Euro Shopper Energy Drink Sugar Free

I maybe putting this second in my list of nicest Red Bull Clones. It was very similar to Red Bull Sugar Free, but with a little bit more bitterness (a tiny eeny weeny amount more). This will give Aldi’s Red Thunder a run for its money and the deciding factors will now have to be price, availability and convenience. It’s a lot nicer than the non-sugar-free version of Euro Shopper’s Energy Drink and whether that is down to a ‘new improved’ flavour exercise that has happened since I tried the original I’m not sure – I may have to re-evaluate.

Tesco Energy Drink Sugar Free

Just like the full-fat version, the sugar free Tesco own-brand drink is watery and lacking in flavour. It’s cheap, but in this price range you’d be better going for for the Aldi, Lidl, or Euro-shopper own-brands.

Red Rooster Light

An impromptue (and my first ever) visit to Farmfoods as I passed it in Bridgend led to the discovery of the light version of Red Rooster. It’s an improvement (as I find the sugar free versions usually are) on the full fat version as far as taste goes, and the can designers have gone with a minimalist silver design which makes it appear cheaper than it tastes. Incidentally, Farmfoods also sell Mountain Dew Energy in cans too which is the first place I’ve seen it outside of a bottle.

Boost

A bog-standard Red Bull clone which tastes sweet and as you’d expect. The main reason for the slightly elevated price-tag compared to other budget drinks is assumedly down to the Boost branding. The cans are attractive and look premium by comparison to the usual range of cheapo clones. Boost is most commonly found in 500ml bottles from my experience, but occasionally you find it in a 250ml can as per the photo attached to this review. If anyone ever sees a can of sugar-free Boost please let me know where you saw it cuz I can’t find it anywhere!

Black Energy

This appears to be a re-branding of a drink I tried a while back called Black Tiger. I have to say, on revisiting it, I’m enjoying it more than I did last time. But forget about the taste on this drink – it’s clearly about the branding. It’s a Polish drink endorsed by none other than Mike Tyson and has the slogan “Black Power!” emblazoned all over it too. It looks like we’ve discovered the secret of Mike’s success.

Spar Budget Energy Drink

Standing out in the shop cooler with its bright green label covered in Spar’s trademark arrow logo, this energy drink had to be purchased – any product brave enough to use the word ‘budget’ in its name must be interesting! It’s a Red Bull clone, so no real surprises there. The taste is watery but sweet like many of the French and German own-brands I’ve tried over the years. It was very nice and left no nasty aftertaste, and it wasn’t bitter at all and at less than 50p per can it won’t feel like you’re being ripped off either. They do say it’s the small details that stand out, and like Red Bull and their ring-pull with a cut-out of a Bull, Spar have also customised their ring-pull with a cut-out of the Spar logo – although I have to say I thought it was a Christmas tree at first.

Red Alert

Not too sweet or watery or sour or bitter… just right! It’s a shame it’s another Red Bull clone because the balance of flavour is ideal. I purchased Red Alert from my local shop, and looking at the can it seems to have been produced for Booker’s cash and carry therefore I am assuming this is their own brand product. Looking at the can however you’d be forgiven if you assumed this was a premium brand and the taste lives up to the assumption. Overall, a great product but still not as good value as either the Euro Shopper, Aldi or Lidl drinks.

Red Thunder Diet

This is my favourite Red Bull Cone of all time. It has the perfect mix of  smoothness, sweetness and value for money which makes it stand out from the crowd by miles. If you want to stock up on energy drinks then buy six-packs of these in Aldi. Let’s hope they don’t try to ‘improve’ the taste in future versions.

Power Horse

Ultimately, it is just another Red Bull clone. It gains an extra originality point though for its packaging – still weighing in a 250ml, but in a much stouter can than normal, like a normal soft drink can but shorter instead of tall and thin. For 39p though you can’t really go far wrong, and it tasted very nice with none of the usual bitterness or sour aftertaste associated with cheap energy drinks.

UPDATE: A bit of research on this product has shown that it may actually pre-date Red Bull, and therefore be more original than originally thought (?!) Check out its mention on Wikipedia.