Outside of those shots, which seem to have been discontinued with nary a peep from the energy drink industry, Eternal Energy also manufactures “regular strength” energy shots that, as far as I can tell, are only carried in-store at Walmart. (Apparently, they also make “extra strength” energy shots but they only seem to be available online.)Eternal Energy is perhaps best unknown for having a 10-Hour Energy Shot that packed in a whopping 400mg of caffeine, that supposedly was slowly released into the body over a ten-hour period. I tried tracking some down at my local Walgreens store – which is, to my knowledge, the only place that carried it in store – but to no avail; none of the employees at the locations that showed it as “in stock” had ever even heard of it, let alone seen it. (I did manage to track some down on eBay, but wasn’t interested in paying $3 or more per 2 oz. bottle).
I’d actually forgotten about these when Aldi offered their Red Thunder shots for $.69 per bottle. However, now that they’ve gone up to $1.09, they’re worth taking another look at, because these might be an under-the-radar contender for the “Best Deal in Energy” crown: a six-pack of these shots retail for just $4.49. For those who can’t be bothered with math, that works out to just $.75 per bottle.
Walmart seems to frequently be out of the tropical punch variety, at least in the locations near us, but I was able to grab a six-pack of them while on vacation at the beach.
These are actually pretty delicious, a fact that also cements them amongst contenders for “best deal in energy”. There is a slight odd aftertaste as it goes down the back of the throat, and a slight weirdness that lingers around for a while, but it’s much more muted compared to other brands. The main taste itself is very sweet, and goes down smooth, with a tropical punch flavor that’s akin to what you’re probably expecting. It’s nothing to write home about, but sometimes for an energy shot, that’s actually high praise, as there’s nary a trace of the expected medicinal taste. I would think fruit punch would be a much more popular energy shot flavor, but considering this is one of the few I know of, this one delivers the expected goods, and at a phenomenal price, to boot.
 Outside the box, they look like your typical energy shot. |
Perhaps best of all is that these do deliver the expected kick. I’m very sensitive to caffeine, so it doesn’t take much at all to get me going, thanks to the strong 230 mg of caffeine per 2 oz. bottle. It leads to a clean energy burst that fades out evenly, with no crash afterward. That’s the main upside to the sugar free shots, and why I’ve started leaning entirely on those over the years (sugared drinks leave me feeling even more groggy and tired when they wear off than I felt before I drank them).
I guess the most curious drawback is that you have to buy these in six packs; there are no options to buy them in individual bottles. If this is a company decision, that’s another curiosity: virtually every energy company sells individual bottles at a higher markup. All they’d need is to put individual bottles at the register for $1.49 or so – which is a much higher per bottle profit margin for them, yet still almost $2 cheaper than the national brand – and they could watch their sales spike, while also allowing people who are hesitant to buy a multi-pack to try them out, almost on like a “sample” basis. It would seem to be a win-win, but alas I’m sure there’s something I’ve overlooked that would prevent such an obvious marketing strategy from being successful.
Regardless of the company’s competence, these are fantastic shots that are well worth the forced acquisition of multiple bottles. Great tasting energy shots, while becoming more common, are still few and far between, but these manage to tick off virtually all the boxes.
Overall: 8/10. These are fantastic tasting shots and at a great price, to boot, which certainly must enter these into debate as the “best deal in energy” a crown that has been vacated by Red Thunder’s fairly recent price increase. The flavor is very good, with only a slight hint of the expected “sugar free aftertaste” lingering in the back of the throat, while the 230mg of caffeine kick in quickly, delivering a quick burst of energy that lasts quite a while before slowly dissipating. The downside: these are only available in six-packs, as opposed to individual bottles, but that is helped along by the $.75 per bottle price. Also worth a drop in points: the company make “extra strength” energy shots (that take the caffeine content up 50mg, to 280) but don’t seem to make them available anywhere.
