Monster Energy Absolutely Zero Review

Monster Canada is responding to the newly imported Rockstar Recovery energy drinks (Grape and Orange) by importing a couple of their own. I was able to only find the Absolutely Zero, but I am on the lookout for Monster Import Light, both, sugar free energy drinks.

Personally, I like the design of the label, it is much better than the current Lo-Cal one, which I have not yet reviewed but planning on doing so in the near future.

Taste

Moments after I cracked the can open, the familiar Monster sweet, syrupy scent made its way to my nose. Upon a proper inspection, I verified that this indeed smells just like the regular Monster. What surprised me was that this tastes just like it too. Wait a minute. This is supposed to be sugar-free. Where is the diet taste? Well, there isn't one and this is absolutely shocking. I believe that Monster have found a way to eliminate the sugar and carbs without eliminating taste. I kept on drinking to see if there will be some artificial sweetener in the finish...and there is, but it is barely noticeable compared to, even, the recent Rockstar Recovery drinks. You have to drink quite a bit before you start to notice the sweetener.

OK, OK, in addition to the subtle sweetener finish, there is one other notable difference between this and the real deal - this is much crisper. The regular Monster felt like drinking syrup, but this has a very crisp finish that doesn't make me want to reach for a glass of water. I am not a huge fan of the original Monster, nor is a sugar-free energy drink my first choice, but this really surprised me. Now my goal is to get the regular sugar-free Monster and compare the two.

Energy

There are 136 mg of caffeine, which surprised me a bit since most of the other Monsters are between 160 mg and 200 mg. Not a huge deal, but needs to be pointed out. This drink kicks in in about 20 minutes and unlike the sugar drinks, there are no noticeable jitters. The caffeine kick was gradual and I was fully awake and energized in another 15-20 minutes. Even with 136 mg of caffeine, the effects lasted for about 2 hours and there wasn't much of a crash at the end. All in all, this was a pretty good sugar free energy drink, even if it almost tasted like the original Monster.

Medicinal Ingredients:

• Taurine - 2,000 mg
• Ginseng - 400 mg
• Caffeine - 136 mg
• Vitamin B3 - 40 mg
• D-Glucuronolactone - 10 mg
• Guarana - 10 mg
• Inositol - 10 mg
• Vitamin B6 - 4 mg
• Vitamin B2 - 3.4 mg
• Vitamin B12 - 12 mcg

Non-Medicinal Ingredients: carbonated water, citric acid, erythritol, naturally sources flavours, sodium citrate, grape skin extract, sorbic acid, sucralose, benzoic acid, acesulfame potassium, sodium chloride, maltodextrin

Scores:
Cost - $3.29
Taste - 8/10
Energy - 7.4/10

Overall - 15.4/20...excellent sugar free Monster drink