Though it’s probably not the best idea, I’ve been getting back into energy drinks lately. I used to drink them all the time (well, one a day), but then started getting heart palpitations. Then, I noticed I was drinking so many that they stopped giving me any form of energy whatsoever, so that made the decision to give them up for good pretty easy.
But that was about five years ago. Since that time, I’ve cut back on overall caffeine consumption immensely, going from at least one soda a day to maybe one a week, on average. I had been using my hour lunch at work to take naps (did that for the better part of seven years), but between waking up very groggy more often than not, and trying to be more productive, I figured that I’d just drink some for a month or so, just to help me stay awake; as weird as it sounds, quitting seven years of almost daily naps isn’t easy to quit cold-turkey.
Due to my now low tolerance for caffeine, I’ve found that a full 16 oz. can of most energy drinks will last me two full days, and sometimes even three. This way, I can get the right amount to gear up for the afternoon, without feeling like I’ve gone overboard. And hopefully, without wearing out the effects of caffeine altogether.
To gear up for my latest work week, I grabbed a handful of various energy drinks from Big Lots. One that I was most excited for was Red Rain’s Downpour, a cherry limeade-flavored concoction. My wife bought this several months back, and I really liked the sip I tried; she also really enjoyed it, so my expectations were set pretty high.
Well let’s just say it’s not nearly as good as I remember. Of course, for $.50 a can, you shouldn’t be expecting any “real” ingredients, so true-to-form, this contains no actual cherry or lime juices. The scent is fakey and strong, but it’s unmistakably cherry–there’s not much of a hint of lime, at least to the nose.
Flavorwise, the cherry dominates, so the scent does not lie, though lime does poke through slightly in the background. What I don’t remember from the previous sampling, is just how syrupy it is; it literally reminded me of cough syrup going down, and even goes so far as to leave a mediciney aftertaste. To sum up, it’s fake as crap, and not really all that enjoyable to drink. But points must be given because it certainly gave me a boost of energy, and each can is only $.50 at Big Lots, a price point that you really can’t beat. I’d recommend it for those on a budget as a cheap burst of energy, but it’s certainly nothing special, as far as energy drinks go.
Overall: 5/10. It did what I wanted it to do (gave me energy), and is very cheap (fifty cents a can), so I’ve got to give it some credit. But the chemical-induced artificial flavoring (it has no cherry or lime juices) is overly fake, and gives off a mediciney aftertaste to go along with a texture of heavy syrup. If you need a burst of energy on the cheap, this will give it to you, but if flavor matters, there are definitely better energy drinks out on the market…but not many at this price point.
