Cyclone Raging Berry

I love caffeine. Whether I get it from a liquid, powder, or even a meat I enjoy caffeinated products. But there is a way of getting caffeine into my bloodstream I'm not fond of. It is through the form of shots. Shots are in a sense a heavily concentrated energy drink, and because of this the flavour quality goes down, way down. Take the NOS line, while the original NOS was decent, the shot was down right horrible. Another negative effect from shots is the kick. Not many of the shots I've had(and not necessarily reviewed) have not been all too powerful. This leaves Cyclone in a bad position. Belonging to a category with disappointing and bitter members doesn't leave me terribly excited to try and review Cyclone Raging Berry.

FIRST IMPRESSION: My reaction to the bottle of Cyclone is mixed. While I find the name to be appropriate and the colour fits the billed flavour, the sheer amount of text is unholy. I understand that the company is trying to fit as much writing as they can on the small area, but lines like "maximize concentration' and "improve performance" are unnecessary. The bottle design itself is reminiscent of many of the logos exercise machines have that flood early morning TV, and as you can imagine I don't like it. I think the company was going for a workout familiar look, but it seems forced and unnatural. Overall, the bottle to Cyclone ends up suffering from a overly drawn out design that has more text than a college term paper.

TASTE: Expecting the worst, I twisted off the screw on top and took a sip. The flavour starts out a tart artificial berry blend that is overwhelming at first and then dies down only to let a blueberry taste take charge of the flavour. The berry blend consists of mainly cranberry, and raspberry. There are several strong notes of pomegranate and red grape that are more noticeable near the end of the flavour. There's a weird hint of something lingering around the flavour like a ghost in a haunted house, trying to find its place in the complex. I can't figure out what it is but it is definitely noticeable and isn't too pleasing. There's a rather strong artificial sweetener taste that is detectable throughout the whole experience, which I feel is one of the worst aspects of the flavour. While I applaud Cyclone for not being the least bit bitter, the overall taste is pretty bad and unconformable to drink.

KICK: Each bottle contains: Caffeine, Taurine, D-Ribose, ginseng, guarana, CoQ10, yerba mate, L-Carnitine , creatine, Vit. C, potassium, manganese, magnesium, Vit.B12, B9, B3, B1, B2, and B6. This long list of ingredients gave me one heck of a boost. For a steady five hours I was focused and full of energy. I at no point during the kick received any jitters, and once the five hours was up I didn't crash, but I did, however, notice that I wasn't as mentally "there" as I previously was.

FINAL WORD: From start to finish I feel that Cyclone Raging Berry is an average energy shot and a disappointing energy product in general. While Cyclone beat out many other energy shots with its non-bitter taste and great kick, the otherwise poorly executed taste and middling bottle design are a slap in the face to other, higher quality energy products. Despite being better than some, Cyclone does nothing to prevent itself from being left in the dust of its competitors. I've never seen Cyclone on a store shelf, where as 5 Hour Energy is practicably breeding on the shelves across America, so despite having a measurable lead in the taste and bottle design sections, it is not enough to gain any market share. To review Cyclone as an energy drink would be incorrect and unprofessional, but even as an energy shot Cyclone fails to impress. I am aware that many drink shots for a quick buzz and not a great taste, and in that sense Cyclone is a good energy shot, but if your looking for a great overall energy product, then Cyclone Raging Berry is nothing more than a mere bump in the long road of energy products...2.7/5

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