Thursday, January 20, 2011

HiBall Sparkling Energy Water and Sparkling Energy Juice Drink

Before trying HiBall Energy drinks I had not had a energy drink without sugar in it. Yeah, no sugar at all, no artificial sweeteners. And the juice drinks are sweetened lightly with Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar. Keep reading to see if I am a fan of these.
Packaging 
The packaging is simple - Clear glass bottles with a wrap around clear label, except for the printing and logo. It is quite minimalist and lovely. It lacks distractions.

Taste 
The flavors, matching the picture above, are:

Sparkling Energy Water
*Lemon-Lime
*Orange
*Wild Berry
*Grapefruit
*Vanilla

Sparkling Energy Juice Drink
*Cranapple
*Lemon-Lime
*Wild Berry
*Orange

The Sparkling Energy Waters each have no sugar or sweetener of any kind. The first time I tasted one it was a little strange as I am not used to no sweetener of any kind. With the carbonation this was really weird at first. Of course I don't drink much plain seltzer water either, so the combination of carbonated flavored water without sugar is not one I am at all used to. After I told my brain that it would not kill me to drink something without that "sweet" flavor in it, and that this was actually healthier than other energy drinks, it was a lot easier to drink.

The flavors are phenomenal in both categories. The sparkling waters really highlight the flavors since it is not sweetened. Each one has just the right amount of flavor. My personal favorite was the Vanilla. I just had that one yesterday and it was amazing. It is kind of the odd-ball flavor since the other flavors are fruit flavors. It works really well, especially if you have ever tried a little bit of vanilla in plain water to spice it up a little.

The juice flavors are also excellent. The juice drinks only have 5% juice, but the taste is well balance. The orange is like drinking orange juice. The cranapple is a perfect combination of tart and sweet.

A huge plus about these drinks is that none of them tasted like energy drinks. It felt like I was drinking something good for me. The lack of sugar or sweeteners, and the use of organic cane sugar reduces the calories and the carbs. There really is not an excess of ingredients either. They are very simple and taste great.

Energy 
Both the sparkling water and juice drink have the same energy blend in them. They have Taurine - 1200mg, Guarana - 32mg, Ginseng - 32mg, Caffeine - 80mg.

I got a good energy kick from them. Although I did drink them kind of slowly because it is hard to chug something so effervescent, they kept me awake and focused.

Overall Impression 
I really enjoy the Hi-Ball lineup of flavors. They are really a fairly healthy alternative to most other energy drinks. If you drink them often you might find yourself enjoying the lack of sugar and turning to more healthy choices elsewhere, also. They do not make you feel "heavy" after you drink them like some energy drinks do. I enjoy it when HFCS is missing from drinks. I liked the energy I got from the drinks. I got just the caffeinated buzz I was looking for, and was able to enjoy the taste of what I was drinking. I am going to give Hi-Ball a 10/10 for their excellent products.

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