REVIEW OF AMMO PURPLE DRAGON

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 171 MILLIGRAMS PER 1 OUNCE BOTTLE.

RATING: 9 OUT OF 10.

This is my second review in the line-up of Ammo Energy Shots. This one is a brand new flavor called Purple Dragon. I took 16 ounces of water and mixed it with the purple liquid. The taste is really quite pleasing and it reminded me of a watery grape sports drink such as Gatorade or Powerade. There is absolutely no medicinal aftertaste to speak of. So, it tasted quite good but what is in this thing. It has 171 milligrams of caffeine and b-complex. That might not sound like a lot but that is 171 milligrams of caffeine in one ounce. Only two energy shots are more concentrated than this: 5150 Juice at 500 milligrams per ounce, and Fixx and over 2 grams per ounce. It's no wonder you have to delude this in 16 ounces of water. So far this shot has a delicious grape flavor and some seriously concentrated caffeine which leads us to the kick. The kick I received from this was quite pleasant. In 15 minutes I noticed a heightened sense of alertness and focus. It's no wonder the military uses these shots. You wouldn't want to fall asleep while manning a high-powered machine gun, right? So far, the 2010 Ammo Energy Shot Line-up has left me with very little complaints. If you do see this product on the shelf, I suggest you try it. Rating? 9 out of 10.

REVIEW OF AMMO FULL FORCE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 171 MILLIGRAMS PER 1 OUNCE BOTTLE.

RATING: 9 OUT OF 10.

Ok, this is my 120th review and there are some special reviews on the way so stay tuned. This drink comes to me from The Beverage Revolution, Bevolution for short, and their drink is called Ammo. Ammo comes in a 1 ounce bottle that is about the same size as a standard shotgun shell. Bevolution says that I should pour the contents of the shot into my favorite beverage. Of course, I chose water so I could get the taste down. I also noticed that Ammo has a caffeine meter that lets you choose how much caffeine you want. Like always, I poured the entire bottle in, gave it a few shakes, and took a sip. Ammo is one of those drinks that is impossible to describe. It's definitely good, but I should've taken a sip right out of the bottle to see what the flavor was. Deluded in 16.9 ounces of water, this shot brings some flavor to the water. Yes it is a little bitter from the caffeine, but not too much. Overall this shot is looking pretty tasty. And now we move on to the energy enhancing ingredients. Ammo Full Force was originally citrus ice but they re-formulated it with the following ingredients: vitamin b12, gingko biloba, acetyl-l, dmae, l-carnitine, bacopin, vinpocetin, and phosphatidylserine. Those are some crazy energy enhancing ingredients. Not to mention there is an amazing 171 milligrams of caffeine in this one ounce bottle. Only Fixx Extreme Ultra Shot and 5150 Juice beat Ammo in terms of caffeine per ounce. Ok, now let's move on to the kick. Ammo gave me a pretty good kick in the pants and that lasted about 4 hours. If you downed the shot all at once and didn't delude it in water then you would be seriously energized. I like Ammo. It's a good company and so far they have good drinks. I will rate this a 9.0 out of 10.

REVIEW OF ROCKSTAR SUGAR FREE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 160 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.

RATING: 8.5 OUT OF 10.

Once again, I get to review another sugar free drink. This one comes from Rockstar and the can basically looks the same except it's white instead of black. The flavor is original Rockstar with a bit more tartness and some artificial sweeteners. The original Rockstar tasted like Red Bull to me, but taste is subjective so you may think different. Anyway, this drink tasted alright so what's in it? Well, let me just say, Rockstar has one of the best blends I have ever seen. Here is the list: 6.8 milligrams of vitamin b2, 40 milligrams of vitamin b3, 20 milligrams of vitamin b5, 4 milligrams of vitamin b5, 12 micrograms of vitamin b12, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 300 milligrams of gingko biloba leaf extract, 160 milligrams of caffeine, 50 milligrams of guarana seed extract, 50 milligrams of inositol, 50 milligrams of l-carnitine, 50 milligrams of panax ginseng extract, and 40 milligrams of milk thistle extract. Wow, that is a total of 2,768.812 milligrams and 13 energy enhancing ingredients. Nice job Rockstar and with that I shall move on to the kick. I got a nice mid-level boost from Rockstar Sugar Free and for some odd reason this is a lot better than the original. The boost lasted maybe 3 or 4 hours. So, not to shabby but nothing to party about. To conclude I will give this a rating of 8.5 out of 10.

REVIEW OF RIP IT POWER SUGAR FREE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 200 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.

RATING: 7.8 OUT OF 10.

This is going to be my second review on a sugar free Rip It Energy Drink. When I reviewed the original Rip It I had an extremely hard time figuring out the taste. This was not so with the Rip It Power Sugar Free. As soon as the liquid hit my palate, I immediately thought of Bawls Guarana Exxtra. If that doesn't sum up the taste for you then this will. Rip It has a crisp, clean taste that really has no flavor except for some artificial sweeteners. Now, let's see what makes this tick: 4 milligrams of vitamin c, 800 micrograms of folic acid, 12 micrograms of vitamin b12, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 200 milligrams of caffeine, 200 milligrams of inositol, and 20 milligrams of guarana seed extract. So that is 2,420.814 milligrams and a total of 7 energy enhancing ingredients. Yes the blend could use a little work, but for the most part it's ok. After slamming down the can, I got a moderate boost that lasted about 3 hours. The kick was definately not as strong as the original Rip It, but that was because I had not built up a tolerance to caffeine. So, to conclude this very, very short review I will rate this a 7.8 out of 10. I am also going to tell you what drinks I will be reviewing in the future. I will review Rockstar Sugar Free and there seems to be some brand new flavors of AMMO Energy Shot on the way so I will be the first to review those.

REVIEW OF EUPHORIC LEMON LIME

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 140 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.

RATING: 8.4 OUT OF 10.

A while back I purchased the Pomegranate Passion Fruit flavor of Euphoric and judging by my review, I was not the biggest fan of the taste. Is the Lemon Lime version better? Read on to find out. Upon taking my first sip, I was quite pleased with the flavor. It is best described as a delicious lemon lime mixture with the lemon being more punctuated then the lime. This is absolutely nothing like Sprite or Seven Up or Sierra Mist. Euphoric has a more natural and in depth flavor than the aforementioned sodas. Well it certainly pleased my palate, but what's in this drink? It has 10 micrograms of vitamin b12, 140 milligrams of caffeine, 1,200 milligrams of taurine, 50 milligrams of ginseng extract, 80 milligrams of damiana leaf extract, 160 milligrams of inositol, 60 milligrams of maca root extract, and 50 milligrams of suma root extract. That is a total of 1,790.01 milligrams and 8 energy enhancing ingredients. That's nothing sensational, but it will get the job done. There is one part about this drink that I don't enjoy. Allow me to recite a sentence from the side of the can. "We hope you agree that Euphoric Energy is one of the healthiest, best tasting energy drinks you will ever experience." One of the healthiest energy drinks? It could be if you look past the 220 calories, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 52 grams of sugar, and the yellow 5 and blue 1. Nice try Euphoric, but your not fooling me. And I am pretty sure that you know darn well that your drink is not one of the healthiest. Moving on. The kick I got from this was pretty good. It was a medium high boost that lasted for about 4 hours. Alright, time to give this bad boy a rating. 8.4 out of 10.

REVIEW OF RIP IT STING-ER MO

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 170 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.

RATING: 8.2 OUT OF 10.

While the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints battle it out for the National Football Conference Championship, I thought I would write my review on the Rip It Sting-er Mo Energy Drink. Upon looking at the can, I had absolutely no idea what this was going to taste like. Rip It's website says the following about Sting-er Mo: "Pure energy tropical fruit...an exotic blend of tropical fruits and botanicals with the full energy component that "stings" typical energy drinks." I still have one question, what are botanicals? According to WebMD, botanicals are substances obtained from plants and used in food supplements, personal care products, or pharmaceuticals. So, that answers my question and now we can finally move on to the taste. Rip It Sting-er Mo tasted like a Monster clone only much less pungent and bold as regular Monster. The flavor is nice and crisp and goes down very easily. The carbonation is medium-low which makes for easy chugging. I wouldn't say it's a blend of tropical fruits but I am certain it's a Monster clone done the right way. Anyway, moving on to the energy enhancing ingredients list. It has 144 milligrams of vitamin c, 4 milligrams of vitamin b6, 806 micrograms of folic acid, 12 milligrams of vitamin b12, 200 milligrams of sodium, 2,032 milligrams of taurine, 170 milligrams of caffeine, 202 milligrams of inositol, 8 milligrams of guarana seed extract, 8 milligrams of ginseng extract and a tiny bit of l-carnitine. The total energy blend tops out at 2,424.818 milligrams without including the vitamin c and sodium. Not to shabby. After about 15 minutes I got a mid-level boost and after a little over 3 hours, the 14 teaspoons of sugar got to me, and I crashed. Still the kick was not too bad and with that in mind its time for the rating. I will give Rip It Sting-er Mo a rating of 8.2 out of 10.

REVIEW OF RIP IT CITRUS X SUGAR FREE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 200 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.

RATING: 5.6 OUT OF 10.

I am quite certain that this is my first review of a sugar free Rip It Energy Drink but I could be mistaken. Now, Rip It Citrus X tasted like a mix between carbonated sunny delight and orange soda. So does the sugar free version taste similar? Nope. I am not sure if it is the artificial sweeteners or what but this drink doesn't taste very good. It feels very harsh when it goes down your throat because of the extreme carbonation. Not to mention the delicious, artificial orange flavor is now replaced by a mixture of artificial sweeteners. Not good. Not good at all. Well it didn't taste very good but what is in it? It has 4 milligrams of vitamin b6, 800 micrograms of pantothenic acid, 12 micrograms of vitamin b12, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 200 milligrams of caffeine, 200 milligrams of inositol, and 20 milligrams of guarana seed extract. So at least the blend is not crappy like like the taste. But, how about the all important kick factor? Rip It Citrus X Sugar Free hardly had any effect on me at all. I felt a minimal increase in alertness, wakefulness, and energy. This drink has indeed disappointed me quite a bit. And that is odd because Rip It Energy Drinks have gotten an average rating of 8.50 on my blog (the second highest). Oh well, I guess every drink can't be at least decent. I will give this a 5.6 out of 10. Ouch!

REVIEW OF HELIX

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 160 MILLIGRAMS PER 0.14 OUNCE PACK.

RATING: 8.7 OUT OF 10

Yesterday, 10 of what is called Helix arrived at my doorstep. Helix is just like Crave only an orange flavor instead of whatever flavor Crave was supposed to be. So, the directions told me to dissolve the entire packet into a 16.9 ounce bottle, so I did. It took a couple of minutes to dissolve and when I took my first sip I was quite pleased. The taste was a mixture of orange Kool-Aid and orange Popsicle. This drink would be a great workout companion because it is non-carbonated and quite refreshing. It certainly tasted great but what does the energy blend look like. Well, here it is: 20 milligrams of niacin, 4 milligrams of vitamin b6, 12 micrograms of vitamin b12, 5 milligrams of pantothenic acid, and a 1,000 milligram proprietary energy blend consisting of taurine, caffeine, d-glucuronolactone, l-carnitine, and panax ginseng. Not to mention there is only 10 calories, 2 grams of carbohydrates, no sugar, 120 milligrams of vitamin c, and 110 milligrams of sodium. I think the energy blend is quite nice and you can never go wrong with low calorie energy drinks, especially if you want to watch your figure. As far as caffeine content goes, there is 160 milligrams of the stuff in Helix. So, did it work? You bet it did. Around 10 or 15 minutes after drinking it I received a medium-high level boost that did not fade until 3 or 4 hours later, possibly more. This is really a great product all-around and I hope they become one of the leaders in the energy drink powdered mix category. I will give Helix a rating of 8.7 out of 10.

REVIEW OF XS CRANBERRY GRAPE BLAST

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 83 MILLIGRAMS PER 8.4 OUNCE CAN.

RATING: 8.8 OUT OF 10

This appears to be XS's flagship flavor so I hope it does well in the taste department. I will start by pointing out that this is quite a tasty beverage. I can definitely taste the mixture of cranberry and grape but I can also taste the artificial sweeteners they use in the drink as well. If you don't know by now, all of the XS Energy Drinks have zero sugar and eight calories. So, lets move on to the energy enhancing ingredients, shall we? One can contains 100 percent daily value of vitamin b3, 100 percent daily value of vitamin b5, 300 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 4,900 percent daily value of vitamin b12, eleutherococcus, senticusus, panax ginseng, panax quinquefolium, schisandra, astragalus, reishi, and an espresso's worth of caffeine (83 milligrams). I love the induction of all those proprietary herbs, some of which I have never even heard of. The caffeine content, like I mentioned earlier, is 83 milligrams but with the presence of tons of b vitamins and the proprietary blend of herbs, I was energized within 10 or 15 minutes. The rush I got was very smooth and was completely jitter free. I was focused and my mood level increased. XS has always been one of my favorite energy drink companies, and with this review they are one step closer to being the highest average rated energy drink line-up in this blog's history. As of right now, here is how the rankings stack up:

1) Amp-8.66

2) Rip It-8.50

3) XS-8.26

So there you have it, the top three highest average rated energy drinks on the Addicted 2 Energy Blog. Ok time to give this a rating: I think I will give this an 8.8 out of 10.

REVIEW OF DETOUR CHOCOLATE CREAMY PEANUT BUTTER

CAFFEINE CONTENT: NO CAFFEINE.

RATING: 5.4 OUT OF 10.

I have now decided to start reviewing energy bars on my blog such as Clif and Detour. Why? Simply because they have the word "energy" in there name and on this blog I review energy enhancing products and functional beverages so they fit into one of those categories. The flavor I tried was chocolate creamy peanut butter and it did taste pretty good. No, it's not a Snickers but they did do a nice job with the flavor. The taste would be described as an everyday energy bar. It has that fake chocolate and peanut butter flavor. After taking a quick scan of the ingredients, I spotted taurine, an amino acid commonly found in most energy drinks. I also spotted 15 grams of protein and a slight amount of b-vitamins. I believe it has somewhere around the 10 to 20 percent daily value range. I devoured the bar before school and I have to say it didn't do a whole lot. But, that's a little obvious because there is only a slight amount of b-vitamins and I am not quite sure if protein gives you energy or not. But what about taurine? It is said that when taurine is combined with caffeine it will boost your stamina and endurance. However, I don't think having taurine alone will do a whole lot to you. So, time to give it a rating. Well, since it is an "energy" bar, I have to rate it the same way I rate all the other energy enhancing products. That being said, I will give it a 5.4 out of 10.

REVIEW OF LIQUIMAX

CAFFEINE CONTENT: NO CAFFEINE.

RATING: 7.9 OUT OF 10.

This drink is one of those beverages that are somewhere in between a functional beverage and an energy enhancing product. It has b vitamins, coenzyme q10, and I believe there is some gingko biloba in there as well. But it also has some crazy plant extracts and I believe some fish (don't ask me why). This drink comes in a 32 ounce bottle but you only need an ounce of liquid. Liquimax made things easy by making the cap to the product one ounce. So I poured myself a shot of this energy enhancing product/functional beverage and....it's not that bad at all. Have you ever had those 100% fruit drinks that do not taste sugary at all? That's kind of what this tasted like. It was very natural and I could tell they were using quality fruits in the drink. The fruits consists if Goji, Mangosteen, Acai, Pomegranate, etc. Ok, now for the energy enhancing ingredients. This drink has 3 or 4 b vitamins ranging anywhere from 100 percent to over 200 percent of your daily value. I also spied some gingko biloba leaf extract and a whole bunch of other extracts. I will have to give this drink props for having so much ingredients packed into one ounce of liquid. And it still tasted good which is really quite amazing. As for the boost of energy, I took this before I got started on my Math. Liquimax did a good job powering me through my session of geometry and I felt a nice middle-of-the-road boost from Liquimax. It was certaintly nothing special but it was not too shabby. So, with all things considered, I will give this drink a 7.9 out of 10.