Venom Energy Black Mamba

I really enjoy reading Screaming Energy, a blog/review site for energy drinks. They are brutally honest and can slam or praise with some side-splitting metaphors. When I was ready to pop this can of Venom Black Mamba, I checked out SE for their take. And I couldn't find one.

This probably has more to do with Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. not sending review samples instead of a lack of merit on the part of the drinks. I know this because the folks at SE have reviewed some pretty awful stuff. (And I know that Dr Pepper-Snapple Group is the name of the firm.)

Presentation/Appearance - 9/10 I can't argue with this aluminum bottle and its menacing snake eye graphic. Whoever did this design, knew how to appeal to the young man demographic. This bottle drips testosterone (not in the ingredient list, though). These energy drinks are meant to be consumed from the container (even though it is two servings per container, a little over 160mg of caffeine if you drain the whole thing) I decided to pour a bit into a cordial glass so that we could get a good look at the liquid. Black Mamba looks like a sparkling wine, or maybe the folks at Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc, have done their research and this is what snake venom looks like. I wouldn't put it past them.

Nose/Aroma - 5/10 I doubt it smells like venom. This is chalky, Sweet-Tart in a glass. Everything about this says artificial beverage. If I were rating this on how energy drinks typically smell it might have scored a 10/10. Is this really what we expect? Can we have a reasonable expectation of something remotely natural?

Taste/Flavor - 6/10 Tart candy dominates the flavor. The bubbles just add to that effect. There is a sizable sugar presence here, but the chalky candy flavors overpower this one. I prefer the sour of lemon or maybe a tart berry, heck even rhubarb to this. However, it doesn't make you gag and it holds up as well as any other typical energy drink available.

Finish/Satisfaction - 7/10 If you have trouble sweating, I highly recommend this drink. This is a quick hit of caffeine without the hassle of dealing with hot bitter coffee. The tartness is ultimately lost as your taste buds succumb to the repeated punishment.

Overall - 6.3/10 This drink works as intended, and it does it with style. I am looking forward to trying other flavors. The Black Mamba is apparently the base drink. Other Venom drinks build on top of this with flavors like fruit punch and mango.

What do you use energy drinks for mostly? Pre-exercise? Morning coffee replacement? Cocktail mixer?

Adina Natural Highs Hazelnut Hook Up

The Adina website is a bit busy, it is full of information and giveaways and an aggressive sense of community and purpose. They have a fantastic monkey logo and a slogan - 'Drink No Evil!' Yet, the Hazlenut Hook Up can doesn't have the logo anywhere on it. And it has the more tepid slogan - 'Feel Good - Do Good'. Ah, well, that doesn't matter. This is the PW's first energy drink!

The Hazlenut Hook Up is a coffee-based drink best served chilled. The Colombian coffee and evaporated cane sugar are both organic and fair trade certified. I'm hoping the dairy cows were treated humanely, but nothing is mentioned on container concerning bovine welfare.

Surely, there must be an ingredient besides coffee, milk, and sugar that sets this drink apart from a cup of Joe. There is. It contains natural hazlenut flavor and guarana; the latter delivering even more caffeine than coffee.

Presentation/Appearance - 6/10 Nothing special here. A simple 8 oz (240 ml) can with text highlighting the fair trade and naturalness of the beverage. Without detailed explanation, the contents are declared the "antioxidant equivalent of 4 servings of fruit" as measured by the USDA. However, we know that coffee, like tea, contains antioxidants.

Nose/Aroma - 6/10 The sugar is easy enough to detect, along with the nuttiness of the hazlenut flavoring. I had expectations of a more significant coffee aroma, but it never materialized. This tells me that we're about to taste something sweet versus bitter.

Taste/Flavor - 6/10 And sweet is what we mainly have here. The purpose of this drink is to provide a non-evil way of delivering caffeine to the body in a harmless, if not especially pleasing way. Nothing bad here, but nothing exciting. Except for my pulse...which we'll cover in a moment.

Finish/Satisfaction - 8/10 The drink delivers on its energy promise. Perhaps I am unused to caffeine, but I can feel the surge. The coffee flavor does linger after the sugar and hazlenut have left, which makes this feel more like an iced coffee experience than an awful energy drink session. (As we'll see in future Potable World entries, we're not a huge fan of sweet tart tasting sugar blasts.)

Overall - 6.6/10 Tasty energy drink with a solid mix of sugar and coffee flavors. The guarana doesn't add much to the flavor, which works for me in this drink. The hazlenut flavors are plenty here. Somewhat expensive at $1.99 per can, but a visit to the website will bring you access to 2-for-1 coupons. Print them and use them. They have other flavors, too, plus fruit & herb drinks and some sweet latte/espresso offerings.

Hey, hey, I think I have a caffeine buzz. My hair is tingling. What's your favorite energy drink?