Blitz Energy Mint Review

It costs $3.19 CAD at 7-11 and comes in 2 different flavours - peppermint and spearmint. Each mint contains 55 mg of caffeine and is freaking huge.

At first the mints taste the same as any other breath mints - very fresh. Give it a minute and a bitter taste will slowly start coming. The mint texture is also very rough and rather crumbly. You can kind of taste the green tea, but don't expect the taste to be the same as the Nestea Iced Green Tea drinks, this one is more bitter. After a couple of minutes the bitterness becomes dominant and the sweet, minty taste takes the background. Expect this taste to last for several minutes. The taste will then revert back to the original minty taste, but with a bitter note. There is a very distant minty, green tea aftertaste, which is more like the aftertaste you get from drinking an energy drink with green tea - Green Tea Beaver Buzz. The mint aftertaste lasts about the same as any other decent mint. I don't think I will be buying these again, but I will definitely try the peppermint flavour and perhaps some of the other energy mints 7-11.

The energy is real, it is not like the other mints you get places, the ones that say that are energy mints, but you have to eat a dozen or so to feel a buzz. I experienced a nice energy boost within 10 minutes of taking one. It works.

Scores:
Cost - $3.19 CAD per 8 mint pack
Taste - 9/10 at first, then 4/10, then 7/10...I would give it an average of 6.67/10
Energy - 6/10

Overall - 12.67/20...if you can handle the taste in the middle, this is not a bad energy booster to carry around with you.

Saskatoon Berry Beaver Soda Review

I went to another 7-11 last night and I came across Beaver Soda, from the same guys who make the Beaver Buzz Energy Drinks. Don't expect to find any caffeine in the sodas, they are just soft drinks. This one has the same flavour as the berry flavoured Beaver Buzz Energy Drink. Their
website says that there are 4 different kinds of Beaver Soda, but the 7-11 I went to only sold 3 of them. The cans are identical to the Beaver Buzz cans but cost only $1.59 CAD.

This soda tastes absolutely great, better than the berry Beaver Buzz energy drink. The taste is more fruity, yet not too sweet. There is a very nice crisp berry aftertaste that is a bit tart. The prolonged aftertaste is even better. Once the tart taste goes away, the only thing present is the delicious berry taste, which makes you want to drink another can or go to the store and get some berries. There is only complaint I have, the soda is way too carbonated which makes it difficult to drink at once when cold. I think the lack of "energy" ingredients makes this more enjoyable to drink than the saskatoon berry energy drink.

Scores:
Cost - $1.59 CAD per can
Taste - 9.0/10

Overall - 9/10...this is a great alternative to the Jones Sodas you can pick up for around the same price

Rockstar Juiced Pomegranate Energy Drink Review

Another Rockstar Juiced, this time Pomegranate flavoured. I got this one from a 7-11 for $2.99 CAD. I actually got this a while back, but I didn't have the urge to drink it. It just seemed so plain compared to all the other energy drinks I had in my frige. I had to have it today since this was the only thing left. Don't worry, I will be getting some more drinks today.

This Rockstar is the same as the other Rockstar Juiced energy drinks - good tasting, but very sweet. This one is also said to have 50% juice, but it tastes like any pomegranate soft drink.
The pomegranate flavour gives it a tart taste and aftertaste. Aftertaste is a bit sweet at first, but the sweetness goes away fairly quickly. The problem is if you drink it all at once, there will be a spike in sweetness. Allow some time between sips for the sweetness to subside. Overall, as I already entioned, this tastes like any pomegranate soft drink without any of the horrible energy drink undertones and aftertastes.

Caffeine content is the same, 160 mg, but for some reason it did not provide the energy boost I was expecting. I still felt energized, but not for too long. I needed rest just over an hour after consuming this. It is better than 250 mL energy drinks, but if it is energy you are after, try one of the other 473 mL drinks. Try a Rage, or a NOS, they both gave me more than enough energy.

Scores:
Cost - $2.99 CAD from 7-11
Taste - 7.8/10
Energy - 6.9/10...it has the same caffeine content as other 473 mL energy drinks, but it just didn't give me enough energy

Overall - 14.7/20

Beaver Buzz Core Energy Drink Review

I went to a different 7-11 last night to see if they have anything different. I came out with a Beaver Buzz Energy Drink, the Core one. I really didn't know what to expect from a drink with a Core flavour. This Beaver Buzz cost me $2.59 CAD, which is $0.60 CAD more than what Shoppers Drug Mart sells them for.

The easiest way to describe this is to say that it tastes like the regular Monster. This beverage even has the same yellow color. There is a slight difference in taste though, the Beaver Buzz Core does not have the same, strong cough syrup taste. It is still present, but it is very mild. Also, this one taste a bit sweeter than Monster, but the sweetness does not last long. If you gulp it down real quick, you will experience a taste that is very sweet towards the end, but it fades away very fast in the aftertaste. Weird. Another subtle difference is the slight sour aftertaste once the sweetness has gone away.

Now, about the energy boost. There are two labels on the back and of course the two list different caffeine amounts. Before you say that they list the caffeine on different basis, they do not. Both the labels give caffeine amounts on a per can basis. One gives 100 mg caffeine, the other 150 mg. Also, both the labels give ginseng, guarana and taurine amounts so it is not like the greater caffeine amount already includes the caffeine from the ginseng and guarana extracts. If you know anything about this difference in caffeine content, let me know.

Scores:
Cost - $2.59 CAD from 7-11
Taste - 6.9/10...not a big fan of the Monster taste, but I am giving this one a slightly higher score because of the subtle differences
Energy - 7.2/10

Overall - 14.1/20...not bad, but you might want to try the Berry Beaver Buzz or the Green Tea Beaver Buzz

Rage Wrath Energy Drink

This Rage is said to taste like The Grape Escape, but we will see about that. Just like the other Rage, I got this one from 7-11 for $0.99 CAD on sale. I was not so sure about getting this one because of the skulls on the label. The last time I bought a drink with similar label/marketing, it turned out to be a Monster replicate. But how bad can the grape flavour be, right?

Well, the drink isn't really purple. I think this is called indigo, but what do I know about colors? My camera wasn't really able to capture the color, but as you can see in the pic, it is not the color you expect from a grape flavoured drink.


It smells a lot like grape candy, but it doesn't taste as sweet as grape candy...at first, but then, oh boy, is it sweet. It tastes exactly like a grape freezie and the sweetness does not hit you until you drink a little. This Rage also has the same effect as after eating a lemon - the sour effect at the back of the throat. There is a detectable, slightly bitter undertone, not the cough syrup one like with the other Rage. The aftertaste is of grape at first but it quickly clears out to leave a clean finish. It is not a bad overall grape flavoured energy drink. It may get a bit sweet after consuming some of it, but it is still not as sweet as other grape flavoured drinks.

This Rage also contains creatine and the same amount of caffeine - 160 mg, pretty standard for a 473 mL can. But again with this one I feel uncomfortably energetic. Other 473 mL cans give me enough energy to go, but this just feels unhealthy, 4 hours later and my heart is pounding. I don't know what it is about this drink, but I have more energy than even after consuming an energy shot.

Scores:
Cost - $0.99 CAD on sale at 7-11
Taste - 7.6/10...penalized a little for the bitter undertone
Energy - 8.5/10

Overall - 16.1/20...it works

Rage Energy Drink Review

What a find, I got this at 7-11 for only $0.99 CAD. There were a whole bunch of drinks on sale for $0.99 - the whole line of Chaotic energy drinks, 2 flavours of Rage, a bunch of V8s, some orange juices, vitamin waters, etc. Like other drinks I have bought from that 7-11, the top of this one was also dirty so I had to use my trusty thinkgeek mug. Drinking Rage this way allowed me to see what it looked like. Check out the pic.


It pours like no other energy drink I have seen because it pours like a beer, like a very horrible macrobrew with a lot of carbonation, some head and no lacing. The head even remained there for 1-2 minutes. There was a lot more when I first poured it, but it dissolved by the time I went for the camera, turned it on and had taken the shot. Check out that color, it looks like NOS and the Tropical Red Rain, only a bit cloudy.

They should call this Liquid Candy, because that's what it tastes like. The first thing I noticed was the smell, it smelled like yellow gummy bears. At first it tasted like them too, but then the full taste hit me and the citric acid made it hard to taste much. I experienced the same sour effect you get from eating lemons. I have found that this makes a huge difference in the
aftertaste - it is much cleaner, which at first was the same you get from eating yellow gummy bears. Much cleaner does not mean that there won't be any aftertaste, I am just saying that it will not be as sweet as when you first start consuming the energy drink. With Rage, there is still a hint of that generic cough syrup undertone you get when drinking Monster or AMP. This cough syrup taste is much stronger at first, but after the sour taste has done its job destroying your taste buds, you cannnot detect it as much. There are some fruity hints while drinking the beverage - mango and passion fruit. Hands down this is the most unusual combination of flavours I have encountered in an energy drink so far.

This can contains the typical amount of caffeine you will find in a 473 mL container - 160 mg. The weird thing about this one was that 3 hours later I still had a lot of energy and just wanted to do things. On the down side, I did experience a crash 5 hours later, not a horrendous one, but enough to make me want to take a nap. Rage advertises the use of creatine in this beverage. Like many other energy drinks, there are a bunch of "energy" ingredients written near the top of the can - taurine, guarana, ginseng, creatine and vitamins. I have not seen creatine advertised on other energy drinks before, but then again I don't remember these things, unless written out in huge, huge letters, like Rage has done. In short, creatine is "a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscle". Here is a link to an interesting creatine read.

Scores:
Cost - $0.99 CAD on special from 7-11
Taste - 7.8/10...unusual combination of flavours, but nothing too exciting
Energy - 7.5/10

Overall - 15.3/20

Bawls Review

Hands down, this energy drink comes in the best package, EVER. You can grip and sip this anywhere knowing that you will not drop the bottle. The studs provide much needed traction when doing an intense instance, ensuring a strong bond between you and your caffeine source. Once consumed, the bottle can be used as decoration or turned into a light source with a few LEDs. Bawls is not a very expensive drink, but it costs a lot for the amount of caffeine you get out of it. More on that later, but now, the taste.

Now, in case you are wondering what the color of Bawls is, here is a photo.


It is pale yellow/beige/off-white/eggshell kind of combo. I am not good with colors, but if you can name it, let me know. It tastes a lot like watered down, and sweetened Sprite/7-UP combo. I like the taste, but I don't think I can drink more than 1 bottle per sitting as it is very sweet. The aftertaste is similar to the Sprite one - sweet at first, but then pretty clean. I wish there was some more citric acid in this. I think the extra bite would help the taste.

The label on the front says " High Caffeine Guarana Beverage", but this does not contain much caffeine. Energyfiend.com list the caffeine content at 6.67 mg/1 fl oz. That means a bottle of Bawls contains 66.7 mg of caffeine. That is even less than the energy drinks that come in 250 mL cans. This is just enough to give you a late night boost, which makes it perfect for gaming.

Scores:
Cost - $2.49 CAD from Mac's
Taste - 7.5/10
Energy - 6.0/10

Overall - 14.5/20...OK, I had to give it +1 for the awesome bottle