I was stuck in a Circle K one day, looking for a budget-minded way to get my caffeine fix on. And as virtually anyone can tell you, gas station convenience stores aren’t exactly the best places for that. They had the usual suspects in the fridge, with lots of name brands marked up a little higher than their already-high retail markups, but I was secretly hoping they would have some cheap energy shots – a longshot, I know.

Well, imagine my surprise when my eyes stumbled on a bottle of Tweaker energy. I had never heard of it before, but the attention-grabbing orange sticker affixed to the top with “$1.99” printed on it told me everything I was wondering.

Now, to be perfectly honest, $2 for a 2 oz. shot isn’t really all that great, with other stores offering up the same size for around half the cost. (Or, in the case of Dollar Tree’s double shots, four times as much for half the price.) But, it’s a pretty solid find for one inside a convenience store, and considering many store brands completely eschew energy shots altogether (Kroger and Meijer do not carry their own brands, for example), it’s a cheaper alternative to the name brand, and at a reasonable price.

Going in, I had literally no expectations, and didn’t even have the slightest idea of what to expect. I half expected it to be in the same vein as Stacker2 shots, which are some of the worst ones available (and available at Dollar Tree stores nationwide), but I was hoping the extra dollar I spent over those wouldn’t be for naught.

Wow, this is actually pretty good…I might even go so far as to say it’s one of the best-tasting shots on the market. The berry version has that same fakey flavor profile all berry energy shots have, but this one differentiates itself by adding a little bit of a sourness that’s missing from other brands. It might not be enough to make you pucker, but it’s certainly noticeable, and adds another welcome dimension to the taste. Hey, at least it’s definitely above Stacker2 in the flavor department!

I was initially a little disappointed that the label indicates that there is a mere 156mg of “proprietary” energy “blend”, until another tidbit of information crossed my line of sight: each bottle has two servings. So, there’s actually 312mg of “proprietary blend” in there. Now, it’s impossible to deduce exactly how much of that is caffeine, but I’d imagine it’s a fair chunk. (The label gives the same vague copout that many shot brands do, by stating the bottle “contains caffeine comparable to 12 ounces of premium coffee”, which isn’t exactly specific considering different premium coffees have different amounts.) Nevertheless, it did give me a noticeable boost, which slowly tapered off without any form of sugary crash; that’s to be expected, since this contains no sugar.

I have to say I’m pretty impressed with these. They’re still a little too expensive to work them into a normal part of my routine, but it’s nice to have them as a last-resort when I find myself low on caffeine, as the Circle K is right down the street from us.

Overall: 7.5/10. Even though they’re a little more expensive than similar offerings from Dollar Tree and Aldi, Tweaker Berry Energy Shot offers up a nice, robust flavor, complete with a little sour kick, that elevates them above some other energy shot brands. It also provided me with the expected caffeine kick, without any form of crash whatsoever, thanks to the lack of sugar. The price is still enough to hinder me from getting them more frequently, but they’re nice to have as a last resort, when I find myself in need of a quick energy boost, and don’t feel like heading to Aldi or Dollar Tree. I’ll definitely grab these again in the future, for sure.