Joker Fruit Punch Mad Energy Drink Review

This Joker is a little red in the can; looking almost identical from the original variety, save for the color swap and two addition words. It is a decent drink visually, a fairly fun, if not a tad corporate, potable now exclusive to Circle K convenience store shelves.

Tons of high fructose corn syrup cascade onto the tongue, a surprising saccharinity, one with a thin texture and pleasant weight for such an overabundance of the treacly sweetness. Carbonation is among the best characteristics every sip offers, an excited effervescence that bubbles like a child's pop should, and, let us be honest, fruit punch is best tasted as a kid. Flavors are your standard: orange, pineapple, guava, and cherry- they bulk up most sips. Some lime puckers up many imbibes, brightening the beverage with its sharp, fresh tasting tartness. Additionally, a touch of grape, mostly white, breathes its breath into the experience, adding only bland sweetness and slight depth to the aforementioned acidity. Overall, this Joker is not bad- actually, it is pretty tasty! But it lacks the creativity that would have starved off the "generic" aftertaste of every sip.

Each sip contains: ginseng, inositol, guarana, taurine, 240 calories, and 140 milligrams of caffeine. The latter is most disappointing, considering the taste and look of the drink had an inescapable cheap quality to it, and this disappointing two hour kick is no better.