Ghostbusters Oxyshred & Slime Energy Drink Review

Considering the age of the Ghostbusters license, making a very much not for kids energy drink does not seem so wrong; I mean, fans of the property when it first came out have been of drinking age for years. And the shrink-wrapped can goes straight for the nostalgia; even if Slimer is not who I would associate with the word "caffeine," it fully exploits its commercial novelty.

Pouring out the most artificial green this side of a candy shop, so far, so good. Then I stuck my nose up to the freshly-cracked can, and a big whiff had me immediately rip the opening from my face. I am not sure if I expected Granny Smith apple or something, but the aggressive passion fruit from the likes of NOS wafting from this viridescent elixir was not on my expectations list. The flavor is not like any of the above though, an odd combination of vanilla, lime and blue raspberry, though your tongue struggles to truly get to know any of the trio thanks to an absolutely assertory acidity. It all makes for an experience, right down to a slightly powdery texture, that resembles the physical act of munching on the confection SweeTARTS, but only just. What a bizarre little energy drink this is.

The 180 milligrams of caffeine lends itself to a nice two and a half hour long buzz, though it would be unprofessional of me not to mention how each can also contains: l-carnitine, B vitamins, vitamin C, taurine, guarana, and several others. Those are all fine-and-dandy, but that taste, man, what a trip.

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Red Bull The Winter Edition Iced Vanilla Berry Energy Drink Review

Leaves are falling as pumpkin spice rules every coffee shop in town, but that does not stop Red Bull from skipping a season and unleashing to the caffeinated world their 2024 "Winter Edition," this time allegedly "Iced Vanilla Berry" flavored. The can has this soft blue, augmented by the spurts of silver, that really does give the impression of a chilly January day, but then I look at my calendar and see it still reads "September."

Pouring out the light azure liquid fills your nose with memories of your childhood candy shop, the first sip is a sweet and sour ride. Mouthfuls are interesting and intricate, tasting both of vanilla and berry but coming together in a fashion that resembles cotton candy, but not excessively or expressly an experience designed for children. There is nuance here, the spice being full-bodied and on the cusp of being complex before it is interrupted by the fruitiness, which is mostly blue and raspberry, a far less technical flavor that sees the elixir leaving the palate with a clean finish. But the biggest draw here is the acidity: this is tart, impressively so, not shying away from making the edges of your lips curl slightly. It cuts through the thirty eight grams of sugar and glucose to allow for a beverage that is not afraid to go off the well-dranken path.

With just 114 milligrams of caffeine, the buzz is mild and hardly registers on my internal stimulant meter. I suppose there is something to be said about a more restrictive kick in the days of Bang and G Fuel, but what that is I do not know.

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Mtn Dew Zero Sugar VooDew 2024 Soda Review

It is time for candy corn, or at least it is according to PepsiCo, who's Mtn Dew has their annual "VooDew" out on store shelves. This here is 2024's diet edition, oh I am sorry, their "Zero Sugar" edition. Nomenclature be damned.

The can looks good as per usual, but what could be this year's flavor? Cheap compound chocolate? Plastic Halloween mask? Or what about raw carving pumpkin? Who knows, but my body is willing to bet it ain't candy corn.

Pouring out a crystal clear, the scent is indistinctly fruity, but the flavor is trash: it has the awkward astringency of artificial peach, complete with an equally unpleasant sham creaminess. It just does not work together, failing not only as a holiday treat but also as an experience all together, which should have been priority number one for the brand. Banana is also here, for some reason, contributing nothing except more bewilderment; it does not work as a nuance because nothing here works cohesively. Sucralose and ace-k are the sweetener system at play but they put up no fight to the acidity, which is about the only good thing I could think of- this is more sour than sugary soft drink. Mouthfuls, despite being served chilled, taste somehow slightly warm, as if it needs to be surrounded in dry ice to truly be frosty on the tongue, so I gulped and gulped and my palate winced as every nasty ounce coated it. This tastes worse than trick-or-treaters toilet papering your house.

The buzz is weak, but that is OK, since this is not an energy drink. It is a soda, so the sixty eight milligrams of my namesake chemical mean that you can chug a few cans to ease into the kick. Or, you know, you could do that with a better tasting Mtn Dew.

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Mega Energy by Lidl Energy Drink Review

Lidl's Mega Energy is, well, an energy drink, and it is awkward to read the word "energy" twice on an otherwise sterile can. At least it is not shrink-wrapped, but it is painfully generic, a green explosion that amounts to zero personality on the otherwise black backdrop. Is it any different from the same-named drink from 2018? The world may never know.

Well, it is a Red Bull clone, what did you expect? It is what I expected after all, a person who has experienced oh so many potent potables before. It is not a bad one fortunately, a bit too sweet to be honest, but considering this retails for less than a dollar, I have paid more for worse tasting things. Vanilla and apple are the nucleus to the flavor, containing a heavy chemical influence making for sips that taste straight from the science lab instead of mother nature. Cutting through the sixty four grams of sugar (and 270 calories) is a hearty acidity and a relatively creamy texture, neither quite strong enough to prevent the feeling that this golden bubbly cocktail is going right to my hips, but there is something here. Capping off each imbibe is bubble gum, the final feature of the famous profile it pillaged, leaving behind an aftertaste that lingers a bit too long. There are some problems here in Lidl's sixteen ounce produce, for sure, but this is ain't a bad budget beverage.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the reduction from 160 milligrams of caffeine to 140. Why bother? The buzz does not suffer much from the stimulant slimming, still lasting about two hours or so. Other ingredients include taurine, B vitamins, inositol, ginseng and guarana extracts. Overall, Mega Energy by Lidl only disappoints if you have any expectations.

Alani Nu Witch's Brew Energy Drink Review

What kind of flavor is "Witch's Brew?" The can insinuates caramel apple, which is something of a pipedream considering this drink is diet. I mean, what else could the visuals imply? It is a wild looking beverage, that is for sure, but its optical cacophony kept my eyes glued to the twelve ounce transport, constantly looking and finding some new neat little thing.

Apple is the flavor here, I mean obviously, but the acidity is turned up well past eleven, making this a sour ride in the most excessive of excess. It throws natural impersonation out the window immediately, going the candy route with a showy albeit simplistic synonym of what the fruit actually tastes like. Erythritol, sucralose and ace-k are the sugar free sugars on the job and they clearly were on a coffee break, as the Granny Smith variety pillaged from mother nature is stripped of nuance and diluted in a tank of tartness; each sip is identical to the last and something that would never work as decently as it does here had we more ounces offered. Where caramel comes into play is beyond me: mouthfuls are sweet yes, but there is none of that burnt, slightly smokey goodness promised.

Yeah yeah we have vitamins, ginseng, and stuff like that, but what we care about is the 200 milligrams of caffeine. The buzz is a good one, lasting three hours without fail or jitters. Overall, Alani Nu Witch's Brew is better than it should be.

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Adrenaline Shoc Sour Candy Energy Drink Review

Adrenaline Shoc really is an awesome name for a power potable, and its simplistic visuals really stand out. Problem this time around was that it caught my eye on the shelf of my local dollar store, home of forgotten brands and discontinued drinks. What does this say about the company's "Sour Candy" offering? Nothing good I am afraid.

Ultimately, this is nothing but an apple adventure, the misleading moniker saddening my palate with its complete creative insufficiency. The fruit impersonates the Granny Smith cultivar exclusively, reducing the rendition to mindless mimicry that simultaneously bores your tongue as well as overwhelms it. Another variety, perhaps Red Delicious with its distinct sweetness, could help soften the otherwise stagnant experience. To its credit, sucralose and ace-k, the drink's diet sugar duo, produce something without any hit of artificiality, no doubt aided by the spirit's incessant acidity. The tartness does remind me of, well, apples, which is about the nicest thing I can say about it.

300 milligrams of caffeine provides a rocking buzz, one that lasts approximately three and a half hours. Other ingredients include amino acids, B vitamins, guarana, yerba mate, electrolytes and BCAAs. On the whole, Adrenaline Shoc Sour Candy satisfies better than its nearest competitor, Bang Candy Apple Crisp. There, I said it, now get outta here.

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Starbucks Chocolate Cream Cold Brew Premium Coffee Drink Review

Unlike much of the company's canned caffeinated coffee cocktails, Starbucks Chocolate Cream Cold Brew does not explicitly call itself an "energy beverage," which is fine by me. Who needs the formulators being distracted by having to do anything but make a good RTD java? The can certainly is proud of its grounds steeping method, with the text "Cold Brew" appearing far larger than even the brand-name itself! But it is busy, with funky visuals and its alleged flavor written twice!

Somehow, with three grams of fat, half of which is saturated, the texture here is thinner than distilled water. Mouthfuls crash onto the palate with zero weight, perhaps having to do with skim milk appearing second (cream clocking in lower at number four) on the ingredient list, and you swish the cinnamon colored concoction around your mouth, hoping that some lardy goodness with cling to the walls of your tongue. But alas, that does not happen, instead washing away in a most unsatisfying climax, one filled only with the diluted nuance of something that once was a coffee, but is far past its prime. As for the bean brew, you get a hint of that lusted bitterness beneath a sweetness that only knows how to be sweet. There is no depth to any sip, especially the purported "chocolate cream," which has about as much cacao civility as Yoo-hoo. Still, I did deplete the contents of the can in what felt like record time, with only a drop or two left mere moments after cracking it open; suppose that is something.

Being very much not an energy coffee, the buzz here is not unlike your morning mugful from your favorite drip-brewer; it is about the only wholly satisfactory element here, actually.

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