Posted in Reviews, PepsiCo, Fruit Drinks, Tropicana, Orange on May 10th, 2008 No Comments »
Tropicana Pure Valencia is a high-end orange juice made with 100% Valencia oranges. What that means is that this drink is both very tasty and very expensive. But I will admit that the branding lives up to the hype. This is some fine orange juice. Nice job, Tropicana!
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, Cadbury Schweppes, Squirt, Energy Drinks on Apr 29th, 2008 2 Comments »
Squirt Citrus Power is a enjoyable citrus soda/energy drink hybrid. The increase in caffeine, addition of taurine and B vitamins, and unique grapefruit taste make this a nice addition to the market. The familiarity of the brand and intentional courting of the casual beverage fan could be very positive for this flavor extension.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, The Coca-Cola Company, Energy Drinks, Orange, Full Throttle on Apr 4th, 2008 1 Comment »
Full Throttle Fury is a decent-tasting, orange-flavored energy drink. It’s superior in many ways to Coke’s original Full Throttle. Only the confusing packaging really hurts the beverage overall.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, The Coca-Cola Company, Energy Drinks, Full Throttle on Mar 27th, 2008 No Comments »
Full Throttle is an energy drink brand owned by The Coca-Cola Company. It debuted in 2004 as Coke’s response to the growing energy drink market, led by the likes of Monster and Red Bull. Frankly, it has a citrus flavor, but with a horrid aftertaste that I’d describe akin to drinking carbonated cleaning solution. Very medicinal. Yuck!
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, PepsiCo, Mountain Dew, Energy Drinks, Amp, Orange on Mar 22nd, 2008 1 Comment »
If the orange-flavored Mountain Dew LiveWire ever became an energy drink, it would look and taste a lot like Amp Energy Relaunch. Sporting an increase in sodium to better “revive” you like a sports drink, the flavor wasn’t too bad. It was mild, not too artificial, and compared to other energy drinks on the market, didn’t taste gross.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, PepsiCo, Mountain Dew, Energy Drinks, Amp on Mar 14th, 2008 1 Comment »
As part of the 3 new Amp Energy line extensions hitting March 2008, Amp Energy Elevate is a mixed berry version of PepsiCo’s energy drink line. Remarkably, this drink brings back memories of that 2002 marketing favorite, Pepsi Blue. The taste was solid, had a slightly tart kick, and resonated well with a fond berryness.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, PepsiCo, Mountain Dew, Energy Drinks, Grape, Amp on Mar 12th, 2008 1 Comment »
As previously rumored, Amp Energy Traction is a grape-flavored line extension of the Mountain Dew-inspired energy drink brand. I really liked the beverage, probably because it reminded me so much of one of my favorite Dew line extensions, Pitch Black. The grape flavor is good, but not overpowering. It definitely still tastes like an energy drink, but it’s a favorable experience all around.
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, Cadbury Schweppes, Root Beer, Kosher, Creme Soda, A&W on Feb 24th, 2008 3 Comments »
Take the flavor experience of a root beer float and bottle it. That’s what A&W Float soda attempts to pull off. It’s an interesting innovation idea… and one that comes close, but misses. While it does use sugar and skim milk, the resulting taste is so artificial that you shouldn’t even bother. Great idea, horrible execution.
Posted in Reviews, Energy Drinks, Kosher, Red Bull, Red Bull GmbH on Feb 22nd, 2008 1 Comment »
Red Bull is the granddaddy of energy drinks, having hit the U.S. market in 1997. It owns 42.6% share of the energy drink sector, yet for some reason doesn’t exactly taste very good. It’s bitter, somewhat berry-infused, and packs a ton of caffeine (9.64 mg/oz). But will it always be on top? What are your thoughts?
Posted in Carbonated Soft Drinks, Reviews, PepsiCo, Nutrient Drinks, Tava on Feb 20th, 2008 2 Comments »
Tava is basically a fruit-flavored soft drink from Pepsi, marketed as a nutrient-enhanced sparkling beverage. The branding and design position it as a drink ideal for those living a health/wellness lifestyle, and the “0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 caffeine” seems to support that. For a diet drink sweetened with aspertame and Ace-K, the Mediterranean Fiesta flavor actually wasn’t too bad!