It has been months since I have reviewed an energy shot, roughly the same length of time this has been sitting on my desk. A quick look at the "best before" date at the start of this post revealed its lengthy shelf life of a good 3 years. Good, I am not poisoning myself today...at least not with this shot.
I found this energy shot at the oddest of places - Dollarama. You guessed it, I paid only $1 for this. I should start visiting Dollarama more often in search of caffeinated drinks.
Taste
The label says tropical, but the aroma tells a different story, a berry story. The taste tells a third story, a mixed one. A watery, sour berry note with a bit of pineapple emerges and is the dominant flavour. The second sip revealed a second set of sour, more tropical notes. They are very generic and I was having a difficult time pinpointing the exact ingredients present in the flavour.
Towards the end of each sip, a bitter, caffeine note starts to develop, which lasts well into the aftertaste. I was expecting this bitterness to come, but to my surprise, the shot's flavour delayed until the very last moment. Many similar energy shots start off bitter with a bit of flavour, but not this one. The bitterness is noticeable, but not that intrusive. In fact, if you take small sips of the shot, by the end of it, its sourness would have build up to a point where you can barely notice the bitterness.
Not bad for an energy shot I found at a dollar store.
Energy
There are 160 mg of caffeine, which is about the same amount as a 473 mL energy drink. Not bad for this little guy. The energy effects are noticeable within 10-15 minutes and kick in in their typical energy shot fashion - almost all at once. Minutes after I felt the initial effects, I was feeling wired and just ready to run around. The hyper caffeine effect wore off quickly, but I felt greatly energized for hours after that. This cheap shot surprised me quite a bit.
Scores:
Cost - $1 from Dollarama
Taste - 7/10
Energy - 8/10
Overall - 15/20...fantastic energy shot for a dollar
I just bought it myself and I agree with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteOn my bottle it says 150mg of caffeine
I get these all the time at dollarama and they are fantastic!
ReplyDeleteis this also good for uses of intellectual boosting.?
ReplyDeleteIt helps restore focus, but only for a little while until the caffeine kicks in. Then I found myself a bit too jittery.
ReplyDeletei had two i wonder what will happen
ReplyDeleteI only drink a "swig" - about 1/3rd of a bottle at a time. That's plenty of "wake-up" without the buzz.
ReplyDeleteI buy these all the time! I find them as effective as the 5 hour energy shots...and as a university student I'd be broke if I weren't buying these guys instead! I work an hour away from home during the summer and do a lot of night shifts...these certainly do the job of getting me home safely by keeping me awake...and I don't feel guilty if I need 2 during a night!
ReplyDeleteJust found these at Dollarama... Can't believe they finally have a quality energy drink for a $1!! Can't recall how many times I'd be paying upwards of $4 for a Rockstar or Red Bull with the same amount of caffeine (often too, as I don't drink coffee or tea) and wished I could make a switch like this. Can't wait to save the money. Good stuff - and it actually works!
ReplyDeleteDOLLARAMA IS NO LONGER SELLING THESE ENERGY SHOTS!!!
ReplyDeleteI found them to be the best energy shot out there. And the aftertatse is gone IMMEDIATELY if you eat a candy of any sort!!!
But now I have no idea where to get them, and RAGE hasn't replied to my email...:(