Spike Orange Gold Hardcore All-Day Energy Shot Review

This is a pretty big energy shot and feels a bit odd sitting in my hand. The bottle has the exact same shape as regular, 60 mL energy shots, but it is more than twice as big. Of course, this shot is actually marketed as a double shot, meaning, you drink only half at a time. The bottle actually has a small scale on the side that helps you measure how much of the bottle you have consumed and how much is left. I got this shot from a 7-11 in Detroit for about $2.69...I think.

Taste

The aroma this shot has is really, really strong. It smells like an orange jello cup. The taste is surprisingly smooth and enjoyable. It took me two gulps to get to the halfway mark and both were very enjoyable with almost no ill notes. The flavour is strong and reminds me of eating orange jello that has been made with a bit less water than required. There are no rough flavours like you would get from some cheaper, inferior shots and the finish is very orangy with very little bitterness, which is noticeable only at the end of each sip. Once the liquid is gone, the orange sweetness takes over and masks any bitterness. The immediate aftertaste has a sour note, but the sweetness takes it down a few notches after a 5-10 seconds.

Energy

There are 175 mg of caffeine per shot/serving, so a total of 350 mg in the bottle. The effects are very quick. I took half the bottle late at night before I left the house to go on an urgent, work-related task. I was feeling a bit sleepy, but only 2-3 minutes after consuming some of the liquid in the bottle, I suddenly woke up and almost instantly focused on some things I was reading. I felt great and very focused for the next 15-20 minutes when the caffeine started to slowly kick in. About 30 minutes after I drank half the shot, I was wide awake and ready to go to work. The effects lasted for several hours and I did start to crash a little at the end. The crash, I thought, was mostly due to the fact that I had been up for 18-19 hours, working most of that time, and not the shot itself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this shot - it worked great and was pretty tasty.

Scores:
Cost - $2.69
Taste - 8.5/10
Energy - 8/10 to 10/10

Overall - 16.5/20 to 18.5/20...depending on the amount of liquid you consume