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.

Blue Charge Diet Cranberry

A bit too strange for my liking. It had the same background flavour as Asda’s normal Blue Charge but with a very faint taste of cranberry and coloured slightly red. I assume this has been designed as a mixer, and I could imagine this going down well with a bit of Vodka in, but sadly not on its own merit. It is diet (I couldn’t find a non-diet version of this on the shelves) so that will probably appeal to people after a low-calorie energy drink with a difference, and at a nice low price (tapping rear trouser pocket / wearing hard-hat to avoid falling prices, etc…).

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.

Mixxed Up Light

Lidl have rebranded their Mixxed Up Sugar Free drink as Mixxed Up Light. At first I thought it was just a can design change, but when I tasted the drink I’m sure they’ve altered the flavour too. I can’t be 100% certain because I’ve not done a side-by-side comparison yet, but I’m sure it tastes slightly fruitier than the old one. Looking at the ingredients reveals nothing, they are identical, but proof that the drink has changed slightly is in the nutritional information panel: Salt Equivalent of the sodium is up from 0.23g in Sugar Free to 0.25g in the Light variation. So… something is up. Taste-wise it’s not a change for the worse, and it is moving away from being a Red Bull clone.

Target Energy Shot – Life

As far as shots go, some of them are really nasty tasting. This one is okay however – it has an unidentified fruit flavour with a slightly sour note. For a single caffeinated shot it isn’t that strong and it also has no sugars to give you an immediate sugar rush. The main reason for a shot is for the immediate wake-up kick that they give you and not the taste, so sadly this product is quite expensive when compared with alternatives such as Lucozade and Red Bull shots which deliver more punch.

Red Bull Sugarfree

Exactly the same as Red Bull, but with all the sugars taken out and a load of sweeteners put back in. Now, you don’t get quite the same immediate sugar rush as you would with the original, but the lasting effect is the same. You don’t get the sugar crash, which is a bonus, and I like the chewy flavour you get from the sweeteners. I’m giving this the same marks as the original Red Bull because, when put side by side, I’d go for the sugarfree version every time… but it’s not as potent.

Mixxed Up – Sugar Free

Lidl’s low calorie version of their “Classic” variety tastes almost the same. The difference is due to the sweeteners and gives you that chewy aftertaste, but of course as with any sugar-free variation you miss out on the associated sugar rush and crash. I quite like avoiding that but I know many people don’t, but it’s good to know that there isn’t much of a flavour difference otherwise. Due to its price and lack of sugar, this is the drink that I stock up with in bulk in my garage.

Monster Lo-Carb

Almost exactly the same as the original Monster Energy. You can’t tell from the taste that it is a low calorie version though because the flavour is so sweet, almost sherberty. I like it a lot because it doesn’t give me a sugar-low afterwards like the original but it can get a little sickly towards the end due to the large can size. During a recent holiday in Europe I noticed that these were also being sold in 250ml cans which would make them a little easier on the stomach.

Cougar Lifestyle Shot – Berry

I am most definitely not the target audience for this particular energy drink, but given that it exists I had to give it a try. Cougar lifestyle shots, for women; advising on the bottle to provide “Age Defying Energy” are aimed at, shall we say, the older lady who… actually I’m going to let The Urban Dictionary handle this one.

After drinking this I can’t (or won’t?) say that I suddenly found myself eying up younger men, but I did get the rush of energy expectedly provided by these drinks. The caffeine hit comes from the usual added caffeine and more unusually green tea extract. In fact, if you check out the product’s web site and look through the ingredients, you’ll see a whole host of natural additions which are aimed at women (you drink Aloe Vera?? Apparently so.) . The flavour was very nice. The bottle says Berry, but I’d say it was the same flavour as the cherry powder in a Double-Dip (remember them?). I know it’s not aimed at me but it tasted great, gave me the wanted caffeine hit, it is very different to Red Bull and has zero calories.