The Drink Ink

An energy drink can that you can personalize. That is the idea behind The Drink Ink. Promote your business, event, or whatever, with personalized full shrink sleeves. For this review I had the 8.4 oz energy drink, and the Very Berry and the Lemon Lime 2.4 oz energy shots.

Packaging: All of the containers have excellent quality shrink sleeves on them. The printing is great. Each can was different. The text on the labels is legible, however the Supplement Facts are very tiny, especially on the shot bottles, it is legible. The shrink sleeves fit great. Only one was slightly wrinkled. They are secure, no need to fear them falling off the can or being ripped off very easily.

Taste:

The website says that the 8.4 oz energy drink is based on the most popular one on the market, which we know to be Red Bull. Yes, it tastes similar. It has been a while since I have had a Red Bull but this seemed to taste a little less chemically, and somewhat more berry like. It was good. And I feel that Red Bull type energy drinks are growing on me (yeah, sort of like a fungus.) Seriously, this is a good tasting copy of that.

The Very Berry and Lemon Lime energy shots both taste very clean and crisp. They do not have the chemically strange taste like 5 Hour Energy Drink and other energy shots. The taste coincides well to the name description. The Very Berry tastes like different kinds of berries, and the Lemon Lime is a light tasting citrus flavor. Both have very good taste for being energy shots. You could drink these slow if you wanted to, because the flavor is that enjoyable.

Energy: This energy drink delivers on the energy. It does a good job of keeping you up and going for whatever comes your way. The energy shots kick in quick and keep you going for hours after you drink them.

The 8.4 oz Energy Drink has an energy blend consisting of Taurine 1000 mg, Glucuronolactone 75mg, Caffeine 75mg,  Panax Ginseng Extract 50mg, Guarana Seed Extract 50mg, L-Carnitine 25mg, Inositol 25mg. 

The Energy Shots contain Taurine, Malic Acit, Caffeine, Glucuronolactone, N-Acetyl, L-Tyrosine, L-Phenylalanine. The amounts of each ingredient in the energy blend are not listed.

Overall Impression: I found nothing but win with this batch of samples. This company knows where its at. If you are looking for a way to advertise they will get your name out there, and keep your customers energized as well.

Find Them on the Web:

http://thedrinkink.com/

@TheDrinkInk

TOMIC

Energy always seems to mean something is exploding. So what better way to represent that than with an atomic grenade?

Packaging: 
Tomic Energy Shot comes in a short, slightly rounded bottle, with a stylized grenade design in green. The logo is the "atomic" warning symbol. The bottle is mainly green with silver and yellow writing on it.

Taste: 
The first thing I noticed upon opening the bottle was the fruit smell. It is almost like a fruit tree in bloom with a bit of an overpowering floral essence to it. The flavor is almost like an apple/pear/citrus/passion fruit combination. I can not quite place it, but it is different than most drinks I have tried. Maybe there is a bit of pomegranate flavor to it. It is sweetened with sucralose, so it has a bit of the really-sweet without the sugar kind of feel to it. I would suggest eating something with it because it is loaded with Vitamin B.

Energy: 
I could notice about 20 minutes after downing the bottle that I was already getting energized from this. The energy you get from this is really quick and strong. The energy blend does not tell how much caffeine is actually in the drink, but says that the blend as a whole is 1870mg. Aside from caffeine it also contains Taurine, Malic Acid, N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine, L-Phenylalanine, Glucuronolactone, Citicoline. It provides a strong amount of energy and assists with focus. I got a few hours of energy from this, so it works well for the long haul. It only has 5 calories and 0 sugar, so it is great for people with a desk job that need a pick-me-up in the middle of the work day, without all the sugar and carbs in normal energy drinks that can pack on the pounds while you sit there typing away.

Overall Impression: 
I love the results, but am personally a bit iffy on the flavor. It gives a great energy kick. It is good, but I would really like to see improvement on the flavor to make it more fruit like and less blossom like. I am going to have to give this a 7/10.

Find Them on the Web:
http://www.drinktomic.com/
http://www.facebook.com/drinktomic
@DrinkTomic

Code Blue

Here is a drink that is not an energy drink, but a recovery drink. What exactly is a recovery drink? It is a drink full of electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and natural anti-inflammatory fruit extract.

Packaging: The can is a silver/blue combination with the logo vertically written down the front of the can. The back of the can tells you what is in it and the nutrition facts, as well as what it does - Hydrates - Replenishes - Detoxifies - Reduces Inflammation.

Taste: To me the first taste of this reminded me a little of the flavor/texture of Emergen-C or ColdEez or something similar. It is lightly carbonated, and has a lot of vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. Because of the sodium content (about 375mg of sodium or 16.5%DV) it reminds me of Gatorade back in the 90's. I cannot place the flavor. It has Prickly Pear extract in it, but I am not sure if that is part of the flavor or not. It has a light fruit sort of taste, I think. It is sweetened with natural cane sugar in combination with Stevia. This helps keep the calories down, so you are getting less "energy" and more recovery, as well as leaving out the sugar crash that some hydration drinks give you.

Energy: Since this is not an energy drink I had to evaluate it a little differently. I do not hold to a regular exercise routine. So trying this drink out, I went and got on the treadmill for a while. I got off, kind of loopy legged and shaky as I usually get when I use a treadmill. I stretched to cool down and drank a Code Blue. I was definitely less shaky after I drank it. I also had a couple over the course of fighting off the flu or whatever crud I had over Christmas. It really seemed to help me feel a little better, and less dehydrated.

Overall Impression: I really liked this for its recovery properties and being able to refuel after a workout or when feeling a bit dehydrated. You can use this "as needed" according to the label. Although because of the sodium content I would not go over two or three a day, as with energy drinks, just for a different reason. To me, the sodium content seems pretty high. I have encountered energy drinks with both more and less sodium than this. But only being 12 oz and having 16.5% of the DV of sodium it seems high. On one hand you need sodium to stay hydrated if you are working out and sweating a lot. On the other hand if you are just feeling like you have a cold or something I would say to drink Code Blue, but with plenty of plain old H2O. Other than that, I think this is an awesome beverage. I am going to give it a 9/10.

Find Them on the Web:

http://www.drinkcodeblue.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/drinkcodeblue

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.

Find Them on the Web

http://www.hiballer.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/hiballenergy

Apologies for my absence

I apologize to my readers and to those companies whose products I have had and have failed to get a review up for for almost a month.

I was ill over Christmas with the flu or something like it. After being AWOL from the internet in general for a week I just got out of the habit of updating. I feel miserable about it. And the only thing I can do is try and get back in, and get to contacting, reviewing, and writing again.

I have four reviews I will be doing over today and tomorrow. So keep an eye open for them. I need to set goals for this thing. That is my short-term goal - To get these four reviews written and posted. Along with contacting companies and doing more research.

I hope I still find favor with my readers and the companies, and with other reviewers. This was just a hic-up in this thing. This is honestly something that brings me joy in the doing, and I will keep it up and going to keep consumers informed!