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Molotov explosive energy - Mango Con Tapito y Limon
Yea you read the name right. What we have here is a mango and salsa picante energy drink. I really wanted to get my hands on this ever since I saw it. I was lucky enough to convince the company to send me a few samples since I could not find it locally. For those not familiar with the idea of fruit and spicy chili it is a Hispanic thing. It is pretty common to find dried fruit covered with chili powder and they also have products that include lime, chili, and salt that you can put on fresh fruit. Anyway enough on food lets get to this unique drink.
Packaging: It is a nice 16 oz can with a logo of a hand holding a Molotov cocktail. I like the logo and the over all viva la revolution vibe. The little star on the name at the top even adds to the revolution theme. This is a nice eye catching design and I think it will work well for their target audience. Grade B
Slogan: “Explosive energy” is the only thing I could find. Is it part of the name or is it a slogan? Either way I like it and it works well for the drink. Grade B-
Taste: So I pop the top and take a whiff. It kind of tickles my nose a bit. You can smell the mango and the pepper that is in this drink. I pour some in a cup and it comes out a nice translucent orange with lots of little red specks. I take a sip and it is wild. I get some mildly sweet mango right away and it is followed by the Tapito hot sauce flavor. In the end there is a tiny bit of lime that blends in well with the heat. I am very surprised at the spiciness. The Tapito is not just a flavor there is actually Tapito sauce added into this drink and plenty of it. The flavor of the pepper sauce really has a kick to it. It is not super hot but it is hot for sure and my mouth was burning a bit. I love this stuff ! The combination of sweet mango and peppers with the lime finish is way better than I expected and I am damn impressed that they put actual Tapito into the drink. Grade A-
Kick/Ingredients: It was afternoon and I was really dragging. I drank this drink down pretty fast and it really got me going well in 10 to 15 minutes. I think the spiciness added to the speed at which it hit me as well as helped jolt me awake. This is pretty much your typical 16 oz Monster kind of buzz only kicked up a notch by the heat. I kept wanting to say Bamm! Like Chef Emeril Lagasse does on the food network. This was an invigorating drink an my afternoon flew by and I was very energized for a good 4 hours with only a mild sugar crash at the end. The key ingredients in Molotov per can are hidden in a “5000 mg energy blend” made of Caffeine, Guarana, Inositol, Glucuronolactone, and L-Carnitine . It also has a fair amount ot B vitamins, 2000 mg Taurine and 400 mg of Ginseng It comes in at 240 calories, 60 grams of carbs, and 54 grams of sugars. It is sweetened with sucrose and glucose. I am guessing the caffeine to be about 160 mg per can. Over all not bad. Grade C+ for kick/ingredients. It is average but the inclusion of Tapito makes it a bit better.
Web Presence: The website at molotov-energy is not much to look at. You can get some product info and it has a link to a store but that is about it. They do have both a Facebook and a Twitter though. Grade C for web presence
Recap:
O man I can’t wait to try the other flavors from Molotov. They have a Pineapple Tapito as well as several other non spicy flavors. This is one of those rare finds I think. I have seen several different Hispanic marketed energy drinks and they usually just fell flat. Molotov seems to have done their homework. This drink delivers a totally unique and interesting flavor and a kick like you’d expect from the major brand 16 energy drinks. If you see this I recommend you give it a try. In fact I’d go as far as to say seek it out just for the adventure. I myself plan on ordering a mixed case form them soon.
