Redline Energy Drink

Oh the joys of evil... in a can.

Actually, would you call it a can? I guess it's a little bottle... a squishy little blue bottle... filled with EVIL!

Okay... storytime!

So one night my best friend/roommate Chris and I decided to catch a midnight showing of some movie (the title of which escapes me at the moment), and we ended going home first... and on the way stopping by a 7-Eleven and looked at energy drinks. Chris wanted the one that had the most caffine in it (since he hadn't slept well the night before and was running off fumes). He ended up getting a bottle of Redline... I think because it "looked good" (and he was probably tired of looking). So he paid for the bottle (I declined the offer for one since I was fine... at the time). So we went home (I think so he could shower after a long day of work and before the movie). While waiting for him, I got tired and lazy and blah. So on the way back to the theatre, we stopped off at the same 7-Eleven and purchased me a Redline. We found a place to park and toasted to us surviving our new drink and gulped it down the hatches.

Now I must say, the direction suggest for first timers to drink like half of it at first and then the rest later or something like that. Nah, we shot it down (or at least as much as we could take before, you know, having to breathe.)

It smelled a little like Kool-Aid... and looked like Kool-Aid (tropical punch). It was sweet going down, but after you swallow, the aftertaste... oh for the love bad aftertaste! It was all that caffine. It coated the back of my tongue and the beginning of my throat. (Chris bought a Pepsi upon my suggestion for a chaser of some kind in case the Redline tasted like crap. Needless to say that we partook of said Pepsi, but for me, I could still taste the Redline... although fainter, I could still taste it.)

We went to the movie (since I can't recall the movie at the moment, I'm going to assume that since it was most definitely NOT Battlefield Earth, we had fun), and then went home... where Chris wound down a bit and then buggered off to sleep while I, the insomniac as well as odd reactions to certain meds, was still awake and had even more issues getting to bed and then getting up the next day.

Redline is, for me, a reliable source of "wake the fuck up - you have no choice in the matter" when I need it. On the bottle it says "the utlimate energy rush" as well as "fat incinerator". I cannot see myself drinking that in combination of going to the gym and working out. The taste alone would drive me nuts.

I have only found these lovely little blue bottles of death at 7-Elevens where they have bred into other flavors and colors (such as Green Apple - which is clear, and Grape - which I believe is also clear). Of those three, the original is best.

Chris mentioned a newer uber-butch one... that we're both hesitant to try ever since we read some possible "side effects" that can occur after too much constant consumption of Redline. (Perhaps I'll find some for my road trip next week. Could prove for happy times... or psychedelic 'the car is flying, I don't care what the cop behind us says' possible trip to the emergency room road trip happy times.)

Wow! I have no idea where that came from. Try saying THAT ten times real fast.

Would I try it again? I would, and I do... whenever I need that fatal pick-me-up. I just wouldn't suggest more than one in at least a 12-hour period. Wow!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redline_%28drink%29

Bubble Yum - Hershey's Chocolate and Sour Apple Berry

Another day, another weird thing.

So I was feeling a little down and groggy today (I'm talking energy levels here, folks) so on the way back from lunch today, I thought I'd stop by someplace and pick up an energy drink or something to try and get my energy back up so I could finish the work day. I ended up stopping by a 76-gas station where among the small grab-bag of things that I bought, I saw at the gum rack (I ALWAYS check out the gum rack) new flavors of Bubble Yum.

Now the first one that caught my attention was Sour Apple Berry. I love sour candies... mostly sour gummies... so of course, this flavor made me curious. Next to it was the Hershey's chocolate Bubble Yum.

Needless to say, I bought them both.

I didn't try the Sour Apple Berry until I was leaving the office for the day. I had planned to drive by my friend's (and ex-co-worker's) new place of business. While at a red light, I popped a piece in my mouth. Trying to unwrap it was a task in itself. I'm not sure if it was the gum, the fact that I left both packs in the car when the weather started to warm, or a combination of both... but the gum did not want to leave the wrapper willingly. Eventually I got it out and as soon as it hit my tongue... WOW! Yeah, sour is an understatement.

Now I should say that there are all kinds of sours... like the sugar-free energy drink I talked about before. THAT was a BAD sour. THIS gum is a GOOD sour. It was SO good, it took me a while to get into it in order to get a chew out of it. You know how you eat a hot piece of food, and you just work it around your mouth praying that it'll cool down enough to actually chew it? Well, this was a similar case except it was just so damn sour. I loved it. The sucky thing is when I actually got to chewing it, the flavor didn't last long. It was all WHAM! in the beginning, and then fell through on long-lasting flavor.

Later on I tried a piece of the chocolate gum. Now, I had my reservations. I have seen companies try to make chocolate-flavored various things, and they've all scared me. But this? This was good. (I can see all your shock and awe.) No really, it was good. The gum came relatively easily out of the wrapper, and when I put the gum in my mouth, it tasted of chocolated... not chocolated covered gum or gummy, waxy chocolate. It was tasty chocolate that I could chew... and blow bubbles with (although I must say THAT was weird seeing myself in the mirror blowing chocolate bubbles... go ahead - make your own jokes, kids.) What I was most impressed with was the flavor actually lasted a while. Not like the sour flavor, the chocolate lasted. It was awesome.

Would I try it again? Hm, the sour flavor is good for sucking on if you like sour candy. Just put a piece in your mouth, flatten it against the roof of your mouth with your tongue and savor the sourness. The flavor will last longer that way. I may buy a pack again down the line (once I'm eventually done with the one that I have) just to sate that sour/tart craving. As for the chocolate, yeah, I'd probably buy it again. I was impressed with the taste. It would be lovely if they made a sugarless version (since I love sugarless Bubble Yum best), but for now, the regular chocolate flavor will do.

http://www.hersheys.com/products/details/bubbleyum.asp

Eat Natural

The yummiest of my recent taste adventures takes the form of Eat Natural Bars. They are pretty much your traditional granola-type bars but are made of all natural ingredients and are good for you.

Not much can be said of these tasty treats. Due to money constraints and holding back on the impulse buying (translation: I didn't want to buy my initial desire to have one of each flavor)... so I bought the two that most appealed to me.

Fruit & Nut Bar and Almond & Apricot Bar (Yoghurt Coated).

The Fruit & Nut Bar was yummy. I had that as a snack a few days ago instead of eating chips or whatever else I could scrounge together in the house. It was exactly what the description said - fruit (apricots and peaches) and nuts (Brazil nuts, almonds, Sultanas, and hazelnuts). Of course there are other things like puffed rice, honey and glucose syrup... but that's it. Pretty yummy for me.

The Almond & Apricot Bar was just as yummy. What's in this one you may ask? Well, there's obviously almonds, apricots, and yogurt. There's also the puffed rice, honey and glucose syrup. There's also some coconut. All stuff I like.

Both bars were sweet, but not too sweet and just the right size/serving to healthily tide me over until official mealtime.

The other bars listed on the website that they make sounds just as yummy as the ones I've tried. They have seasonal recipes such as the blueberry, pistachio and yogurt bar. Now usually blueberries, in my opinion, have the tendency to dominate whatever they're in. I don't hate blueberries. I will eat them, but I feel you just can't put too many into what you're making unless you want the whole thing to taste like blueberries. I like pistachios (not the ice cream though). Yogurt - I love yogurt. There are other bits in it like peaches and honey and Brazil nuts, so I'm at least willing to try it.

Their other new seasonal recipe is Pear, Pecan, Ginger and Dark Chocolate. Hm, not a huge fan of ginger, but it's mixed altogether with everything else... and there are peanuts, cashews and coconut in it... so sounds good to me so far.

There also seems to be a breakfast mix... looks like a trail mix that comes in a small tub. That looks good, too.

Would I try it again? Most definitely. Now I just have to find the other stuff they offer since I don't think Safeway had everything that the list sited. I'll most likely get lucky at a Whole Foods or maybe a Trader Joe's.

http://www.eatnaturalstore.com/splash.jsp

Sweet Leaf Tea

Another drink I recently tried was a tea made by the "Sweet Leaf Tea" company. I again found it in one of my excursions to Safeway.

My flavor of choice for this experiment? Hibiscus Tea (a 16-ounce bottle).

Those that know me know that I love my tea sweetened, and I should have known better than to actually drink something that says "sugar free", but I've had experiences where just because it's sugar free doesn't mean that it's not sweet or good. So I tried it.

Um, no.

My mouth was not happy with what I was making it drink. Now, that's not to say that it wasn't good. It was... but oh good gravy was it bland. I mean, there was flavor in the mix, but it tasted dulled to me. Nothing popped out. Nothing stood out and made me take notice of the drink to say "Hey, I'm new and tasty... DRINK ME!"

I sipped it, nearly drank half of it, trying to force myself past my initial "no, I don't like it" phase. (You know when you initially try something at first, and you think it sucks but after a while it kind of grows on you... like a fungus?) Nope. Still not having it.

What I *might* be having some of, though, is the drink recipes that the website offered. They sound pretty good.

Would I try it again? Like with the Hi-Ball Energy Drink... I may perhaps, somewhere FAR in my future, give it a go again. For now, I'm quite content to try something else instead although the tea in some boozey-concoction form does appeal to my curiosity.

http://www.sweetleaftea.com/

Hi-Ball Energy Drink: Wild Berry

So one day while perusing the aisles of my local Safeway, I stopped by the 'healthy' section (which I've been known to visit during everytime I shop there), and I saw the new addition to the drink selection there... the Hi-Ball Energy drink. They didn't have very many flavors available at the time, and I was feeling adventurous, so I bought one. I chose the 'wild berry' flavor thinking it was the most promising and went about my shopping extravaganza.

The drink sat in my refrigerator for a couple days. It was an energy drink after all, and I wasn't in need of 'energy' at the time. Eventually during the weekend I thought I needed a late afternoon/early evening pick me up and thought I have that Hi-Ball in the fridge.

Now let me just state for the record that I have had MANY energy drinks in my day, and most of them have, after consumption, resulted in my face contorting in such a fashion... it would make those old "bitter beer face" commercials pale in comparison.

This drink tops the list in hideous face-making.

For the love of all things pucker-licious!!!

I'm not sure really what I was expecting. I mean, the bottle and packaging alone made me think of the good ol' days of Fifth Avenue and New York Seltzer drinks - small, clear and compact. AND it was supposed to be sugar free. To quote the product: No sugar. No carbs. Naturally flavored. No artificial colors. No artificial sweetners. Only 10 calories.

I like sour and tart things, but this almost made my face an innie. All energy drinks are to be consumed COLD (makes the nasty taste of most of them much better to tolerate.) Alas, this one cold was not good or even tolerable. It needed vodka or tequila or perhaps even a cheeseburger chaser to make my palate happy.

The first thing I noticed was the bubbles. Bubbles are good. I like bubbles.

THEN came the tart... and when I say tart, I mean my eyes sucked into their sockets, my eardrums imploded, and I think I heard Jesus Christ scream "Damn!"

The last thing I tasted was the flavor... you remember, the 'wild berry'? I tasted a faint hint of that mixed in with that caffine aftertaste which made my tastebuds scream bloody murder.

Would I try it again? Not likely. Perhaps I'll take a chance on a different flavor somewhere in my future, but for now, the experience didn't leave me with a very "second chance" feeling.

http://www.hiballer.com/