RATING: 7.9 OUT OF 10.
Back in June 19, 2009, I reviewed the original flavor of Full Throttle. Since then, Full Throttle has gone through a major update, adding a more sophisticated design and and a new flavor: Red Berry. There energy blend was also knocked down a few notches (more on that in a moment). I must say I really like the sophisticated approach that Full Throttle is taking. Gone are the spikes, devil horns, and flames. What's left is a sleek and uncluttered label. However, the font still remains edgy. The flavor is called Red Berry (strawberry and raspberry). Taking a sip, I got a smooth and candy-like strawberry and raspberry flavor. The drink is quite flavorful, but I could tell they used high fructose corn syrup. I wonder what energy drinks would taste like if they used cane sugar. I know that the drinks would not be nearly as syrupy as there fructose laden counterparts. Despite the high fructose corn syrup, the sweet and candy-ish flavors pleased my palate. Like I mentioned earlier, Full Throttle really toned down their energy blend. The original blend consisted of all the energy drink standards (caffeine, taurine, ginseng, guarana). Now they have their "No-Choke Mixture" which consists of 197 milligrams of caffeine, 200 milligrams of d-ribose, and 200 percent daily value of niacin. Adding to this, we have 200 percent daily value of vitamin b6, 200 percent daily value of vitamin b12, and 50 percent daily value of pantothenic acid. This comes with 230 calories and 58 grams of sugar. Now what really confused me was the caffeine content. For one serving (8 ounces), it contains 100 milligrams of caffeine. But for the full can (16 ounces), it says it has 197 milligrams of caffeine. Basic arithmetic tells me that this makes absolutely no sense (100+100=200, not 197). Same with the calories (120+120=240, not 230). Still, with 2.5 times the caffeine content of a standard Red Bull, the kick was pretty nice. Last night I fell asleep at 3:00 A.M. and in the morning I was exhausted. I reached for the newest flavor of Full Throttle and it did not disappoint. It immediately smacked the sleepiness right out of me, and lasted for 4 hours before tapering off completely without a crash. So, what do I think about the new flavor and look of Full Throttle. Well, even though they've had this new look for quite a while now, I think Full Throttle made the right decision. If you see it, don't hesitate. Now if only I can teach Fuze Beverages, Limited Liability Company how to do basic mathematics. 7.9 out of 10.
