Guru Good Energy Original

This was brought back for me from Canada and the can proudly declares its Canadianness in many places! Taste-wise it’s basically what you’d expect from a generic-brand energy drink – sweet, tart and sickly. What I do find very interesting though is the use of grape juice listed in the ingredients. It’s not often you see actual fruit listed in the ingredients of what is usually a “mixed fruit” flavoured drinks so it has got me thinking, is the main fruit used in other generic energy drinks actually grape?? This might be a mystery solved here…

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble Sugar Free

In a surprise twist the sugar free version of this drink tastes totally different to the full fat version! It’s still quite watery, but instead of the tangy caramel, it’s a more subtle fruity flavour. Sweet, but no dodgy aftertaste and very drinkable.

Kong Strong Colossus Sugar Free

Yup, the same as the non-sugar-free version really. Sweet, slightly tangy, and quite close to Monster in its flavour really.

Kong Strong Colossus

It’s been so long since I tried Lidl’s Kong Strong so I honestly can’t tell if this large can ‘Colossus’ drink is actually the same as the the smaller can, I think I’ll have to go and get one of those to compare. Anyway, this drink reminds me of the early days of energy drink clones… it’s sweet, slightly tangy, and quite different to Red Bull. I’d say it’s quite close to Monster Energy actually, very, very close in flavour!

TØRST Festival Energi Utopia

Discovered in a supermarket in Norway, I picked this one because I initially thought you perhaps pronounced the name TRST in the same way an Irish person might pronounce ‘thirst’. But, it looks like it’s just a stylised anomaly because the actual drink’s name is TØRST (you can see the Ø hidden behind the TRST on the logo). I’m not sure if this is a special edition flavour called Festival Energi Utopia, or if it’s just affiliated with a festival named ‘Utopia’ for promotional reasons, but it’s not really a special flavour. I’m putting this down as a clone as it tastes like a regular own-brand drink. If I had to describe the taste I would say that there are notes of aniseed with a slight tang of burnt caramel. It’s very nice, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t have a stand-out unique flavour.

Day & Nite

Found in a small supermarket in Haugesund, Norway. As with most of the Norwegian drinks I saw, this has a premium can design and heavy price tag to go with it (doesn’t everything in Norway?). Sadly inside it’s just a standard sugar-laden energy drink. It’s sweet and slightly tangy, which is very nice, but it’s still a generic flavoured drink much like any supermarket own-brand. If anything, it reminds me a bit of the original Euro Shopper energy drink.

Dragon Energy Sugar Free

I’ve tagged this as a clone, but it’s sort of not. Whilst there is that expected taste that’s very similar to Krating Dung (if you remember that one), it’s a nice energy drink that’s very fruity and sweet. Considering this is a low calorie drink you’d struggle to know that as it tastes like it’s packed full of sugar.

Matrix Energy Drink

What is The Matrix? Disappointing, Neo, disappointing. Yes it’s in an interestingly shaped bottle containing 700ml, but my bottle at least was almost flat. There was a fizz when I opened the bottle, and a few bubbles in the drink, but it tastes totally flat. Maybe this was an unfortunate one off, but the taste was still a clone, and a cheap tasting one at that.

Mixergy

You’ll be unlikely to find this particular energy drink anywhere… at least not in the form that it’s being presented here. This was a promotional can handed out at the Fully Charged Live event in 2002 at Farnborough. Mixergy make smart hot water tanks and control systems, and the can with the wrapper is designed to represent one of their tanks and the controls attached to it. As products go, their tanks are interesting even if I’m not certain I’d get one myself. The energy drink is unbranded though, and I’m guessing must be a generic product used by marketing companies for personalised products. I’ve taken a guess at the caffeine content because it’s not listed on the label at all. It tastes like a clone, a nice and sweet one though, and plenty one sugar in it because it coats the inside of your mouth!