Overview:
This can, well, is clearly trying to tailor to the female market. The can is hot pink in colour, is a smaller can (355mL), is only 10 calories and comes with a straw. Rockstar is clearly after a new market here. What does that mean for the taste and effects in this review though?

Taste/Aroma:
The flavour name doesn’t lie, the berry smell is close to perfect. The taste is more akin to a soda then other energy drinks even more so then Inked was. It’s sweet with an even sweeter aftertaste. Though I feel that I don’t notice the berry flavour as much because of this though. It smells great and it tastes good, though could due with being a little less sweet and soda tasting but the smell certainly gets you more excited then you should be.

Effects:
This is where I don’t feel PerfectBerry shines as strongly. The usual Rockstar contains 160mg of caffeine where this one only has 120mg, this is likely due to the smaller can size though. Perhaps it just wasn’t a large enough can for me as I am used to the standard size because I wasn’t feeling the effects as well. So I had a friend of mine try it and she said it helped her stay awake. This one is a tougher call but Rockstar still gets points here because of the smaller can size.

Conclusion:
Rockstar has attempted to target a new market, not me this time. Well, that friend that had this, she had it before this. In fact, it’s the only one she likes. Rockstar has done a good job with marketing PerfectBerry. All the marketing and can design aside, it’s a decent soda-like tasting energy drink that has moderately decent effects, especially if you are not used to energy drinks. If not purchasing for the effects, the unique taste makes this a worth while buy. That being said, there are better Rockstars out there for you to buy. If you have the option of PerfectBerry or the one I just mentioned and they are the same price, it’s a clear choice.

Scores:
Overall: 7/10
Effects: 6.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Price: $2.99 CAD

Overview:
Rockstar is certainly not a new player to the energy drink market and they have just released three new beverage flavours. Rockstar XDurance, Iced and Rehab. The first one is the one we will be looking at in this review. It is a blueberry, acai and pomegranate flavour while the Iced is a peach tea and the Rehab is coconut water flavour. Some of these, like the Recovery line are only 20 calories much like this one. They have also introduced Rockstar Relax, which I have been unable to find but would love to review. It is a relaxation drink by the energy beverage giant. Anyway, their can design is very much the same as other Rockstars have been, certainly not a bad thing, though XDurance has “Performance Energy” written on the can as well. Let’s see how XDurance fairs.

Effects:
I am impressed as usual with Rockstar. It has the usual Rockstar blend of 160mg of caffeine and 2000mg taurine but it contains BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids). It is said that athletes are recommended to take amino acids to help increase muscle growth and decrease muscle breakdown. Now, I’ll admit that I don’t know much about BCAA or why it is in my energy drink but I can see why this is branded XDurance now. Either way, I certainly feel awake and not the least bit tired but I don’t feel energized exactly. The feeling I have is hard to describe. I am wide awake, I am not jittery but I don’t want to sit still either, I have energy to go do things but not as much as other drinks would give me; like Rockstar Recovery would. I wasn’t left with a sick feeling. In fact, my stomach actually felt better after drinking this. The effects will certainly not disappoint.

Taste/Aroma:
The scent, it is inviting and blueberry is the most prominent smell. The taste is sweeter then I was expecting but still a great one. The smell is right in line with the taste, blueberry is the strongest taste. It doesn’t taste as good as their Recovery line of energy drinks but not many do. It is carbonated unlike their recovery line but I feel that it is a lighter carbonation then other Rockstars or other energy drinks. The aftertaste is pleasant though slightly sour/bitter, this is because the other berries are more present here. It is a great tasting drink packed with berry flavour that is unlike many other berry drinks on the market.

Conclusion:
Rockstar XDurance brings a quite a unique flavour to their already sizeable line up and the effects are great as well. It is what you expect from Rockstar, especially after they released their Recovery line up. It’s worth picking one of these up.

Scores:
Overall: 8/10
Effects: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Price: $3.29 CAD

Overview:
A friend of mine drove down to the United States recently and picked up a drink that I had not seen before, GAzZU. The can, as you will be able to see from the photo, is very similar to Monster in terms of design. GAzZU is one of the smaller players in the energy drink market for, their website is actually down. However, it is sold exclusively at Circle K stores and made by BooKoo Energy. While their can design is an almost carbon copy of Monster, they do have some odd text written on the side that I should show you.

This GAzZU is something really different. They tell me that it’s a guarded secret formula used to make it, and the word it it’s not from Earth. I know this guy, who is connected, and he told me the secret ingredient is like moon dust! They figured out how to grow it in these labs, like crystals. Man, this stuff is crazy, it tastes better than any energy drink I’ve ever had.

Awesome energy and taste that’s like ….. cosmic. It’s Gazzu!! Hey, gimme a G.

Definitely something different here. With that out of the way, we begin.

Contains:
I have never had to write this before but I have no idea.There is no number saying how much caffeine listed is in GAzZU. I do know that it has 1000mg of taurine, 20mg of niacin, 5mg of vitamin B6 and 5mcg of vitamin B12. As well as that unknown amount of caffeine. This drink is not a low-calorie one but it is not on the higher end either, coming in at a low 110 calories.

Effects:
I am impressed. I was not sure what to expect from this because the caffeine content is not listed on the can. I stayed up late after having this, I am normally unable to do so. I was not jittery or overly hyper either. I was just awake. It wasn’t as good as a Rockstar Recovery but it is also almost half the price.

Taste/Aroma:
You may notice that we have added “Aroma” to this section as well. This is usually because in each review we touch on what the drink smells like under the taste section. All future reviews will now be titled this way.

The scent, it is a mixture of sweet orange flavoured candy and Jell-O. The taste was more sweet candy than Jell-O though; a sort of orange Kool-Aid except carbonated, mixed with sweet candy and some mango flavours. This is the best I can do to describe it, the taste is very unique. The closest energy drink, in terms of flavour styling, is Inked Energy due to the sweet candy taste. The aftertaste is pleasant and stays sweet, the mango has become more noticeable. GAZzU gets a good score here as well.

Conclusion:
I was surprised by this one. For such an unknown drink to have such an amazing taste, well it must be that moon dust… Ha. The side of the can sums it up best, cosmic. It is one of the most unusual but great tasting energy drinks I have ever had despite taking the Monster can design. Overall, it is one of the better ones out there, good job Circle K/BooKoo Energy.

Scores:
Overall: 8/10
Effects: 7.5/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Price: $1.79 USD

Overview:
Premium Pink Energy comes from DD Beverage Corporation, the makers of Beaver Buzz Energy Drinks. This one, comes in a similarly fashioned can like other Beaver Buzz drinks. It is clear that Premium Pink is made by the same company; and if you couldn’t tell by the can’s design, the pull-tab reads “Buzz” in the same font as Beaver Buzz. The last thing to note is that this is a zero calorie energy drink.

Contains:
Pink Energy has sucralose, often used in low-calorie beverages to serve as a zero calorie sweetener.  The problem with this is that it is usually around 600 times as sweet as regular sugar, says Wikipedia anyway. Premium Pink also has 120mg of caffeine, 1021mg of taurine, 102mg of Panax ginseng, and 102mg of guarana in the 355mL can. This is lower than the majority of energy drinks and it is priced accordingly at $2.59. Will this lower ingredient content prove troubling in terms of the effects of Premium Pink?

Effects:
I was quite exhausted when I was drinking this so perhaps this is not particularly fair but sadly, this Pink Energy did not give me much of an energy boost.  Perhaps, I felt a little jolt but it wasn’t enough to keep me even close to the energy levels I would get from other energy drinks. I also experienced some jitters which is unusual regardless of how tired I am when I have energy drinks. I am certainly giving this one a thumbs down in this department.

Taste:
After opening the can it has a sweet fruity smell, sort of a strawberry like scent. But the taste was far to strong for me. Remember that sucralose? Well, that is really what you are going to be tasting that in this drink with a hint of artificial grapefruit flavour. It also seems to have a very long lasting after taste, about 30 minutes after finishing it off I could still taste that same overly sweet taste in my mouth; as if I had just finished a sip. The taste is far sweeter than it should ever be.

Conclusion:
I was surprised by this one. Compared to other low-calorie energy drinks, like Rockstar Recovery, the taste of it was actually too strong. The only reason you should buy this is if there is nothing else left on the shelf. Premium Pink ends up being a disappointing one making it a good thing they have differentiated the branding from their Beaver Buzz line as it is a better drink; which we will have a review for soon, spoiler: the taste is excellent.

Scores:
Overall: 4.5/10
Effects: 4.5/10
Taste: 4.5/10
Price: $2.59 CAD

Please note: We plan to re-review this drink as our can was expired.

Overview:
Marley’s Mellow Mood claims to give you all natural relaxation in both carbonated, Berry and Citrus flavoured, and non-carbonated, Black Tea Peach Raspberry Passion Fruit and Green Tea with Honey flavoured, drinks. From the start you’ll realize that this is not the easiest drink to find. There does not appear to be a specific chain that carries it, as usual with these smaller brands. Once you do find Marley’s Mellow Mood, you can expect to buy a 355mL can for around $2.29 while the non-carbonated flavours are found in 473mL bottles.

Contains:
Marley’s Mellow Mood is different from the usual relaxation drink. The three main medical ingredients in this drink are Valerian, Lemon Balm, and Chamomile with 15mgs of each. These three ingredients are supposed to reduce anxiety, promote relaxation and enhance your mood. It also contains Humulus Lupulus (10mg), Passionflower (5mg) and the common ingredient found in most relaxation drinks, albeit in a lower dosage, Melatonin (1.5mg).

Effects:
Will Marley’s Mellow Mood actually relax you? Only a little. What it will give you, however, is stomach pains. I had this with two other people on the Drinkico team and we all experienced stomach pains and generally didn’t feel very well after drinking Marley’s Mellow Mood. The little relaxation that we felt was most likely a side effect of feeling ill. I would like to mention that it could have been that these drinks had been sitting for a longer than usual period of time, this is due to the variety store we purchased from isn’t overly popular. Though, this is rather unlikely as they had not expired.

Taste:
I love drinks that are berry flavoured. Marley’s Mellow Mood, the Berry flavour, does not taste like berries. There may, at the beginning, be a hint of berry flavouring in there but there’s also a strange, overpowering taste that comes soon after. Try to imagine a watered down cough syrup. I started off not minding the taste, it was unique and not all that sweet. However, with every sip Marley’s Mellow Mood became a little more unbearable and eventually I had to stop drinking it. Not a good taste.

Conclusion:
Oh Marley’s Mellow Mood, how I wanted to love you. If you have some odd desire to try every relaxation drink available, then go for it but it is not with my blessing. If the taste doesn’t make you regret your purchase, than the cramps after you drink it definitely will. That is if you can find somewhere with it in stock.

Scores:
Overall: 3/10
Effects: 2/10
Taste: 3.5/10
Price: $2.29 CAD

Overview:
Tapout Energy is a relatively unknown energy drink on the market and one of the few places I see it available, though I didn’t look very hard, is Short Stop variety stores. Tapout Energy currently comes in three flavours: Cran Orange, Peach Mango, and Cherry Citrus. Personally, I have only had the chance to drink the latter two. An interesting thing about Tapout is they always contain no added sugar. Let’s see how that works out.

Contains:
Tapout contains the usual suspects except with a higher dosage of taurine. It contains 200mg of caffeine and 2000mg taurine, 10 mg of vitamin B6, 20 mcg of vitamin B12, 100mg of panax ginseng root 50mg of Inositol and 225mg of Glucuronolactone.

Effects:
Tapout Energy boosts the amount of caffeine from the standard 160mg to 200mg, so I expected a small boost over other energy drinks. The energy boost I got from Tapout was not fast but rather a very gradual increase, I assume this is because there is no sugar kick. So after drinking a Tapout Energy drink, you should be able to undertake sustained periods of action, whether you are on the poker.de site, or doing something a bit more active like going for a run. Either way, you should notice an improvement in your energy levels.

Taste:
Cherry Citrus, I like the idea of this combination and it tastes pretty good, however I think Peach Mango was much better. This is just be my personal preference though. The Cherry Citrus tasted a bit to sour, it certainly tasted better near the start. Peach Mango was good all the way through.

Conclusion:
This is not an energy drink that attempts to make any great strides, just a company that consumers wanted to make an energy drink as Tapout is often known for their clothing line for fighters. The idea of not having any added sugar is nice, the gradual increase was different and weaker and lacking a sugar kick means there is no crash later either. The downside is that it takes longer for you to feel any effects and when you do, it is not as strong. Tapout should have added more caffeine to balance this out. Overall though, the effects are good and the taste is decent.

Scores:
Overall: 7/10
Effects: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Price: $2.99 CAD

Overview:
Inked Energy is 7-11′s own in-house energy drink and is sold exclusively at 7-11 stores in Canada and the United States. As this is their own drink, it can be sold for a fairly cheap price and that is Inked Energy’s main advantage over the competition. They are usually sold at $2.59 CAD but for two cans.

Contains:
Inked Energy contains 80mg of caffeine per 250ml serving and since this is a 473ml can that makes for a total of 151.36mg total caffeine content. For every 250ml of Inked Energy, there is also 1000mg of taurine, 35mg of Inositol and for the most part has the usual suspects found in most energy drinks.

Effects:
Inked Energy is a little below the norm on the caffeine content side and above on the taurine side. I didn’t feel overly energized though, instead a small boost of energy. Perhaps this is why they offer two at that price. On the plus side, I did not experience any sort of jitters from drinking this.

Taste:
Upon opening the can, it smells like candy and has a great scent. The name of this flavour would suggest that it would taste more citrus-like than anything else. What it suggests is incorrect. Initially, it tastes more like a blend of candy, carbonated apple juice and then with a hint of a citrus blend. However, you are left with a slightly sour aftertaste that is good if you like sour things, think of sour candies. The taste is actually pretty good. As you drink more of Inked Druidic, the sour taste does get somewhat stronger though if you do not like sour tasting candy, then this is probably not the drink for you.

Conclusion:
7-11 has made Inked Energy by re-hashing the standard tried and true energy drink formula into a new can and only changed the taste. Though the taste is quite good and earns many points in that department. Their strategy is to sell it at a huge discount when compared to the other energy drinks sold at 7-11. It will work well as it is such a large discount that no other energy drink has. Overall, a pretty good drink especially when you consider the price.

Scores:
Overall: 6.75/10
Effects: 5.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Price: $2.59 CAD (for two cans.)

Overview:
Hype Energy, while not one of the more popular brands like Rockstar or Monster, and comes in four distinct flavors (Regular, Organic, MFP and Enlinte); each flavour name less descriptive then the last.  The one shown above is, clearly, Hype Organic. It contains aloe vera with apple juice, this sounds like an odd combination. This comes in a 473mL can which contains 234 calories. Let’s see what it is like.

Contains:
Hype Organic navigates away from the standard energy drink make-up of caffeine, taurine and ginseng and attempts to go a different route with 184mg of organic guarana seed extract, containing approximately 98mg of natural caffeine, alongside 42mg of vitamin C and B3.  It is not a significant source of any other ingredients or benefits aside from the added aloe vera and apple juice.  Don’t expect the Aloe Vera to heal your insides.

Effects:
If I were to compare the effects of Hype Organic to say one of my favourite energy drinks, Rockstar Punched, the effects of this Hype Organic simply don’t match up. While I certainly didn’t get any sort of jitters or shakes from this Hype, which is good, I was not any more energized either. Rockstar Punched often gives me a much larger energy boost, certainly more than Hype as the energy part of this drink seems almost non-existent. If anything, I was more focused but lacked any sort of energy gain. It certainly loses points in this category.

Taste:
The first few swigs were similar to drinking a sort of carbonated apple juice, if you can imagine that. After a while the taste has started to settle in on your tongue you start to taste some of aloe vera addition but that doesn’t help recover the awkward taste from the beginning. In fact, it morphs into a weird taste that I have trouble describing. The drink does have that organic-type taste to it, which if you like that then this would be a good thing yet I usually like the taste that this should be. This isn’t it. It does have an organic-type flavouring to it but that doesn’t make it taste great.

Conclusion:
Feeling adventurous and wanting to try something unique but awkward tasting? Or just want to try it out, go out and pick this one up.  If you normally have problems with energy drinks causing you to feel bloated or sick this organic manages to negate those problems but loses some its core values as an energy drink, such as the actual energy part of the beverage and taste. I would consider picking this up again if I feel like an energy drink would make me sick that night or I lost my taste buds.

Scores:
Overall: 5.5/10
Effects: 6/10
Taste: 5/10
Price: $2.99 CAD

Overview:
Rockstar Recovery isn’t anything particularly new as they have had the lemonade can for a while but they have since released two new flavours (Grape and Orange). Rockstar Recovery is an energy drink that is non-carbonated, contains electrolytes and these two flavours are only 20 calories.

Contains:
It contains 160mg of caffeine and 2000mg taurine, this is pretty standard in a Rockstar and doesn’t make any leaps or bounds in that sense. However, it does contain milk thistle. Who knows why. Electrolytes are often in drinks like Gatorade and Powerade as you lose electrolytes after physical exertion or excercise .

Effects:
Considering the standard amount of caffeine in this drink, I didn’t think this would have much effect on me. I was proven wrong. This drink actually helped me stay awake much longer than most do for me and without any sort of jitter. Perhaps that is the milk thistle… Ha. I didn’t crash after the effects had worn off either. This Rockstar certainly gets a good score here.

Taste:
The idea of a non-carbonated energy drink was quite interesting. I thought it would be weird and it was. That isn’t to say it didn’t taste excellent, though I doubt this taste is for everyone though. Remember that grape cough medicine you had when you were a child, the good tasting ones? It is like that except better and with more grape flavouring. Somehow it tastes like it has more vitamins or something as well. The non-carbonation is actually a really welcome taste and if you are looking for a unique taste in an energy drink while still tasting great, this is it.

Conclusion:
This is certainly an energy drink you will want to pick up. On a final note, if energy drinks often make you feel sick, try this one, I feel it has a less likely chance to mostly due to the lack of carbonation.

Scores:
Overall: 8.75/10
Effects: 8.5/10
Taste: 9/10
Price: $2.99 CAD