Energy Drinks

Best Energy Drinks

The real test of what constitutes the "best" energy drink is whether the drink delivers the energy boost it promises with few side effects. Taste also matters. If the drink is considered good value and it's healthy, that makes it an even better pick.

Red Bull (*est. $2.20 for 8.3 oz.) introduced the energy drink craze to the United States; it's still the best-selling energy drink in America, and the energy drink by which all others are measured. Interestingly enough, Red Bull is made in Austria and then shipped around the world. Red Bull contains sugars, 80 mg of caffeine (for the 8.3-oz. size), taurine and B vitamins, but no added herbal stimulants. It receives middle-range to high reviews from the websites that specialize in energy drink reviews, with some reviewers expressing hesitancy to criticize the energy drink that created a whole category of drinks. Red Bull also makes Red Bull Sugar Free (*est. $2.20 for 8.3 oz.) . Taste test results are also lackluster. William Grimes, in his review for The New York Times, writes: "The drink looks like weak beer and has a lemony flavor, pleasant enough but not very distinctive."

Monster Energy (*est. $2 for 16 oz.) is one of the best-selling energy drinks in the U.S. Several reviewers mention it as the energy drink to try after Red Bull because the taste and energy boost are similar to Red Bull, yet it comes in a can that is twice the size for about the same price. Monster Energy has 54 grams of sugars, 160 mg of caffeine and 2,000 mg of taurine. The Energy Drink Ratings blog says that this sweet-tasting citrus drink has a good kick and gives you good taste for the money. Monster also makes a variety of other flavors including Monster Energy Lo-Carb (*est. $2 for 16 oz.) which reviews say provides a decent energy kick.

Another best-selling energy drink, SoBe No Fear (*est. $2.30 for 16 oz.), gets mixed reviews for taste and energy. Jason Hargett at ScreamingEnergy.com feels the taste is too fruit flavored, while the Energy Drink Ratings blog thinks it tastes very good and has a nice kick with no jitter effects. SoBe No Fear contains 66 grams of sugars, 174 mg of caffeine and 2,000 mg of taurine per 16-ounce can. SoBe makes several additional flavors of energy drinks, including SoBe Adrenaline Rush, the best-tasting energy drink in William Grimes' roundup of thirteen drinks.

5-Hour Energy ( (*est. $2.50 for 2 ounces) scores well with reviewers for energy kick. The Energy Drink Ratings blog and RateItAll rank 5-Hour Energy highly, and it has the most user ratings (over 1,400) of any energy drink at Screaming Energy. 5-Hour Energy is packaged in 2-ounce shots, packing in an estimated 100 mg of caffeine per shot, or the equivalent of a cup of coffee, plus 2,000% of the daily value for vitamin B6 and 8,333% of the daily value of vitamin B12. 5-Hour Energy is sweetened with sucralose and contains zero net carbohydrates. 5-Hour Energy is not made with additional herbal stimulants, but it does contain amino acids, and includes taurine. One reviewer calls 5-Hour Energy "little more than a shot of vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, with a caffeine chaser." But unlike most energy drinks, 5-Hour Energy is a low-calorie drink (4 calories). The company now produces 5-Hour Energy Decaf (*est. $2.50 per 2-oz. container), which contains a gentler blend of B vitamins and only 6 mg of caffeine; about as much as half a cup of decaffeinated coffee. The company makes much of the fact that 5-Hour Energy doesn't need to be refrigerated in order to taste good, unlike most conventional brands of energy drinks.

Among the top-selling brands, Rockstar (*est. $2.20 for 16 oz.) performs best on the blogs, slightly outperforming best-selling Red Bull (*est. $2.20 for 8.3 oz.) and SoBe No Fear (*est. $2.30 for 16 oz.). One 16-ounce can contains 160 mg of caffeine and 1,000 milligrams of taurine, as well as 62 grams of sugars, with guarana, ginseng and other herbal extracts as stimulants. The company has expanded from the original formula to offer other energy drinks including Rockstar Sugar Free (originally called Rockstar Diet , $2.30 for 16 ounces) , Rockstar Zero Carb (*est. $2 for 16 ounces) several flavors of Rockstar Juiced (*est. $2 for 16 ounces) and Rockstar Punched (*est. $2 for 16 ounces). Rockstar Punched is particularly well-regarded by reviewers. Drink Addict rates it in its top five, and Energy Drink Guru says "this stuff rocks." Rockstar Punched contains 240 mg of caffeine and 2,000 milligrams of taurine along with 62 grams of sugars and herbal extracts. Many of the different flavors of Rockstar are also available in 8-ounce and 24-ounce cans.

In his review for Slate, Sam Eifling likes Rockstar Cola (discontinued) best: "Out of the dozens of cans I mowed through, Rockstar Cola is the only drink that offers that feeling of physical exuberance you expect from an energy drink. And it's the only one I'd actually want to consume again anytime soon." William Grimes samples the regular Rockstar flavor. He writes, "It's a middling sort of drink, with a bubble gum aroma and a pleasant enough, bland citrus flavor."

Another well-liked, punch-style energy drink is BooKoo Energy Punch (*est. $2.10 for 16 ounces) . Jason Hargett of Screaming Energy likes its lightly carbonated taste and gives it the 2007 Screaming Energy award for most original. The Taurine Rules blog says that BooKoo Energy Punch is the fruit punch energy drink "by which all others are measured against." On the other hand, the Energy Drink Guru gives it a thumbs-down, saying it tastes metallic and left his mouth feeling dry. BooKoo Energy Punch contains 58 grams of sugars, 2,060 milligrams of taurine, ginseng, B vitamins and 240 mg of caffeine in a 16-ounce can.

Sugar-free energy drinks are a growing part of the energy drink market, with many drink companies introducing sugar-free or zero-carb versions of their energy drinks. Rockstar Zero Carb (*est. $2 for 16 ounces) is well-reviewed by the specialized energy drink websites. Jason Hargett at Screaming Energy says that as of the time of his review, "this may be the best overall single energy drink on the market." The Taurine Rules blog says, "this is the go to, easy to find, sugar free, no carbs energy drink." Rockstar Zero Carb has no sugars, but it does have 240 mg of caffeine; 50% more than the original Rockstar formula. An added-energy blend has 2,000 mg of taurine per can, plus green tea.

Dan Mayer, on his energy drink blog, lists Go Girl Sugar Free (*est. $1.70 for a 12-ounce can) at the very top of his list of all-time best energy drinks. This energy drink has no sugar, but does contain taurine and B vitamins. A portion of all Go Girl proceeds go toward breast cancer research. Go Girl Sugar Free is mainly distributed in California at this time, and may be hard to find in other parts of the U.S.

The thing that separates Guru Lite (*est. $2 for an 8.3-oz. can) from other sugar-free energy drinks is that it uses several all natural low-calorie sweeteners -- cane and luo han guo juice concentrates along with stevia -- in place of sugar or artificial sweeteners. The Taurine Rules blog also notes that Guru Lite does not contain sodium benzoate, a preservative found in almost all energy drinks and sodas. Guru Lite has ten calories per can. Interestingly, the Canadian version of Guru Lite is sweetened with sucralose.

In the last year, a number of all-natural energy drinks have come onto the marketplace. The Taurine Rules blog profiles close to a hundred such drinks. Most of these drinks are juices first and foremost, with a few all-natural forms of caffeine thrown in. Kaboom (*est. $2.50 for an 8-oz. can) is, according to their website, the first USDA-certified organic energy juice. Steaz Energy Fuel (*est. $1.20 for a 12-oz. can) is sweetened with cane juice, contains no taurine and is certified organic. BevNET named Steaz Energy as co-winner of its Best Energy Drink Award of 2007. Big drink maker SoBe comes in with SoBe Essential Energy Orange (*est. $2.30 for a 16-oz. can). PepsiCo-owned Naked Juice All Natural Energy 100% Juice Fruit Smoothies (*est. $2.50 for a 15.2-oz. bottle) comes in Strawberry Kiwi Kick and Orange Mango Motion flavors. Each contains 42 grams of sugars from the juice itself, and guarana and green tea for the 81.7 mg of caffeine in every square plastic bottle.

Syzmo Prickly Pear Energy Drink (*est. $2.80 for 12 ounces) is another award-winning, all-natural energy drink. Syzmo energy drinks are co-winners with Steaz as winner of the BevNET 2007 Best Energy Drink Award. The Taurine Rules blog calls this a "great organic energy drink that will not disappoint." Syzmo Prickly Pear contains 30 grams of sugars and 120 mg of caffeine in a 12-oz. can. Other ingredients include B vitamins, coffee, fruit, guarana, green tea and yerba mate. In general, reviewers seem to prefer the Syzmo drinks slightly more than those from Steaz.

Important Features: Energy drinks

Despite the popularity of energy drinks, many medical experts are concerned about the quantities and combinations of some ingredients in them. Energy drinks provide their kick mostly with sugar and caffeine along with additional ingredients (amino acids, herbals, stimulants, B vitamins) whose effects remain untested.

When buying energy drinks, here's what the experts say to be aware of:

• Know how much caffeine you're consuming. It probably won't be on the label, so try to look it up on the manufacturer's website or one of the blog sites we've listed for this report. The Energy Fiend website has a database of caffeine content for many different beverages. The generally accepted upper limit of caffeine consumption per day for an adult is 300 mg. Determine the total amount of caffeine that would be consumed per can or bottle, not per 8-ounce serving as listed on the container. An 8-ounce serving size is useful for comparing energy drinks sold in various sizes, but not as useful in the real world where you drink the entire container.

• Be aware of your limits. How many cups of brewed coffee can you drink in a given time frame before you get jittery? Figure out how much caffeine that would be and then stay below those limits with energy drinks.

• Don't be sucked into buying a drink because of the fancy-sounding herbal ingredients on the label. Experts consider them marketing hype. None of them have been tested for effectiveness. The amounts included are usually so small that they may have no effect at all.

• Do some self-administered energy drink testing. In a safe environment, drink a can of an unmixed, undiluted energy drink and gauge over the next few hours how you're affected. You will soon realize which drinks agree with you and which don't, and which ones provide you with a real boost and which won't.

• A growing trend is to mix energy drinks with alcohol. Red Bull cocktails are increasingly popular in metropolitan bars. Many medical experts feel that because alcohol is a depressant and caffeine is a stimulant, the burst of energy from the caffeine will make you feel less intoxicated than you really are, and possibly lead you to drink more alcohol than you intended. Also, both alcohol and caffeine are diuretics and may lead to dehydration.

• Drinking an energy drink before exercising may not be a good idea. Caffeine speeds up the heart, reduces its blood supply and over-stimulates the nervous system. Other ingredients may produce unwanted effects on the body.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of picks	Model (with retailer links)	Details from Amazon.com
3	BooKoo (*est. $2.10 for 16 ounces)	details
2	5-Hour Energy (*est. $2.50 for 2 ounces)	details
1 each	Wired X05, Fixx Energy, Hype MFP, Vim & Vigor Citrus, Who's Your Daddy , Shock Triple Mocha, Shock Triple Latte, Spark , SoBe No Fear, SoBe Adrenaline Rush, NOS, Hyper Enlite, Jet Blue, Upshot Fruit, Rip It Chic, Go Girl Sugar Free, Orange Tangerine Jeff Gordon 24 Energy, Joker, Diesel, Hansens Deuce, Crunk , Pimpjuice Purple Label, Monster , Monster Irish Cream, Rockstar Punched, Rockstar Energy Cola , Liquid Ice , Red Bull , XS

Because of the huge number of energy drinks on the market, hardly any reviewers top-rate the same brands. In choosing products for ConsumerSearch Fast Answers, we cross-referenced picks in reviews with other websites and enthusiast blogs. Red Bull is mentioned in nearly every review but is rarely top-rated, despite its best-seller status. 5-Hour Energy is better regarded than most because it has only four calories, no sugar and 100 mg of caffeine -- less than most -- yet it still gets good reviews. For flavor, three varieties of BooKoo pop up as best in reviews, including the fruit punch variety. Other picks are less defined.

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