Review for Golazo

 CAFFEINE CONTENT

100 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—1

I’ve only ever seen Golazo once in the course of my travels; by and large it’s pretty obscure.  Until more locations decide it's worth selling, good luck finding this.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—6

First off, the look would not be bad if they worked on the color scheme a little bit.  The Mexican golden eagle with the rattlesnake in its beak, the name “Golazo”, the soccer dude and the slogan (“Born to Score”) work well enough, but pick different shades of green and/or white (preferably both)!  Alone, either is bad, but together, it’s worse.  That out of the way, I do like the concept—bold and exciting, the ambition of the drink is evident in the very name of it—“Golazo”—utilizing the Spanish word “Gol” (‘goal’, the kind one would score in a soccer game) and the suffix “–azo” (used to indicate something that is exceptionally impressive), the drink managed to catch my attention in such a way that I was expecting to be impressed.

TASTE—3

My first impression, i.e. the smell that hit me just after I had opened the can, left me rather concerned—the scent was recognizably mango, but sour and almost pungent—not the kind I came to know and love on the coasts of Guatemala.  Then you taste it, and yikes—it’s as bad as it smells.  Short of unbearable, but still far from good, or even remotely pleasant.  The mango taste is unconvincing and horribly watered down, and badly marred by the presence of extract from the leaves of Stevia rebaudina—a natural sweetener so strong that it most definitely has the potential to be weaponized.  You use more than can fit on the head of a pin to sweeten whatever you are drinking, and the seemingly innocuous ingredient (do you honestly expect a sweetener to be vicious?) bares its teeth and attacks, hewing down your taste buds with the scythe of an awful and overpowering aftertaste unique to stevia (to understand it you have to try it, I can’t describe it; but it’s not something I recommend…from experience, you could very well die).

KICK (INTENSITY)—8

In this respect, Golazo shoots and indeed scores—for toting only 100 mg of caffeine (compare to a mainstream drink like Rockstar or Monster Energy, which pack 160 mg each), it delivers quite a kick (subtle soccer pun).  Sitting here writing this, it’s kind of hard to hit the right keys or hit them as lightly as I normally do—it’s got me reasonably wired and moderately shaky—and is perfect if you’re needing a pick-me-up in the middle of the big game.  (Just don’t drink it if you’re dehydrated…while Golazo will quench your thirst, caffeine is a potent diuretic and has the potential to make the matter worse.)

KICK (DURATION)—8

Golazo likewise made an impression on me in terms of duration of efficacy; it kept me going rather consistently for a few hours before it wore down with a recognizable crash at the finish, the effects of which were temporary.

THE DRINK OVERALL—6.33

While the potency of the beverage was commendable, you’ve still got quite an ordeal ahead of you in terms of taste to get those results.  For this I really can't bring myself to recommend it, but taste is subjective, and I must admit Golazo did leave quite an impression in my mind in terms of the fantastic kick delivered vs. the comparatively low quantity of caffeine, an impression which, like the flavor but for opposite reasons, I am not likely to forget anytime soon.

WEBSITE: golazoenergy.com

KEYWORDS: Golazo Energy Drink review, sports energy, all natural, Stevia rebaudina

Pink & Green Thursday: Waikiki

 

[Originally from Vogue Girl Korea, images via The Terrier & Lobster and That's So Rue]

I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea three years ago and lately I've been a little bit nostalgic for that trip. While most people are familiar with the fashion and street style of Japan, I was incredibly inspired during my time in Korea by the looks I saw people wearing in Seoul. In particular, I miss going to Kyobo Book Centre with my friends and pouring over all the fashion magazines from all over the world. Vogue Girl Korea was certainly a favorite of mine and wanted to share these tropical editorials with you all.

University musings...oh and le TDF

Somewhere in between Dave Zabriskie dropping it at the tour, and me being back at uni this week, the Tour has finished. Ended. Finito.

Terribly sad, as it is, it means for us Aussies we can finally get some sleep! Oh, and Cadel won, god bless his furrowed little brow.

No, on a serious note, this has been a momentous win for Australia; cycling fan or not, Cadel comrade or caluminator. Soon perhaps people will even stop trying to run us off the road!

For photos of a more attractive tour rider, click here. Thankyou CyclingNews, it's better than nudie websites for sure!

In other news, I have decided to do some 'training' for the Flight Centre Cycle Epic this year. Training includes doing more than one ride in the lead up to the event that is longer than three hours. Yep, I am sure I will be flying... I don't know what it is about me and endurance events, but I don't seem to have a lot of faith in myself with them, that combined with the lack of training time.

Last year I had a ripper run of a few really quality races; Canungra 6hr, Mt Perry; I felt like I was suddenly 'getting' the endurance thing. And then...nope.

Anyway, with emphasis on quality and hills rather than sacrificing my education for training time, I'm sure it will all go exactly to plan;
•start hard, feel good
•hour two realise that it's not XC and even though I have been feeling great I may have been exerting myself a tad too much
•run into a few rocks and get a bit pissed off with myself
•a few expletives here
•eat a lot of food, drink a lot of water and come good again about 3hr 30 in
•ride pretty well to the finish if I eat enough gooey stuff.

What's going to get me through? Well, having recently been lucky enough to pick up some Cyclinic Torq sponsorship, I can tell you now that the Torq Gels are the shinizzle.

Seriously! I did a whole four hours the other day, and when I was feeling well shagged after 2000 vertical metres of climbing (glutton for punishment?), I thought I was beyond baked, but popped a Banoffee flavoured Torq gel down the hatch and BAM! Powering home.

Anyway, it's kind of funny considering I have been riding for about a month since a chunk of time off, that I am actually excited about this tough as nuts Epic race. That may be all I need to make the difference. We'll see.

Btw: The vegan challenge lasted (mostly, except for maybe two serves of cheese...) for the whole of le Tour. I am now eating bits of cheese but still off all other dairy products and breathing easier because of it—WIN!

Magic and Mulberry

[images via The Terrier and the Lobster & TFS]

Tim Walker and Luke Losey have created the perfect fall fantasy, no? I'm personally trying not to covet all the pretty emerald green leather goods Mulberry has made for this upcoming season.

YOUR life may depend on HIM

Here’s a story that demonstrates the importance of treating everyone with respect for no other reason than, your life may depend on it.

The saintly Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (founder of Chasidism, known also by the acronym "Besht") was sitting in his room. A light knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"I have heard of the fame of the saintly Rabbi. I wished to see the Rabbi's holy face and receive his blessing," said the visitor.

The Besht said, "It is written, 'G-d directs the steps of man.' This means that it is not possible to go anywhere without being directed by Divine Providence."

The gentleman looked puzzled, and the Besht began to tell a story:

"Once, there lived two boys who were best of friends. Soon the boys were married businessmen.

"At first, both did very well, later, however, one lost his entire fortune.

"The poor man arriving at his friend's house, was warmly welcomed. They chatted and the host asked his old buddy the reason for the visit. The visitor poured his heart out, saying he came to seek help.

"The host called his book-keeper and ordered half of his fortune transferred to his impoverished friend. 'My friend,' he said, 'we always shared everything. I am now going to share everything I have with you again!'

"The poor man returned home and once again became successful. The rich friend, his fortune, took a turn for the worse and he became poor.

"It was now his turn, to seek the aid of his friend, whom he had helped in his hour of need. He went to his friend's house and the servant came out to the visitor saying, his master was too busy to see him.

"The poor man could hardly believe his ears.” There was nothing for the poor man to do but return home.

He could not get over the humiliation and disappointment and soon died.

"On the very same day, the rich man in the other town had an accident and died too. The two souls ascended to heaven and appeared for judgment. The soul of the poor man who had treated his friend so generously was told of his great reward, but the other soul was condemned.

"The first soul said sadly, "How can I enjoy the happiness of Paradise knowing that my friend is being punished on my account?" The soul was given permission to pronounce judgment in this case. The soul said that both of them should again be sent into bodies, so that the other soul could make amends where it had failed. Selflessly, this soul accepted a life of poverty again, in order to help the other soul.

"Some time afterwards, two baby boys were born in two different towns, one rich and one poor. One day the poor one, arrived in the town where the rich man lived, and knocked at his door. 'You are a stranger in this town do you not know that I do not give alms to any beggar, not even local ones!'

"The beggar had not eaten for three days. He collapsed and died.

"Now what do you think of this rich man?" the saintly Baal Shem Tov concluded, his keen eyes piercing through the visitor.

The Baal Shem Tov's visitor grew pale and frightened, for he remembered the beggar who had knocked at his door only a few days before he made his way to the Baal Shem Tov. The pale and haggard face of the dead beggar which had made no impression on him then, now began to torment him.

Is there anything I can do to save my soul?" the visitor pleaded.

The Baal Shem Tov replied, "Yes, there is something you can do. You must try to find the survivors of the poor man and ask their forgiveness. You must provide them with all their needs for the rest of their lives and distribute the rest of your fortune to the poor and needy. Then, pray to G-d with all your heart, for He is near to all who call unto Him in truth."

A Footage - Kembali by Syndicate

Our first time previewing the demo! Here's a footage of my band SYNDICATE's song 'Kembali', the video was taken on Rockvolution 2011. Enjoy!

Pasley Island-Jinky Art Retreat

Words can not describe the experience I had on Pasley Island during the Jinky Art Retreat, and my photos don't either. But I'll try my best to get the point across! 

It was so inspiring to be surrounded be people that have the same passion and interests as I do. We are at all different levels in our business and our skills. I found this to be so helpful. I appreciate all the tips, critique and encouragement.

There were photo shoots lined up in which we got to shoot with Barb, I'm hoping to be able to share some photos soon. 

The island itself was amazing. We were so blessed to have Beccy let us invade her sanctuary. The food was to die for. And you know I like to eat and talk about food. Shirley, Beccy and Dawn did a delicious job! I do not think anyone went hungry.

I was fairly emotional by the end, I won't lie, I cried my eyes out. I was exhausted, I figured I got less than 10 hours sleep the whole retreat. Compared to my usual amount,  I was about 8 hours short. It wasn't because I was sad. It was probably more like an Oprah "AH-HA" moment. 

I went to the retreat scared of a whole lot of things, and left having a better idea of what I want from photography (and life). I am EXCITED!!!

Monster - Paramore Cover

New cover! :)

Paramore's gonna play here in Indonesia on 17-19 August, and I'M SO STOKED!
So here's another cover I made, their newest single Monster,
hope you like it! :D

Review for NOS--Grape

CAFFEINE CONTENT

260 mg/16 oz. can

359 mg/22 oz. bottle

EASE IN ACQUISITION—8

Less common than the original, more so than the Fruit Punch, Charged Citrus, or Loaded Cherry flavors.  Balances out to being fairly customary in terms of commonality.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—9 (CAN); 7.5 (BOTTLE)

The NOS—Grape can follows the same basic layout as all drinks in the NOS line, just with a different color scheme.  Given the fact that I typically favor drinks clad in purple, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I like the can that NOS—Grape comes in.  It’s a kind of purple different from most that I’ve seen (electric purple), and it manages to make even that obnoxious yellow look good.  And let me tell you, it looks especially good when it’s fresh out of the refrigerator, with a fine coat of condensation covering the entirety of it…gives me the chills just thinking about it.  The bottle features a different, more standard shade of purple, which is actually not quite as aesthetically pleasing, and is not complemented by the shade of blue the bottle employs.  So…kudos to the can, the bottle…not so much.

TASTE—7

Not quite enough to win me over as a convert, but it still tastes alright.  It’s got pleasant texture to it (moderately thick, reasonably smooth, with just the right degree of tartness to it) with just a hint of something that reminds me of the traditional energy drink flavor, but not quite.  Not quite sure how to describe it, but whatever it is, it works.

16 OZ. CAN

KICK (INTENSITY)—10

I don’t think NOS actually knows how to make a weak energy drink—doubt they’ve even tried; what do you think was going through their heads when they decided to stick 260 mg of caffeine into a 16 oz. beverage?  Anyway, point is, the stuff works exceptionally well, delivering as much as could realistically be asked of an energy drink.

KICK (DURATION)—10

Once NOS—Grape (or any NOS beverage, really) gets you going, you can expect to stay that way for a while.  It takes about five or six hours after drinking it for it to wear off to any appreciable extent, and I honestly didn’t notice too much of a crash at all after the fact.

THE DRINK OVERALL—9

There’s no denying that the energy boost NOS—Grape delivers is fantastic, and for that reason I feel comfortable recommending it.  The flavor’s not going to please every palate (although it is better than most grape drinks), but given the kick it delivers, this one fault appears minor indeed.

22 OZ. BOTTLE

KICK (INTENSITY)—10

Kick you get out of the bottle is marginally stronger than the can, but not so different for me to get particularly excited.  But once again, NOS delivers in terms of longevity….

KICK (DURATION)—10+

Again, you can expect more as long as you haven’t had two bottles of NOS in the previous 72 hours, but even if you got only 8 hours of energy out of this (as I did), wouldn’t it be worth it all the same?

THE DRINK OVERALL—9.33

I like energy more than I do grape soda-esque beverages, and NOS—Grape in a bottle has energy to spare.  And if you do like these grape-inspired beverages…well, NOS—Grape’s 22 oz. bottle should be a no-brainer.

WEBSITE: drinknos.com 

KEYWORDS: NOS Grape Energy Drink review, high performance, NOS Grape 16 oz. can review, NOS Grape 22 oz. bottle review, 16 ounces, 22 ounces

Review for Xenergy Mango Guava Premium

CAFFEINE CONTENT

200 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—5

Not the easiest to come by unless you know where to look.  You actually have to make a point of looking for it, because hoping to stumble across it won't get you anywhere, as it would with other energy drinks.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—7

Xyience does about as good a job as you can ask for in terms of packaging while baring as much aluminum as possible.  I like the simplicity of the design, I like that it’s unique, and in this case I like the colors, but there’s always that connection in my mind of silver cans and watery sugar free drinks, which leads to a bit of a bias on my part.

TASTE—7

Tastes about as real as you could ask for (mangos and guavas), as with the others, but the artificial sweetener aftertaste is pretty prominent here, which takes away from the experience as a whole.

KICK (INTENSITY)—9

Definitely one of the more intense of the Xenergy drinks I’ve had so far.  It’s a good, strong kick, with plenty of jitters towards the beginning and a nice heightened alertness after the fact.

KICK (DURATION)—9

The drink’s formidability with respect to intensity is perfectly matched by its duration, which should keep you going about as long as you could realistically ask for.  Given how hard it hits and how long it keeps you going, the crash after the fact is almost understandable.

THE DRINK OVERALL—8.33

If you don’t mind artificial sweeteners and like the flavor of mango and guava, this is definitely your drink.  If you need a drink with a substantial kick that will keep you going and not give out before the job is done, this might also be your drink.  And, if you are counting calories, you have nothing to lose in drinking it.  Even if it’s not my favorite, this is still an all-around solid energy drink.

WEBSITE: www.xyience.com/index.cfm?fa=shop.beverages

KEYWORDS: Xenergy Mango Guava Premium Energy Drink review, authentic taste, official UFC energy drink, low carb, zero calories, sugar free

JULY 2011: Electric Twists

Yeay, Riots Barbie's new arrival! Do your own color-block with bold colors, electric tones & delicate cutting from this month's collection. :) Join the facebook page & get noticed for every discounts or new arrival info straight to your facebook inbox! For pricing & more info, shop here. ♥

International buyers are welcome! To see the collection on Facebook, click here. Check out our tumblr & follow our twitter too! Xx

(outifts: Riots Barbie, necklace: Antyk Butyk, shoes: Juice String)

Review for Xenergy Cran Razz Premium

CAFFEINE CONTENT

200 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—5

Hit and miss.  You’ll find most Xyience products in clusters, so there’s not really one that’s more common than the other.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—7

Still not wild about the aluminum, but the simplicity of the design with the spheres and bar codes and what not are growing on me.  Other than that, the design is dependent upon the colors of the spheres, which I like in this case.

TASTE—10

This is one of those Raiders of the Lost Ark-style beverages—the more I drink it, the more I like it, and the more my previous assessment seems inadequate.  It does actually taste like real cranberries and raspberries, but wisely understates the profound tartness of the cranberries, which could very easily prove distracting from the flavor itself.  It is a bold, full-bodied, and well-rounded flavor, and something I could easily see myself drinking on a fairly regular basis.

KICK (INTENSITY)—9.5

In terms of strength, I find very little lacking in Cran Razz Premium.  The thing that I find most impressive, however, is the fact that there’s so little wasted here—this isn’t a drink conducive to erratic, wanton buzzing.  It lies more on the functional end of the spectrum—when you need to get a lot done and don’t have the energy to do it, this is exactly the sort of drink you want to have handy.

KICK (DURATION)—10

Consistent with my previous experiences with Xyience products, the energy effect is quite long lasting—perfect, in my mind, for a long day of studying or writing a research paper on fetal alcohol syndrome, or for getting through a heck of a busy day at the clinic where you work…whatever you happen to be doing at the time.

THE DRINK OVERALL—9.83

Given my experience with Xenergy Cran Razz Premium, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we started to see Xyience break apart the mainstream energy drink monopoly and establish itself as part of the norm.  The flavor of this drink is fantastic, the kick especially effective, and, to top it all off, does all this without loading you with calories.  This is about as real an experience as an energy drink’s going to give you—if you are able to do so, I highly recommend you giving it the opportunity to work its wonders.

WEBSITE: www.xyience.com/index.cfm?fa=shop.beverages

KEYWORDS: Xenergy Cran Razz Premium Energy Drink review, authentic taste, official UFC energy drink, low carb, zero calories, sugar free

Are you depressed or bitter?

The Torah underscores the importance of joy and pushes away depression. Even though inner pain, anguish, a heavy head, and a heavy heart are all considered unhelpful and harmful matters. There is a certain type of anguish and distress which is considered as positive, and this is bitterness.

There is a saying, that unkosher meat under all circumstances can not be changed and made kosher. However, meat, when prepared in a kosher and proper way, great benefit can be derived in the service of G-d.

Depression is not kosher, and there is no redeeming value that can be drawn from it. Bitterness, although in itself, in its current state, is not positive, if directed properly it can become and be used as a catalyst to trigger for something positive.

On the face of things, it’s not easy to distinguish between the two. On the surface, both depression and bitterness cause a person pain, agony, and constriction of sorts. The great Chassidim would say, “The distance between depression and bitterness is just a hair breadth, and yet the difference between the two is like the distance between heaven and earth, holiness and impurity.

How does one distinguish between the no good, depression, and what can lead to great good, bitterness?

When a person is depressed, he has no liveliness, he is steeped, and immersed. in his unhappiness, and he has no energy. He wants to go to sleep and feels despondent. Depression is a form of death in the sense that he feels disconnected from his own life.

On the other hand, when someone is experiencing bitterness, there is life and energy. Not the happy type to be sure, but the person feels a subtle anger, an urgency, and desire for things to be different. This, has the potential to trigger a change and improvement from the current state of affairs.

The difference between the two, depression and bitterness can be clearly seen in the way a person reacts to life events. If a person’s house should burn down, and let’s say there was no insurance to cover his loss, this is clearly not a happy event to dance and be joyful about. A depressed person puts his hands up in the air despondent and in hopelessness. It’s too overwhelming, and he gives up. While the person who is bitter about what’s happening, will start yelling for the fire extinguishers to take the fire out. Although, he is not happy with what’s happening, he is bitter; he is full of energy, life, and liveliness which gets him on the move to do something.

The underlying reason between the two is fundamental.

The reason for depression is an extreme and extra ordinary focus on one’s self. Everything revolves and is interpreted around the person himself. Any shortcoming, deficiencies, and mistakes somehow always comeback to the person. In depression, the focus on oneself ultimately makes the person only about themselves, small, and insignificant which leads to self implosion.

While someone who is outwardly focused on serving his G-dly purpose, his mission and purpose in life, when it’s all about what can I do to serve, and to be of some positive use in the world around me, this outward focus will always make the person a bigger individual and will bring to achievement, self worth and happiness.

It is impossible to overcome the evil inclination when one is lazy and heavy which comes from being depressed. Only when a person is filled with life, energy, and enthusiasm, joy from seeing all the good there is around them, will they have the energy to succeed over all internal battles.

Review for NOS--Fruit Punch

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CAFFEINE CONTENT

260 mg/16 oz. can

359 mg/22 oz. bottle

EASE IN ACQUISITION—5

So you’re probably wondering why I’m reviewing one of the variants of an original before I review the original, which is not a habit of mine—well, it’s because around here, every retailer seems to be trying to get rid of the NOS Fruit Punch flavor as quick as they can to make room for something that will sell better.  Finally found a place that carried cans that wouldn’t expire in three days, so I picked it up so as to be able to review it at a later time.  And here I am, reviewing it on a later date as it becomes increasingly scarce.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—7 (CAN); 9 (BOTTLE)

I like the red with the standard NOS template, but there’s something I find quite disagreeable about that shade of yellow with the red on the can…or maybe it's just the yellow.  I don’t know what it is…for some reason it just doesn’t work in my mind.  Still, it looks alright if you hold it such that you don’t see that antagonistic yellow shade in back.  The bottle doesn’t have that problem, and for that gets an extra point.  And for being in that awesome bottle.

TASTE—7

Much better than some of the fruit punch drinks I’ve had—not quite as sweet, decidedly less gummy, with a little more emphasis on the sour than most.  Still not quite enough to win me as a convert…but hey, I’ve got Venom Energy—Death Adder for that.

16 OZ. CAN

KICK (INTENSITY)—10

It’s…intense.  They’re not kidding when they call this a “High Performance” energy drink.  It was kind of slow to get started, but once I was going, I did have the impression of being in a Lamborghini doing 200 down the interstate from Pocatello to Twin Falls.  Something interesting was that the tiredness was still present, but only in the same way a guy being dragged behind the Lamborghini by a rope around his ankles screaming effeminately at the top of his lungs is still present.  Eventually lost it, though, and from that point there was no stopping me.

KICK (DURATION)—10

NOS—Fruit Punch has some pretty impressive mileage (okay, no more vehicular references…until the next NOS product review, at least)…it kept me going for a good five hours at least before I started to burn out.  There was a bit of a crash at the end there, but nothing especially out of the ordinary.

THE DRINK OVERALL—9

Lovers of the run-of-the-mill fruit punch flavor, rejoice!  This is your drink.  Even if you don’t, the flavor is still passable, and it's a drink that's definitely worth taking down if you really need something hardcore to keep you going…I can guarantee it will do at least that much.

22 OZ. BOTTLE

KICK (INTENSITY)—10

I got the same effect from this bottle as I did the bottle of the original—very intense, but not insanely so.  Fortunately, it’s got the longevity thing going for it also.

KICK (DURATION)—10+

I drank this only a few days after the bottle of the original, so I was a little desensitized to the caffeine—I got only 8 hours out of it.  Frick, listen to me—EIGHT HOURS.  Even if I wasn’t certain that it’ll deliver the same effect as the original as long as you’re not taking them down one day after the other, that’s still a lot of energy!  So…unless you’re really going overboard on the caffeine as of late, as I was, anticipate a full day of energy.

THE DRINK OVERALL—9.33-ish

I’m thinking I’ll be averaging the 10+ rating as I would an 11, but I might change my mind about that in the future.  Bottom line: this is a very potent bevarage with a singularly long-lived kick.  Like fruit punch as much as you do energy?  Freak, get a bottle of NOS—Fruit Punch already!

WEBSITE: drinknos.com 

KEYWORDS: NOS Fruit Punch Energy Drink review, high performance, NOS Fruit Punch 16 oz. can review, NOS Fruit Punch 22 oz. bottle review, 16 ounces, 22 ounces

Review for Monster Nitrous--Black Ice

CAFFEINE CONTENT

135 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—5

Not a lot of locations carry Monster Nitrous—Black Ice, significantly fewer than those that carry the other three.  Given how long I’ve seen the others sitting on the shelves, I’m guessing they’re wary about having another Nitrous product collecting dust on their shelves forever.  Plan on having to hunt it down.

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—9

Same Monster Nitrous template, except with a background that’s their most chaotic yet—dark and light blues in a pattern that reminiscent of a blizzard.  This sort of thing is good when your slogan is “Unleash the Nitro Beast”—going by the packaging alone,  one almost feels inclined to believe that it may do just that.

TASTE—10

As will all Nitrous products, opening the battery-shaped 12-oz can produced an alarming, borderline violent release of pressure…I will weep if Monster releases another Nitrous product; I just know that one day I will pick up a can that somebody has shaken up and will lose my hand when I open it.  But I digress.  Took my first sip, and…wow.  This stuff is way good; light years better than I ever thought a zero calorie drink would manage to be.  The taste is of raspberries (whether blue or not, I have no idea…is there actually a difference between the flavor of blue and red raspberries?), in all of their tart, delectable glory—every bit as real as though they had been macerated and put straight into the can with a shot of caffeine.  And you know that annoying artificial sweetener taste you get with a lot of those other sugar free/zero calorie/whatever drinks?  Hardly any to speak of—that trademark Monster Nitrous smoothness takes over before any such aftertaste can have an appreciable effect.  Well played, Monster Energy Company…very well played….

KICK (INTENSITY)—7

The kick isn’t precisely stellar; as with many it just takes you to the point of being decidedly awake, which is sometimes all you really need.  Might not be my first choice if I’m looking for something really stout, but for most everything else it will still do a satisfactory job.

KICK (DURATION)—8

Longevity was above the arbitrary average, even though I’m starting to find that more and more drinks are above said average—I may need to raise the bar a bit.  All the same, the drink has nothing to be ashamed of in this regard, and I’d trust it to keep me going in most situations where I need a reasonably long-lasting boost.

THE DRINK OVERALL—8.33

To sum things up, Monster Nitrous—Black Ice is unquestionably the best of the Monster Nitrous line.  The flavor is spectacular, even for a Nitrous drink, and it delivers a reasonably effective kick, especially compared to the rest.  This is one I'd really love to be able to find as easily as most other Monster Energy products.

WEBSITE: monsterenergy.com

KEYWORDS: Monster Nitrous Black Ice Energy Drink review, nitrous oxide, extra strength nitrous technology, zero calories, zero sugar, sugar free