When the devil come a callin' I aint gonna be around
Monster Black Ice energy Extra Strength
Man I knew it was going to be a good day when I spied the long sought after can of Black Ice in the cooler. I had stopped for gas but being Edjunkie I had to go inside to check the cooler. I must have stopped 25 times at different places looking for this drink. There it was in the Nitrous can. Then again the Nitrous name is going away and the drinks from now on will say “Nitrous Technology”. That aside I could not wait to try this drink.
Packaging: It is still the cool little 12 oz resealable battery can. The coloring is all blues, blacks, and purples. The name “Black Ice” is just barely visible at the top. This is a sharp can that really looks more aggressive than most Monster cans. It has all the usual Monster logos ect and includes a little 0 calorie badge. I’m giving this one a grade of A for packaging.
Slogans: “Once you go Black (ice) we know you will be back” Is a play on a familiar phrase that has been around for years. Might be a little racy for some but it works. Grade C+
Taste ect: Not sure what to expect I opened the can and it popped like all Nitrous drinks do. It had the smoky water vapor cloud at the top that is interesting. I poured some in a cup and it comes out an orangish brown color with a huge head of foam. To tell you the truth it looks like a glass of unfiltered beer. It is cloudy. I really expected it to be black or purple? So I take a sip and surprisingly it is a really unique flavor. I got some blueberry, Strawberry, and raspberry all mixed together. It is super sickly sweet though. For my taste it is a little too much artificial sweetener though. It has the expected creamy mouth feel but the artificial sweetener aftertaste linger quite a while after you finish it. I don’t think I detected any traditional Monster energy in this one. It is very unique. Grade C+ for taste. Like the flavor but the sweetness is killer
Kick/Ingredients: So I drank this before lunch on an empty stomach to get the full effect. I got it alright. I got a really hard hit of energy that snuck up on me like hitting a patch of black ice on the freeway. It caught me off guard. I had drank it pretty fast since it was not a sipping drink due to the sweetness. It really got me going as well as a regular 16 oz Monster would. I had a full head of steam and really got some work done and just enjoyed myself for the next 4 hours. There was no crash at the end either. This was a good solid non jittery buzz. This drink is powered by a 2600 mg energy blend of Caffeine, Taurine, Ginseng, L-Carnitine, Inositol, Guarana, Glucuronolactone, maltodextrin and 200% of your dv for B2, B3, B6, B12. I know you are thinking this is less than the other Nitrous drinks but their blend includes glucose while black Ice does not. Black Ice has 0 calories, 5 grams of carbs, and 0 grams of sugar. It is sweetened with Sucralose and Ace K. Grade B+ for kick/ingredients
Web presence: monsterenergy.com as always is a feast for the eyes. It is chocked full of stuff to do and things to read and watch. They do not have ingredients info for this drink yet(or any info at all) but this is a real new drink. If you have not visited this site you should. Grade A-
Recap:
Well on the one hand I am very impressed with the package and the kick. On the other the overly artificial sweetness kind of ruins it for me. The mixed berry flavor is pretty awesome but they just need to tone down the sweeteners some. Over all I suggest you give it a try for yourself though. You might like it. It is at least worth checking out. Of course as always let me know what you think! I love hearing from other edjunkies!
