RATING: 6.8 OUT OF 10.
In the midst of triglyceride and calorie-laden dishes of turkey, stuffing, cranberry, and succulent pumpkin pie, I have come to bring you a great review while I still recover from this food coma. Unfortunately, I don't have any Thanksgiving products to share with you all, but I do have this neat little energy drink called Liquid Lightning. I first tried the sugar free version back in the prehistoric times of 2009, and was recently contacted by them. I graciously accepted the samples and was flabbergasted when I noticed the variety of products this company offers. They have teas with yerba mate, enhanced waters, and of course, energy drinks. Let's take a look at those energy drinks first.
Liquid Lightning comes in a black, shrink-wrapped aluminum can that is exactly the same size as a Red Bull. The design on the can is extremely simplistic, perhaps even too simplistic, with a simple white lightning bolt at the top of the can. There is no flavor listed on the can, so I was eager to take my first few sips. I was expecting a Red Bull clone, and my prediction was partially accurate. Liquid Lightning is a smoother, more drinkable version of Red Bull. It's still just as sweet and it still gives you that cotton mouth you know and love. While I am ashamed that Liquid Lightning still falls into the category of Red Bull clone, they at least had the audacity to create some variation of the flavor.
When you receive an energy drink such as this one, I am never expecting the energy blend to be off the charts. It's the same old story with this one. Inside each can of Liquid Lightning, you'll find 35 percent daily value of vitamin b2, 180 percent daily value of vitamin b3, 100 percent daily value of vitamin b5, 500 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 1,400 percent daily value of vitamin b12, and 100 milligrams of caffeine. It also contains 2,000 milligrams worth of a proprietary blend composed of taurine, glucuronolactone, ribose, inositol, panax ginseng extract, and potassium citrate. Sadly, you won't find any guarana or l-carnintine in this one, but on a positive note I do enjoy the fact that they managed to have more caffeine than a Red Bull.
As a matter of fact, Liquid Lightning contains 20 more milligrams of caffeine than Red Bull. What difference does this make? Not much for someone such as myself. I noticed a mediocre increase in wakefulness and alertness after consuming this energy drink. For the average consumer, you should expect a slightly more potent kick than a Red Bull. Not to mention, this drink contains 200 percent of your daily value of vitamin c, so you can fight off colds this winter.
As a whole, I admire Liquid Lightning's efforts to at least try and create some variation of the basic energy drink. They began with a generic profile, and gently tweaked each area to create something that isn't spectacular, but also isn't too generic. While I do enjoy the flavor of Liquid Lightning, I was disappointed that they couldn't come up with a flavor besides Red Bull. On the ingredients side of things, I love the fact that they have added vitamin c, and a little more caffeine than Red Bull. Other than that, it's still same old same old. If you happen to find one of these at your local convenience store, I suggest you give it at least one go. It can't be worse than that Red Bull you have next to you.
