Review for Mtn Dew Kickstart--Fruit Punch

CAFFEINE CONTENT

93 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—10

Ubiquitous.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—8

It is a bit unusual to see a Mountain Dew product aimed at a more mature, discriminating demographic, but I do for the most part like what I see.  The can is subtle but at the same time eye-catching, appropriate for a drink that spares the XTREME façade and aims to deliver “just the right amount of kick.”

TASTE—7.5

You like fruit punch?  You’ll like this drink, unless, of course, you’re into sickeningly sweet punches.  The sweetness of this drink is far more muted (having only 80 calories), which is just fine with me, though I would prefer to see sucrose in place of the HFCS.

KICK (INTENSITY)—6

Energy junkies might be disappointed, but for a small early morning boost (think average cup of coffee), this really isn’t all that bad.

KICK (DURATION)—6

If you’re really needing all-day staying power, I’d pass this over—it delivers about two and a half hours of noticeable alertness, which works for people that need a quick, temporary pick-me-up, but most that need some help staying awake for the duration of their job/education should definitely go for something stronger.

THE DRINK OVERALL—6.5

As a fruit-punch flavored substitute for one’s typical temporary pick-me-up, this works just fine, and I do recommend trying it at least once.  I wouldn’t say no to drinking this again, but for the most part, when I need energy, I typically need more than this, and when a small boost is adequate, my drink of choice is still Red Bull—The Blue Edition.

WEBSITE: mtndewkickstart.com

KEYWORDS: Mountain Dew Kickstart Fruit Punch review

Review for Rockstar Energy Water--Orange Tangerine

Before I get started on this review, I apologize that my review for the Blueberry Pomegranate Açaí flavor appeared to have written in 15 minutes—but the fact of the matter is, it was.   I was taking a break from studying for a test when I decided to write it, and needless to say, I wasn’t especially comfortable taking a long break.  This one should be a little more descriptive.

CAFFEINE CONTENT

200 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—6

Not especially common for the time being, but look forward to seeing it in greater abundance in the future.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—9

Rockstar energy waters look just like a flavored water spiked with caffeine should—bold, intense, and thoroughly attention grabbing.  I didn’t need to be looking for them to see them right as I entered the gas station, and what’s more, once I got around to evaluating it I liked what I saw—especially appreciated was the caffeine content front and center and the lack of a drivel-y paragraph talking about how this beverage is so awesome it’s like concentrated erection in a bottle.  +1 point towards Rockstar on this one.

TASTE—8

Out of all three energy waters, I like this one the most.  The orange and tangerine flavors are both clean and pleasant, but the cherry on the sundae is the fact that both are so full-bodied—even more to Rockstar’s credit is the fact that I’ve never been a big flavored water guy just because all the low-calorie ones are so weak in the taste department.  Kudos to Rockstar for managing to make a flavored water that is 1) low-calorie, 2) pleasant to the taste, AND 3) adequately flavorful.

KICK (INTENSITY)—9

Ah, caffeine…sweet, sweet freaking caffeine.  It’s experiences like these that remind my why I enjoy energy drinks when I have them (yep, cutting back to a max of one a week…don’t worry, those of you that check frequently for new reviews, I’m behind enough on my reviews that I’ll be able to keep them coming even when I decide one week to drink something I’ve already reviewed).  This is the quality of kick I like to get out of my high-intensity energy drinks—intense, but not overbearing; strong enough to make me chatty and in the mood to get things done, but not jittery.  Even if it didn’t taste as good as it does, it would be worth it for the energy.  And, I don’t know if the net result of drinking one of these is hydration, but at the very least you feel like it does.

KICK (DURATION)—9

This drink delivered some of the most productive four hours I’ve had in at least a month, after which no crash was perceptible.

THE DRINK OVERALL—8.67

If you’re going to get a Rockstar Energy Water, get this one.  They are all identical in terms of efficacy, but this one distinguishes itself from the rest by tasting pretty darn good.

WEBSITE: rockstar69.com

KEYWORDS: Rockstar Orange Tangerine energy water review, zero carbs, zero calories, zero sugar, diet, hydration

Review for Rockstar Energy Water--Blueberry Pomegranate Acai

CAFFEINE CONTENT

200 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—5

Doesn’t seem that Rockstar is taking the particularly aggressive route in getting this one out, as it’s still more scattered than most new Rockstar beverages; but only time will tell.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—9

It’s a Rockstar water bottle—what more can I say?  Even if they aren’t marketing this one aggressively, the design is not so passive; this stands out so much more than the Vitamin Waters in its company that looking at the refrigerator is like looking at a black dot on a field of white.  In addition, I have to say that I love how unabashed they are about their zero calorie etc. declarations, and how prominently the caffeine content is featured.  Gotta love an informative bottle.

TASTE—6.5

Not difficult to get down by any stretch of the imagination—in fact, I found it more palpable than most low calorie flavored waters out there (thank you, Rockstar, for not including stevia as a sweetener).  As you can probably gather from the name, however, this is essentially a functional water version of Xdurance, a drink that I happen to be quite fond of (even though the flavor is very weird), so I found myself constantly comparing this to the other, and in the end, I found myself missing the carbonation.  Still, it’s pretty good as far as functional waters are concerned.

KICK (INTENSITY)—9

As far as function is concerned, they don’t make ‘em much better than this.  Now, I’m going to hold off as far as rating it as a hydration beverage, given caffeine’s diuretic propensities, but as far as energy/refreshment were concerned, I found it to be most satisfactory, smooth and right at the point of being worthy of the “high intensity” designation.

KICK (DURATION)—9

An easy four hours, no crash.

THE DRINK OVERALL—8.17

Not my favorite, but still worth a shot.  As always, relay your thoughts.

WEBSITE: rockstar69.com

KEYWORDS: Rockstar Energy Water review, zero carbs, zero calories, zero sugar, hydration beverage

Review for Rockstar Super Sours--Green Apple

CAFFEINE CONTENT

240 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—6

Sometimes I wonder why I bother with this section, because I hardly get around to revising it once the drinks have gained ground…in any event, for the time being this isn’t the most common beverage in the world (I can only find it at my favorite energy drink haunt around here), but give it a month or so and it’ll be everywhere.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—8

I don’t like the look of this one quite as much as Bubbleberry—whereas the latter made me feel unabashedly nostalgic, this one doesn’t do quite as much for me.  It’s still a flashy, well-designed can, and nothing worthy of scorn.

TASTE—6

I should have known that “Super Sours” would be an exaggeration—can you imagine drinking a 16 oz. old-school (they’re much weaker now) Mega Warhead?  In any event, this lack of any excessive tartness on the drink’s part doesn’t bother me so much as the unenthused feeling I got out of the flavor.

Now, green apple is one of my all-time favorite flavors.  I can load up exclusively on green apple Jelly Bellys at WinCo and be perfectly content, and my memories of green apple Gatorade from my childhood are a part of some of my fondest childhood memories (involving hanging out Saturday mornings with my Dad), so few beverage prospects have the potential to excite me more than that of green apple.

Unfortunately, this drink squanders said potential and settles with a pretty lackluster flavor.  The green apple taste is quite recognizable, but it’s kind of a mid-intensity Jolly Rancher, and in addition is overly sweet not quite sour enough (so it’s not the lack of excessive tartness that bothers me, it’s the fact that it’s so imbalanced towards the sweet end of things).

Most might not have the same problems I do; I imagine the undiscriminating energy drinker will be just fine with it.  But if you really love your green apple, you might be a little affronted by this.

KICK (INTENSITY)—10

Like most new Rockstar beverages with the 240 mg of caffeine, this one has kick to spare.  If you love your boosts intense and with substantial jitters, this might be the way to go—though I prefer the smoother effects of Zero Carb and Recovery Energy/Tea/Lemonade.

KICK (DURATION)—10

Five hours, with not as much crash as you would think—but then again, that might just be the fact that I skipped dinner before going to work, so I was running on this for energy (and by that I mean metabolic fuel—not just alertness).  Not a good idea, but that’s beside the point.

THE DRINK OVERALL—8.67

So many people are psyched over these new drinks that I’m almost sad to report that they’re a little overhyped.  The kick is good (if a bit ragged for my liking), but in keeping with their heavily sugared drinks, there’s plenty left to be desired in the flavor department.  However, if you liked the taste of Bubbleberry, I imagine you’ll be just fine with this one.

WEBSITE: rockstar69.com

KEYWORDS: Rockstar Super Sours Green Apple review, not terribly sour

Review for Mtn Dew Kickstart--Orange Citrus

CAFFEINE CONTENT

93 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—10

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that these new Dew products are going to be everywhere pretty soon—heck, if they’ve made it to the Rexburg Wal-Mart, there’s a chance that they are already.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—8

With bright colors and a fairly clean-cut execution, these new Kickstart beverages are immediately recognizable as 1) something new and different, and 2) something drastically dissimilar from Mountain Dew’s regular fare—gone are the XTREME fonts and imagery, replaced with something obviously geared more towards more mature drinkers (compare the new slogan “Energizing Orange Citrus with just the right amount of kick” to most of Mountain Dew’s stuff, which seems above all to be positively sodden with excess).  At the very least it’s managed to catch my attention; let’s see how it tastes….

TASTE—8

I have made it no secret in times past that I’m not a big Mountain Dew guy—and that being said, this is not a “Dew guy” kind of drink.  This is clearly geared towards a more mature crowd, and I think that among such it will be well received.

The sparkling orange flavor is pretty easy to pinpoint, but not all that easy to describe in detail—if you catch my meaning.  It lies somewhere between “juice” and “soda” on the spectrum between the two executions; maybe a hair more towards the “juice” end.  It is sweet, but not by any means overwhelmingly so (only 80 calories per can…though it is HFCS; I really wish they’d have just used sucrose), and tart, but not so much that you ever forget that this is a Mountain Dew product.  The carbonation reminds me somewhat of seltzer water, except maybe not so sharp as that.

If I had to describe it as anything, I’d just leave it at “breakfast soda.”  It’s not your morning orange juice, but I think it’s close enough that most won’t mind.  Just keep your breakfast high in fiber so that it binds to that fructose and keeps it from getting into your system….

KICK (INTENSITY)—6

As I mentioned earlier, Kickstart advertises its aim as an energizing beverage with “just the right amount of kick,” and in this, I think it succeeds.  This is not a high-caffeine beverage by any stretch of the imagination, but provided you’re not a hardened, caffeine-insensitive energy monger, this should supply a decent enough buzz to get you going.

KICK (DURATION)—6

Effects were really noticeable for about two and a half hours, after which I don’t really recall a crash.  Recall, though, that this is meant more as a morning pick-me-up rather than a sustained energy rush—so odds are if you’re in this drink’s target demographic, you’re looking for something to get you out of the door more than anything else, and for that it should work just fine.

THE DRINK OVERALL—6.67

I think Kickstart deserves a shot at being most any working individual’s morning routine—and remember how much that means, coming from the “really not a Dew guy” type.  It tastes decent and packs a decent little punch, and should only cost you a buck—so pick it up and give it a whirl, and as always, leave me your thoughts.

WEBSITE: mtndewkickstart.com

KEYWORDS: Mountain Dew Kickstart energy drink review, energy soda