Goooooo-jiiiii!!

I am an admitted (and recovering) sucker for energy drinks, which have been ‘all the rage’ the last couple of years, and I came across one I hadn’t seen before in my local Albertson’s, 180.  The ‘all-natural’ designation caught my eye, as did the austere can design.  Two cans and $3 later, I was on my way home with a brand new beverage and some tired excitement.

While making French toast, I broke out my first can and gave it a try.  The smell is heavy with berry and guarana, almost ominous and foreshadowing of the slightly tart and bitter background to the sweet, berry infused taste-bad lashing I receive moments later.  It comes off a little syrupy, almost concentrated, the flavors are that strong.  It lacks the normal energy-drink aftertaste, that unpleasant medicine-y supplement  taste.

A long list of vitamins appears under the standard nutritional info, which shows 2 g of added fiber (fiber?) along with the 39 g of sugar in the 12 oz can, equaling a can of Coke, our usual benchmark.   Carbonation is about right for this drink, not too heavy.  After my second can a few days later, I felt much more peppy even after a heavy lunch.

Those who don’t like or can’t handle intense flavors like the ones in this drink may find it off-putting, as well as those watching their added sugar intake, this would max you out for the day.  However, it is all-natural, sweetened with beet sugar in a world full of HFCS and sucralose infused energy beverages with preservatives, too-much carbonation and terrible taste.  This is a welcome change.

Interesting information:  9th Street Beverage Inc. is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, and takes care of all their non-alcoholic beverage lines, including 180, Monster and Borba.  SO it isn’t really competing with Monster energy drinks, merely a more health-conscious approach to the market that desires it.  This is a bit different from its mostly forgettable beer.

Score: 4 out of 5. Sugary and potent, a strong, flavorful competitor in a market that needs change.

– WiseGuise

User Ratings: Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.