Review: Squirt Citrus Power
Apr 29th, 2008 by Steve
You don't typically associate Squirt with "energy" or "caffeine". I mean, really, it's just a citrus-flavored drink with a grapefruit influence, currently owned by Cadbury Schweppes. And for the most part, it's unique and rather good. Even it's sibling Ruby Red Squirt has favorable standing with us here at BevReview.com.
Well, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy for Squirt. The soft drink takes it up a notch in attitude and content with the energy drink-crafted Squirt Citrus Power!
That's what you get when you jack up the caffeine (9.1 mg/oz. vs. Mountain Dew at 4.5 mg/oz.), add in some taurine, and load up on Vitamins B3, B5, B6, and B12! Squirt Citrus Power seems to take a similar approach to Pepsi's failed Mountain Dew MDX in that it's leveraging an existing carbonated soft drink brand… and boosting it to be an energy drink. It's even a riskier move for Squirt when you think that the original formula wasn't exactly known for pep or caffeine. But there is some positives to this as well. For example, it doesn't look like an energy drink… no 16 oz. tall can, use of additives or nutrients listed on the label, or crazy "extreme" branding. It's basically, "Squirt… energized", which I think comes out well in the labeling.
It by no means is innovative, but stays true to the Squirt brand. At the core of the grapefruit logo is the Squirt wordmark, with a small subheading of "Citrus Power". This all sits on a black background with yellow lightning bolts streaking throughout, reinforcing the tagline at the top of the label: "Energized Refreshment". The bottle is a standard green plastic, topped with black cap to match the label. The addition of "Naturally and Artificially Flavored" is the only other itemization you see on the main label panels. To most folks, this probably will seem like a "safe" drink, especially if they are a little turned off by the energy drink stigma. Whether that backfires is up for debate, however. I would think that it still stacks up against the likes of other citrus brands such as Sundrop, Fanta Citrus, while more loosely adding Mountain Dew, Vault, and even Amp or Full Throttle into the "we're now competitors" mix.
A 20 oz. bottle (technically, 2.5 servings) packs 290 calories, 95 mg of sodium, and 74 g of sugars. A full ingredient list is as follows:
Squirt Citrus Power
Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, taurine, natural and artificial citrus flavor with other natural flavors, potassium citrate, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), caffeine, modified corn starch, calcium pantothenate (Vitamin B5), ester gum, niacinamide (Vitamin B3), pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), calcium disodium EDTA, Yellow 5, cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12)
The 9.1 mg/oz. of caffeine content is on par with other drinks in the category such as Red Bull (9.64 mg/oz.), Monster (10.00 mg/oz.), Amp (8.875 mg/oz.), and Full Throttle (9.00 mg/oz.).
As for the taste? Well, it's a lot like Squirt, which is a good thing. There's a slightly different, more salty aftertaste. In fact, there might be an completely different flavor the as you encounter the "finish" of the drink. It's not bad, but it's also not as smooth or expected given that the rest of the drink pretty much tastes like normal Squirt. I did notice quite a difference after drinking this beverage, however. Let's just say that the energy drink effects kicked in!
Overall, I rather enjoyed Squirt Citrus Power. The increase in caffeine, addition of taurine and B vitamins, and unique grapefruit taste make this a nice addition to the energy drink market. The familiarity of the brand and obvious targeting at the casual beverage fan could be very positive for this flavor extension.
Squirt Citrus Power…
Over the weekend I found a bottle of Squirt Citrus Power at our local Jewel-Osco. They had it in one of those "check this out" displays near the checkout…….
This stuff is literally powering me through finals week, and I couldn't be more grateful for its release. The taste is a little reminiscent of the lemon "Atomic Warheads" I ate like vitamins as a kid in the 90s. Delicious!
The label design is much too similar to ordinary Squirt. I bought a bottle of "Citrus Power" without realizing it. The problem with that is I was buying a Squirt because I wanted something without caffeine… then I noticed the different taste, took a closer look at the label, and went to find out how much caffeine it has. Oh good, Red Bull levels, exactly what I didn't want.
I'm going to predict that this fails like dnL did. (Which was great! I miss dnL.) I think it failed because people didn't realize it was something different than 7up. When I first saw dnL, the 7up logo upside-down, I assumed it was some special-promotional-thing of 7up. Similarly, people won't realize that "Citrus Power" is not just ordinary Squirt.
I love the old Squirt, basically the only soda I drink. I picked up the new "Citrus Power" by mistake, thinking it was just a redesigned packaging of the original product. But the taste was horrible (way too sweet and had more lemon/lime flavor than grapefruit), so I checked the packaging and discovered it contained caffeine (and other stuff) which I didn't want. The store I usually buy Squirt from now only carries the Citrus Power, so I have to go out of my way to find the old stuff. I don't buy energy drinks.
I don't know why they ever took ruby red off the market in so many states. They claim the didn't sell enough. Well Duh! I rarely ever saw it on the shelves!
I've read on another website that Citrus Power has been discontinued.
any truth to this?
Squirt Citrus Power is disappearing from the shelves in northern Indiana. Those who drink Squirt appreciate its clean taste, versus the flavor of a cola (with caffeine).
Can anyone say if the 7UP/Cadbury Schweppes' product is being discontinued?
If so, what will replace it? Squirt without caffeine is fine, but some of us need the morning energy you get from Squirt Citrus Power. A cola in the morning just won't do.