Rockstar 2X Energy Review

Here is another US-only (as of the time of this post) energy drink I received from a reader. This one came out not too long ago in the States and who knows, it might makes its way across the border at some time in the future. Unlike all other Rockstar cans, this one is a tall and slim one with only 355 mL of the liquid energy...but twice as much caffeine.

Taste

The pretty black top with bright yellow/green tab pops open to reveal the familiar Rockstar aroma, only a bit sweeter. The taste is similar too for the exception of the fact that this is a low carb drink and the results of that are noticeable in the finish and aftertaste. The intense carbonation overpowers most of the taste, but you can still taste a very faint and dull original Rockstar underneath it all. The extra carbonation manages to give the finish some crispness and help you generate some powerful and loud burps. The finish is where things get a bit weird - it is very dry and until you get some saliva going or have some water, your mouth will stay dry. There are traces of artificial sweeteners but unlike many diet drinks, this one tastes better. There is also a candy-like aftertaste which I really enjoyed. There are no traces of the additional energy ingredients which is something I was expecting so well done Rockstar.

Overall the flavour is a bit dull, the carbonation is a bit too much, but I found the aftertaste to be very enjoyable for a low carb drink.

Energy

There are 250 mg of caffeine in this 355 mL can, which is a pretty solid content. But is it really twice as much caffeine? Lets do the math:

• Single can of Rockstar is 473 mL and contains about 160 mg of caffeine. This results in 0.338 mg/mL
• The tall can has 0.704 mg/mL

I am no mathlete, but 2 x 0.338 = 0.676...What a bunch of liars. You should have called this drink Rockstar 2.08X. But seriously, if aren't able to read through the sarcasm, this does contains twice as much caffeine per mL basis.

So all this additional caffeine and low sugar kick in fairly quickly with very little of the jitters. I felt surprisingly awake and overly energized in about 15 - 20 minutes. If Rockstar had left the same amount of sugar in this drink then the jitters may have been a bit more, but good job for balancing the sugar/caffeine portion of the drink. The 250 mg of caffeine kicked in all of the sudden about 20 minutes later and I felt great for hours. It had been a while since I felt this good. I did not experience a sudden crash at the end, though I did started to feel a bit tired, part of it could have been due to the post lunch downs.

Scores:
Cost - unsure
Taste - 7/10
Energy - 9.5/10

Overall - 16.5/20...though not the greatest tasting Rockstar, this one definitely has a solid kick