packed into one shot, thus making it much more potent. It's color
oddly clear, though I may have been over expectant for a red or similar to red color. Before I taste it, I have to remember that it's a shot, or in other words, it's not meant to be sipped. So, I'm just going to down the 2.5 ounces now and describe the flavor as best as I can. Bottoms up! Okay, so chugging it was not the greatest idea in the world...After swigging an ounce my face turned almost priceless, twisting and jerking. As I take a smaller sip, I analyze a smooth and up front wild berry/cherry flavor for just a split second, and shortly afterwards, you find an overbearing extreme bitterness. I'm not talking about just a mild bitterness you find in handfuls of energy drinks, I'm talking uncontrollable bitterness, like nothing I've come across so far. The flavor spreads quickly throughout your mouth and pinches the sides of your cheek as well as the back of your tongue and down your throat; it's pretty intense. If I may recommend one thing about this energy shot, it's to down this real quickly to avoid this fake, bitter flavor. As I top off the minute bottle, I surely find that same berry and bitter combination, but this time with a bit of citrus added to the aftertaste. All in all, I really don't like rating the taste of energy shots because that's just how they are, so I'll just let this one slide, like I do with most others.

Ingredients-wise, I haven't glanced at anything on the back of the bottle, so I'm not too sure what to expect, other than standard Rockstar ingredients. I would be extremely impressed if this had ginkgo biloba; let's find out... All it's ingredients are listed here: purified filtered water, taurine, natural flavors, malic acid, phosphoric Acid, caffeine, sodium citrate, benzoic acid, sorbic acid, L-carnitine, inositol, milk thistle, niacin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hyrdochloride, acesulfame potassium, guarana seed, neotame, ginseng, Sucralose, red #40, and cyanocobalamin. Sadly, there is no ginkgo biloba, but knowing Rockstar, there's a legitimate reason behind it. All the main energy ingredients are listed as one of the last, which shows Rockstar focused mainly on giving what is called a "caffeine kick", which, as you may or may not know, gets you jittery for a short period of time and releases a crash. I truly hope this shot doesn't give that effect. For a sugar free drink, I was surprised to see all the artificial sweeteners listed near the bottom of the list, so that goes to show what kind of flavor you receive drinking this, natural-fruit flavors. Again, there's about 200mg of caffine for 2.5 ounce bottle, no calories, no sugar and an energy blend of roughly 1.44g (That's 1440mg). Coming back about an hour later, I determine this kick is about 60% jitteriness, 20% focus, and 20% alertness. Good statistics, though I'm pretty sure I'd find more focus with a hearty amount of ginkgo biloba in the mix. Overall, Rockstar nailed the energy shot, for the most part, until I can grab a Wild Berry Shot.

Taste: 3 - So what? The flavor in shots are usually neglected anyways
Kick: 9 - Great, steady kick so far; mild crash ~four-five hours later
Overall: 9 - To crown a winner of shots, I'll have to find the other major products...but for now, I recommend this one

Reviewed by: Chan

Glaceau Vitamin Energy Tropical Citrus

After about a week of refrigerating, I decided to give the Vitamin Energy Tropical Citrus a shot. As you know, we have all the other Glaceau Energy Drink products already reviewed, so this will be the last one. I wasn't too fond with the Vitamin Energy Fruit Punch because of its weak and unappealing flavor, but I have a good feeling about this one. I'm predicted a smooth citrus flavor, maybe similar to Squirt, with a hint of some mango. Vitamin Water, itself, is actually a great drink to have, in terms of supplements, but the Vitamin Energy is lacking effort in producing a quality energy drink. Like all the other Vitamin Energy drinks, this one has a basic can design. It's half yellow, and half white, like a pill. It says Vitamin Energy 3 times vertically across the can. Ok, here it goes...

As I crack this one open, I immediately go in for a smell. I get a sweet citrus aroma, with a a bit of mango, some melon, and noticeable pineapple. It comes out of the can an opaque yellow color, similar to lemonade, or urine. Hm, I regret saying that Glaceau makes bad energy drinks because this one is quite tasty. It first goes into your mouth with a sweet lemony citrus flavor, with little carbonation. It then fades away with a natural blend of mango and sweet pineapple. Surprisingly, this drink does not have any aftertaste, which results in a pleasant drinkablility. I think this is one drink that kids, adults, seniors, and pretty much anyone else you can think of will like. I really enjoyed its natural citrus and lemon sweetness, as well as its sweet pineapple taste. Vitamin Energy Tropical Citrus is genuinely lightly carbonated and is incredibly easy to drink and/or chug. Due to the crystalline fructose, this drink has no gumminess whatsoever, just another great feature of this drink. Overall, this was one incredible and powerful drink, and it had an amazingly tasty flavor. Definitely one of the best drinks I've had in awhile, but almost worthy of the "Best Taste List."

Now for the ingredients. This drink uses the fancy "Vapor distilled deionized, and/or reverse osmosis carbonated water." It also used the fancy sugar, crystalline fructose, which is only sugar based on cornstarch, not fruit. Taurine then comes in at number three, a good set up there. Like a few other energy drinks, this one uses only natural flavor, which explains its great taste. It also has vitamin C, ribose, natural caffeine, niacin, gum acacia, ester gum, electrolytes, beta carotene, and folic acid. Per can, you get only 200 calories, which pretty sweet, considering this is an energy drink. You only get 50g of sugar, which is below average for an energy drink, but is sweet enough. You also get 150mg of natural caffeine, which should keep you alert and steady for about a few hours. And lastly, like usual, you get 2,000mg taurine, which is average. I'm surprised that Glaceau can make such a powerful energy drink, considering that the other two were pretty weak and lacked good flavor.

Taste: 8.5 - I really enjoyed its tropical flavors, it reminded me of Hawaii
Kick: 8 - Pretty steady kick so far...
Overall: 8.5 - I must recommend you get it

Reviewed by: Chan