REVIEW OF RIP IT G-FORCE

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 200 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.5 OUT OF 10.


The Rip It line up has impressed me so far, but what will G-Force bring to the table? First of all, this is Rip It's first grape flavored drink (G-Force stands for Grape Force) and to be honest, it's nice to see them whip together a grape flavored drink. Let's see how it fairs out. Coming in a purple and silver can, this drink is obviously grape flavored. Cracking the can and taking sip, I get a subtle grape flavor with some caffeine bitterness. It's not an artificial grape, more natural tasting, like you ate a handful of grapes. It probably tastes this way because of the more subtle grape flavor. Overall though, Rip It G-Force is a pretty nice grape flavored drink. Well the taste is great, but what powers this bad boy? Rip It G-Force is powered by 200 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 200 percent daily value of folic acid, 200 percent daily value of vitamin b12, 2,020 milligrams of taurine, 200 milligrams of caffeine, 200 milligrams of inositol, and 16 milligrams of guarana. So this is pretty standard stuff, caffeine content is 200 milligrams per can, equal to 2 and a half Red Bulls. Ok, so all these ingredients should give it a nice kick. I drank this drink down in no time, and with 2.5 times the amount of caffeine in Red Bull, I got jacked pretty good. Not the strongest buzz, but it lasted for around 4 hours. All the energy comes with 260 calories, 64 grams of sugars, and 64 grams of carbs. Overall, Rip It G-Force is a pretty solid drink, and for just $1.09 it's also a heck of a deal. It has more caffeine than a Monster, so you get a lot more bang for your buck. If you see it, I say go for it. 8.5 out of 10.

REVIEW OF RELAXZEN DAY

CAFFEINE CONTENT: NONE.


RATING: 6.7 OUT OF 10.


Somewhere between energy drinks and anti-energy drinks, there lies a third genre of "energy" beverage. It's name? Functional Beverage. These beverages rely on herbs, extracts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and so on. A lot of these drinks do not contain caffeine. I have reviewed many functional beverages on this site and I think they all did pretty well. So now we have this. It's called Relaxzen Day and it's flavor is mellow berry. I screwed off the top and took a swig. The flavor is definitely berry, and a good one at that. I did not need to slam it like most other shots. I'm not particularly sure what berry stood out the most, but it was certainly a cornucopia of berry flavors. So, what powers this bad boy? Taking a peek at the label it looks like we've got 200 percent daily value of vitamin b6 and 200 percent daily value of vitamin b12. On top of that it has a "Proprietary Relaxation Enhancing and Stress Reducing Blend worth 225 milligrams. The blend consists of 5 stress reducing ingredients: acai extract, passionflower extract, GABA, l-theanine, and l-threonine. That's all great and all but where is the caffeine? Oh yeah I forgot this is a functional beverage and it doesn't have any. That's ok though. It should work, right? Wrong. At least for the most part. The thing is, I didn't feel any different after I drank this. You could say I was deadlier in Black Ops by getting a personal best 26 kills in free-for-all. I also died 24 times, but I was the first match that I got my ratio above 1.00. I know, I suck. My ratio is usually around 0.50 or 0.60. But I digress, the fact is this thing may work, but I can't test it. I wish I could just make myself stressed and see how this thing performs. Still, I had no choice but to review it. The rating won't be so bad because the flavor was really great, especially for a shot. If you see this in a store or have tried it already, please let me know your thoughts. I'm very eager to hear them. This drink gets a 6.7 out of 10.

REVIEW OF RELAXZEN NIGHT

CAFFEINE CONTENT: NONE.


RATING: 9.5 OUT OF 10.


Anti-energy drinks have been growing substantially since their debut. Normal caffeine junkies are confused by their claims to relax you and put you into a herb and melatonin induced stupor. Typically, these drinks don't contain melatonin, but rather a blend of herbs such as chamomile, and valerian root. The only drinks I know of that contain melatonin are Drank and Relaxzen Night. Relazxen is a play on the word relaxin' or relaxing. It looks like RelaxZEN on the bottle, but I'll stick to Relaxzen. And now I'd like to take this moment to thank Relaxzen for sending me a free sample. So, what does this taste like? Well, like berries. It's actually very good for a shot, and I did not need a chaser. This is probably the best tasting shot I have had. I thoroughly enjoyed the sweet berry flavor. Before we get to the anti-buzz section, let's see what fuels this sleep inducing beverage. It looks like it is powered by 151 milligrams worth of chamomile extract, GABA, l-theanine, l-threonine, valerian root extract, and melatonin. That's a nice sleepy blend and let me tell you, it worked. After downing the bottle and waited for about 10 minutes, I started to feel a little sleepy. After 20 minutes rolled around, the melatonin started to kick in. After 30 minutes past, I could definitely feel it. I was listening to my Ipod and had to stop so I could fall asleep. It took about 5 or 10 minutes for the ingredients to put me under completely. Unfortunately, I didn't wake up super-refreshed. But I never do, anyway. I judge anti-energy drinks on how well they can put me under, and Relaxzen did a fantastic job. Stay tuned for when I review the day formula by Relaxzen. It promises a calm and focused mood. The rating for this beverage? An astounding 9.5 out of 10.

REVIEW OF KRONIK ENTOURAGE LOW CARB

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 7.7 OUT OF 10. 


Today I have something totally different for you guys. Just kidding, it's another flavor of Kronik, specifically the low carb version of Entourage. Let's get to it. Cracking the can and taking a sip, I get a tropical citrus flavor that is unfortunately overwhelmed with sucralose. The regular version definitely beats this as far as taste. As a matter of fact, the taste was not too pleasing to my taste buds. In order for diet drinks to taste good, they need to have a strong flavor. Unfortunately, Kronik Entourage Low Carb does not have a strong flavor. Well I've already talked about the added ingredients in the low carb editions of Kronik Energy and to be honest I am kind of getting sick of listing the stuff. But, it is one of the three categories in which energy products are rated and it has to be put on every post (this does not apply to early reviews which were graded on taste and kick rather than taste, energy blend, and kick.) Added to the already substantial blend is 100 milligrams of l-tyrosine, 100 milligrams of grape seed extract, 100 milligrams of licorice root extract, 100 milligrams of ginger root extract, and 20 milligrams of l-carnitine. Like I have mentioned in the past, these ingredients are supposed to boost your metabolism, which is great for losing weight. Not that you would want to drink a 16 ounce energy drink if you were on a weight loss program. Now for the kick. Yesterday I laid in bed listening to my 5-0 radio application I downloaded for my Ipod Touch. I stayed up past midnight, knowing I had to wake up at 6:30 and go to school. When I got up, I was pretty dang exhausted. I actually slept a little on the way to school. I wasn't driving by the way. When I got to the classroom, the first thing I did was crack open that energy drink. After about 20 minutes, I could feel the effects. Kronik did a nice job of getting me out of a slumber by giving a mid-level boost that lasted throughout most of the school day. So with only one flavor left of Kronik, the whole line-up has done pretty well. In fact, judging by the average rating, I think it is one of the best line-ups I have seen in a while. Rating for Kronik Entourage Low Carb: 7.7 out of 10.

REVIEW OF KRONIK VENGEANCE LOW CARB

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.6 OUT OF 10.


So yesterday I lucked out and got a snow day. Sadly, I couldn't luck out again but I still have a review for you as usual. Today's review is Kronik Vengeance Low Carb. The original Vengeance tasted like a well-done Monster clone. It was so well done that I would actually pick it over a Monster. But will the low carb version beat Monster Lo-Carb? I cracked it open and poured it into a glass. The color is the typical energy drink amber. I take a sip and it is highly carbonated but quite good for a sugar free drink. I'm not entirely sure I would take this over a Monster Lo-Carb, but Kronik did make the taste smoother by removing the high fructose corn syrup. Also, I recommend you refrain from chugging this. I chugged the last few ounces of mine and couldn't really stand up straight because I was so bloated. Then I got a nasty burp and I thought I was going to get sick. So the lesson I've learned is to take it slow. I've already talked about the additions to the energy blend, so I won't go into detail. I will tell you that they add 100 milligrams of l-tyrosine, 100 milligrams of grape seed extract, 100 milligrams of licorice root extract, 100 milligrams of ginger root extract, and 20 milligrams of l-carnitine. So you get the original blend of caffeine, taurine, ginseng, guarana, glucuronolactone, inositol, gingko biloba, milk thistle and glucosamine plus the aformentioned ingredients. And let me tell you something: it worked. About 15 or 20 minutes after consuming, the effects started to kick in. It started off as a mild buzz with no jitters. Moments went by, and then it hit it's peak. I was literally grinning ear to ear and laughing at random stuff. I wasn't high or anything, but since caffeine does increase dopamine levels, it can make you feel content and happy. Well, Kronik must have raised my dopamine a lot. The effects lasted for about 4 hours before tapering off without a crash. Overall, the low carb version of Kronik Vengeance faired better than it's sugared counterpart. 8.6 out of 10.

REVIEW OF KRONIK BLUE CITRUS LOW CARB

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.4 OUT OF 10.


I have only reviewed 12 low-calorie drinks along with there sugary brothers. Of those 12, 6 have received the same or better rating as there sugary counterparts. The main reason for this is the kick. Rockstar adds 240 milligrams of caffeine in their low carb drink as opposed to the 160 milligrams you will find in the original. As with Monster Lo-Carb, I enjoyed the smoothness of the flavor and it lacked that syrupy Monster taste. So is Kronik Low Carb better then regular Kronik? Let's find out. First of all, the can color is what you would expect. Instead of being black and blue, it is now silver and blue. The original looks better, but I don't buy energy drinks for looks. Kronik says this is sweetened with Splenda, and while there was some artificial sweetener flavor coming through, the citrus flavor still stayed mostly intact. However, if both the sugar and sugar free version were not energy drinks, I would choose the sugary version. Kronik also upped there Unrelenting Energy blend by adding the following ingredients: 100 milligrams of l-tyrosine, 100 milligrams of grape seed extract, 100 milligrams of licorice root extract, 100 milligrams of ginger root extract, and 20 milligrams of l-carnitine. This means the energy blend goes from 13 ingredients and 2,920 milligrams to 18 ingredients and 3,440 milligrams. It is actually considered a thermal because it supposedly boosts metabolism. It can also suppress hunger, but that statement was not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Thankfully my hunger was not suppressed one bit. So you may be wondering, does this extra 500+ milligrams of energy blend do any good? As far as I can tell, yes it does. In 10 minutes I was buzzing good for about 45 minutes, lip-singing to the songs on Madden 09. Then the effect dropped to a medium-light kick that lasted for another few hours until the whole thing tapered off altogether. So I guess the only left to do is answer the question I asked in the beginning of the review. The answer is yes and no. Yes, Kronik Blue Citrus Low Carb does have a better kick than Kronik Blue Citrus. No, Blue Citrus Low Carb does not taste better than Blue Citrus. Still, it has an overall rating of 8.4 out of 10, 2 tenths better than the original.

REVIEW OF KRONIK DRAGON BERRY

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.2 OUT OF 10.


For today's review we have the Kronik Dragon Berry energy drink. I have had a few Kroniks in the past, and they have all done pretty well, each of them receiving an above average rating of 8.2. The last flavor of Kronik, before I indulge in the light versions, is the dragon berry flavor. It comes in a traditional red and black 16 ounce can with edgy and aggressive fonts. I must say, it does look just as good if not better than Rockstar Punched, which also comes in a red and black can. When I crack it open and take a sip, I am hit with a sweet and fruity flavor that goes down fairly smooth. I can immediately tell that they use high fructose corn syrup because it is a little syrupy and sticky. Compared to other fruity drinks I have had, this one is pretty good. I would put it above average, but not as good as Rockstar Punched, which I believe is the best tasting energy drink I have found up to now. The energy blend is the exact same as the rest of the regular versions: 200 percent daily value of vitamin b3, 500 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 160 percent daily value of vitamin b12, 100 percent daily value of pantothenic acid, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 200 milligrams of glucosamine, 150 milligrams of caffeine, 150 milligrams of glucuronolactone, 100 milligrams of panax ginseng root extract, 100 milligrams of guarana seed extract, 50 milligrams of inositol, 50 milligrams of milk thistle herb extract, and 50 milligrams of gingko biloba leaf extract. All of this comes at price. 260 calories, 62 grams of total carbohydrates, and 60 grams of sugars. The calorie count is one of the highest I have seen from a 16 ounce drink. Thankfully they do have light versions if you are watching your figure. But be careful of those artificial sweeteners. After downing the whole can, Kronik once again delivered a solid buzz. The high sugar content spikes you up and the caffeine and other ingredients take it from there. I felt more awake, and I felt that I was deadlier when playing Black Ops. To wrap it all up, the final sugared version of Kronik did pretty well. The taste was good, albeit a little sticky, and the kick is also nice. All that is left is to review the sugar free versions and then I will be the first to review all of their modern line-up. Rating: 8.2 out of 10.

REVIEW OF KRONIK ENTOURAGE-200th REVIEW!

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.2 OUT OF 10.

This review site (it's actually a blog, but I dislike calling it that) is not even 2 years old and I am already up to 200 reviews. I know it's not as much as some of the other energy drink sites, but 200 reviews really surprises me. So without further ado, congratulations to Kronik Energy Entourage, the 200th review of Addicted 2 Energy. First of all, Kronik still doesn't give out a flavor, they only call it "bad-@$$ flavors." They actually spell out the word, but I like to keep this site at least PG rated, if not G. Cracking the can, I get a smooth and sweet orange flavor followed by other tropical fruits. There is some mango flavor as well. There is some stickiness due to the high fructose corn syrup. If you like, there is a light version of this drink, as well as the rest of the line-up, if 200+ calories isn't your gig. This drink also comes with the standard "Unrelenting Energy" blend from Kronik. It has 200 percent daily value of niacin, 160 percent daily value of vitamin b12, 500 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 100 percent daily value of pantothenic acid, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 200 milligrams of glucosamine, 150 milligrams of caffeine, 150 milligrams of glucuronolactone, 100 milligrams of guarana seed extract, 100 milligrams of panax ginseng root extract, 50 milligrams of inositol, 50 milligrams of milk thistle herb extract, and 50 milligrams of gingko biloba leaf extract. Awesome. Now the kick. I was feeling pretty sluggish after a big night when my high school basketball team edged it out by 1 point in overtime. Afterward we stormed the court. But enough about basketball, and back to the real show. As I was saying, I was feeling lethargic, so I reached for the next flavor of Kronik and guzzled it down. It didn't produce a fantastic buzz, but it did help me wake up. I think the light version may be better in the kick department because I keep trying to ward off a crash. As far as kick goes, this is pretty standard stuff. I'll give this drink a rating of 8.2 out of 10.

REVIEW OF KRONIK VENGEANCE

Courtesy of edjunkie

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.2 OUT OF 10.


Since my last review of Kronik, I have learned two facts about the drink that may interest you. First, the name Kronik was not intended to be inappropriate. The name Kronik Energy is intended to be the direct opposite of chronic fatigue. Kronik says it is spelled phonetically because it looks cooler. Second, the shipping on their site is free, so the price for a 24 can case is still $59.76, marking it around the industry average of about 2 dollars per can. Anyhow, the next flavor up for review is Kronik Vengeance. The flavor is stated as "traditional energy". Upon taking a sip, I got a smooth and sweet mixture of what could either be a Red Bull clone or a Monster clone, depending on how you look at it. It may even be a little bit of both. I would actually drink this over a Monster because it is less carbonated and a lot smoother and not as thick. Of course, you can only drink it ice cold. The energy blend is predictably the same as the original flavor: 200 percent daily value of niacin, 500 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 160 percent daily value of vitamin b12, 100 percent daily value of pantothenic acid, 150 milligrams of caffeine, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 100 milligrams of panax ginseng root extract, 100 milligrams of guarana seed extract, 150 milligrams of glucuronolactone, 50 milligrams of inositol, 50 milligrams of gingko biloba leaf extract, 50 milligrams of milk thistle herb extract, and 200 milligrams of glucosamine. After further investigation of the ingredients, I realized why this wasn't as thick and syrupy as a Monster. Kronik Vengeance does not use high fructose corn syrup, but rather a blend of sugar, dextrose, and sucralose. The buzz you get off this drink isn't bad either. I got an average kick that lasted for a couple hours, and then tapered off. If your looking for a brand new energy drink, but want to stick to your old ways, check out Kronik Energy. You may never look for a Monster again. Ok maybe that isn't true, but try it anyway. 8.2 out of 10.

REVIEW OF KRONIK BLUE CITRUS

Courtesy of Energy Drink Report

CAFFEINE CONTENT: 150 MILLIGRAMS PER 16 OUNCE CAN.


RATING: 8.2 OUT OF 10.


Butting in to the hard-edged energy drink category is the slightly-inappropriately-named Kronik Energy. It even has a comical warning label that states "May be psychologically addictive." The can is black and blue, (probably the color of someones eye you will punch after you drink it), and boasts a blue citrus flavor. Upon taking my first sip, I could not pinpoint the flavor. All I can really say is that it is a blue colored drink with a sweet and sugar-laden cornucopia of citrus flavors. There really is no absolute flavor to this. It's simply blue citrus. What blue citrus is, or why citrus would even be colored blue is beyond me. Apart from the 60 grams of sugar and 260 calories, this does have some standard energy drink ingredients. Here is the list: 200 percent daily value of niacin, 500 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 160 percent of vitamin b12, 100 percent daily value of pantothenic acid, 150 milligrams of caffeine, 2,000 milligrams of taurine, 100 milligrams of panax ginseng root extract, 100 milligrams of guarana seed extract, 150 milligrams of glucuronolactone, 50 milligrams of inositol, 50 milligrams of gingko biloba leaf extract, 50 milligrams of milk thistle herb extract, and 200 milligrams of glucosamine. Including the b vitamins, Kronik Blue Citrus contains 13 energy ingredients for a grand total of 2,920 milligrams. That's a nice energy blend, what in the world is glucosamine? A quick look at Wikipedia tells us that glucosamine is "an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids." Yea, that helped a lot. If you understand that definition then good for you. Upon further investigation, it appears glucosamine is used in the treatment of osteo-arthritis, and can help lubricate joints. Right, lets move on to the kick. Having 150 milligrams of caffeine (10 less than the industry average of 160 per 16 ounce can) it had the same buzz as a Monster or Rockstar. It was at a medium high level and it was jitter free, lasting for 4 hours. Kronik is a pretty good energy drink. Your probably wondering, where do I buy it? Well, I don't know of any stores that stock it, but you can get them online for $59.76 per 24 pack, putting the price per can at $2.49. Keep in mind that this does not include shipping, which may bring the price per can up to 3 dollars or more. If your not willing to pay over 60 dollars for a case of energy drink, Kronik also offers a store locator. To sum it all up, Kronik is your typical hard-edged energy drink. It's sweet, it's sugary, and it's loaded with high fructose corn syrup. 8.2 out of 10.

REVIEW OF ARIZONA RESCUE WATER ENERGY

CAFFEINE CONTENT: UNKNOWN.

RATING: 7.3 OUT OF 10.


Long time, no see huh? Due to Thanksgiving and school I did take a little vacation from reviewing energy drinks. Not much has happened since November 22, the last time I reviewed an energy drink. The only thing I can briefly discuss is my relationship with Bazi Energy Shot. By promoting there sales, I have two 6 packs on the way (supposedly). They haven't arrived yet, but maybe they will soon (feel free to take your time Bazi, no rush). All right, what do we have here? It's a drink created by Arizona in partnership with Twinlab. They call their concoction Arizona Rescue Water. There are several flavors that promote different things, and they only one reviewable is the Energy version. It has certain ingredients to help you boost your energy (more on those later). It comes in a greenish yellow 20.5 ounce bottle with a screw on lid. Taking a gulp, I get a refreshing watered down lemon lime flavor with Arizona Tea. I'm not entirely sure that I would take this over a Vitamin Water, but the taste still pleases the palate. This would be great on a hot summers day. I mention earlier about the ingredients that boost energy. Well, if you're an energy drink junkie, these ingredients will be very familiar. 51.25 percent daily value of vitamin b3, 51.25 percent daily value of vitamin b5, 51.25 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 205 percent daily value of vitamin b12, 533 milligrams of guarana, 89.6875 milligrams of green tea extract, and 35.875 milligrams of natural caffeine. This leads me to the caffeine content at the top of this post. I honestly don't think that's right. There is no possible way that over 500 milligrams of guarana and nearly 90 milligrams of green tea extract yields less caffeine per ounce than a Coca-Cola. Possessed By Caffeine put the total at 97 milligrams of caffeine. And since Possessed By Caffeine isn't trusted by me as far as caffeine content goes (sorry Big Red Boots, but your a little off sometimes, don't worry about it), I cannot put an amount at the top of the review. So I'll leave it as "UNKNOWN". The kick, however, isn't bad. It's a mild buzz and as I write this review I am more awake then before....at 10 o'clock at night. Oh well, good thing it's the weekend. 7.3 out of 10.