But I can't feed on the powerless
When my cup's already overfilled
Red Strike sugar free
So I thought I’d do a bargain review this week. People love their energy drink but I often get emails asking for a cheaper alternative to Red Bull or Monster that taste similar and good. I understand since energy drinks can be quite costly. I’m always keeping my eye out for good bargain and store brand energy drinks. This week I found on at Murphy USA. These are usually the gas station you see in front of Wal-Mart and they are all about the bargain and these drinks were 2 for 2.22.
Packaging: Well it is a 16 oz can and it is printed not shrink wrapped. Other than that not much to say good. It looks like a bargain generic type drink. The overall design reminds me of playing cards with its coloring. I’ll give it a C for packaging.
Slogan: "Shockingly good" is the slogan they have out now and I have to say they did a good job here. It fits real well with the name and is short and easy to remember. Grade B
Taste: I pop the top and of course it smells just like your typical clone energy drink. I pour some in a cup and it is a yellow caramel color with a medium carbonation. Taking a sip I get the usual apple/white grape/candy taste. It’s is not real gummy and actually has a very dry finish. It is fairly tart also. It taste like a good sugar free energy drink with no bitterness and would make a good substitute for your usual Red bull or monster. Not a bad job. Grade C+
Kick/Ingredients: Well I drank it down and got just what I expected. It woke me up and got me going in about 15 minutes. I was talking and having a good ol time where as I had been dragging before I drank it. It was not jittery and was more like I was just no longer sleepy and lasted a good 3 hours with no crash. I would put it a notch below the major players. So Red Strike is powered by Caffeine, Taurine, , Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and a decent amount of B vitamins. Amount of caffeine is not revealed on the can but I’d say around 120 mg per can? You get this with 20 calories, 2 grams of carbs and no sugar. It is sweetened with sucralose and Ace k. Grade C-
Web Presence: Ok so now they have a site up at redstrikeenergy.com and they really have did a good job it looks like they have a lot planned and it's going good. It is professionaly done and has the beginnings of a lot of interactive content. They have a really cool video you need to see featuring spokesmodel Ashley Vickers. There are several areas for users to upload videos, photos, teams, bands and more. This looks to really be geared towards the user providing content. They are heavy on the whole social network front and I have to say I like the interactivity. They have a Facebook, and a Twitter and both are very active. Nice job! Grade A-
Recap:
Ok so this drink is at a bargain price and you get what you pay for. The taste is not bad but the kick is a tad below par. There are other options out there when it comes to store brands that deliver a better kick at a similar price. Still If your at Murphy getting some gas and some cheap smokes you might want to grab a couple of cans. I have had worse for sure. Now I just need to get my hands on the full sugar version.
