KX Sugar Free

KX Sugar Free is the low calorie version of the newly rebranded KX. In many ways it is identical, but the loss of sugar seems to have mellowed the flavour a little for the better. The harshness of the flavour is lessened making it a sweeter drink overall – quite strange considering it has no sugar. I’d recommend this over the full fat one if you are given the choice.

KX

KX started out life as Tesco Kick many years ago. It rebranded to KX only a couple of years ago and more recently it has undergone a new rebranding – completely snipping the Tesco own-brand image altogether. It’s made by Cott Beverages and now contains guarana. The taste has also changed slightly due to this recent rebrand, but still retains the KX characteristic sourness. It is another Red Bull clone and is quite a nice drink overall, and given the reasonable price in Tesco it is also good value.

Blue Bolt

Blue Bolt is Sainsbury’s own-brand energy drink. As soon as I opened the can I recognised the smell, and taking a sip confirmed it. I believe that Sainsbury’s and Asda must buy their energy drink from the same manufacturer because it is identical to Asda’s Blue Charge. You might as well just go and read that review if you want any more information…

LSV Sugar Free

Compared to normal LSV, this drink was far smoother and much easier to drink. If you are faced with the choice between the two and prefer taste over the sugar-high then go for this one. Other than that, the drink is pretty much identical in aroma and aftertaste.

LSV

Another bargain basement Red Bull clone. One swig of this drink made me clench my teeth together and inhale sharply. It was quite abrasive to the throat at first but I soon got used to it. Yup, the taste is a little on the sharp side. Having said that, there are a lot worse out there and this one is placed somewhere in the middle.

Blue Charge

Asda’s own brand of energy drink is an obvious Red Bull clone, but where it differs from most is its lacking of the sour taste usually associated with these imitation products. Blue Charge tastes quite fruity by comparison and even manages a similar smoothness as Red Bull. The ingredients list specific vegetable concentrates of Apple, Carrot and Hibiscus. I’m assuming it is this concentrated mixture that gives Blue Charge its key flavour, which sadly isn’t that nice! The smoothness of the flavour and not necessarily the flavour itself is what contributes significantly to the Red Bull experience and I’m confident that Asda are aware that they are capable of producing a direct clone of Red Bull and have adjusted their final product slightly to avoid lawsuits because this drink tastes like a deliberate attempt to change the flavour subtly. Sadly though, it’s a very smooth drink with nasty taste.

Emerge Light

Like its calorific cousin, Emerge Light is another Red Bull clone. Maybe it was the mood I was in at the time, but I preferred this low calorie version to the full fat. Of course, this now means I need to do a side-by-side taste comparison to be totally sure. Sadly though, there still isn’t much to discuss about this drink as it doesn’t stand out at all from amongst the crowd.

Emerge

A nice Red Bull clone with below average caffeine content. This drink has nothing particularly special about it to discuss, hence me padding out this review with this lump of words. It tastes okay and isn’t too expensive – would pass as a good mixer with vodka.

(Update 2012-02-18): Emerge was recently rebranded and the can now looks more like this. (click on the thumbnail for a larger image)

Euro Shopper

This is clearly another Red Bull clone created as a budget brand to fill up the chiller cabinets in corner shops. It has a very slightly aniseed taste compared to Red Bull which gives it a bit of an unwanted aftertaste. For 35p you can’t really complain though – it is an energy drink, it gives you energy, job done I suppose! If you’re after something that tastes good though, buy something else.