🔌Review - Red Bull Red Edition

🔌Review - Red Bull Red Edition - Watermelon

This watermelon iteration of Red Bull seeks to add a summer fresh flavor to their energy drink range. Coming in both 8.4 and 12oz services, Red Bull Red Edition Watermelon has the same b-vitamins and taurine as other offerings in the portfolio. Since its introduction in 2020, reception has generally been favorable and it has replaced the cranberry flavor as bearing the "Red Bull Red Edition" name. Note that it is typically a summer release, though you may see it on slower moving shelves throughout the year.

🍵Caffeine: 114mg, less than a cup of coffee

👅Flavor: Sparking and surprisingly juicy with a little bit of a citric acid tang. The flavor has both the pink melon flesh as well as a little bit of rind vegetative freshness, impressive for something that doesn't include any fruit juice whatsoever. You can definitely tell there are 26 grams of sugar ironing out any taste bumps, but they can't quite eclipse a sight metallic aftertaste.

🏆Rating: 3 - Good, Decent - A fairly well done riff on watermelon, a flavor that is very easy to overdo. There is enough bite to keep the sweetness in check, though it is a little more sugary than I would prefer. I could see this being an outstanding mixer if you're the type to mix uppers and downers (do at your own risk). For me, it's not one I would reach for often, but I can see how it would be popular.

⚖️Scale:

1 | Bad | Don't Drink it | I Wouldn't Drink it

2 | Poor | I would drink it if there was nothing else or it was free

3 | Good | Serviceable | Buy it on sale

4 | Great | A Cut Above | White Monster | Buy at full price

5 | Excellent | Standout in the Category | Pay venue prices

☕ All Java Monster Flavors Tasted & Ranked

As a habitual caffeine abuser, I have a soft spot for Monster, both for their expansive lineup of flavors as well as their support for Sports and E-sports. Coffee is my standard caffeination vector, so the Java Monster suite of products is the perfect mix of bean flavor and energy boost. In this post, I'll provide my personal rankings and rationale for what is a very strong lineup. Note that I have not been compensated in any way for this write-up... I just like them. Currently, Monster Energy 's Java Monster lineup has five available flavors: Mean Bean - Vanilla Irish Crème Loca Mocha - Chocolate Salted Caramel Café Latte There are two "triple shot" versions of the Vanilla and Mocha which contain 300mg of caffeine though their flavors are very similar to the base versions above. At this point, we should also take a moment of silence for the two cold brew flavors, sweet black and nitro latte. The nitro latte was a personal favorite and I quite liked the sweet black,...

🥃Review #15 Costco's Kirkland Small Batch Bourbon

Costco's liquor store is a thing of beauty. While not every Kirkland edition is a hit, there are enough standouts on a fun per dollar ratio to always merit a look. Almost all of the house brands are less than $30, and I'm always excited to take a long shot when the new seasonal releases come around. 📚 Background: Distilled by Barton 1792 in Bardstown Kentucky, Kirkland Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey hits the shelves a few times a year. Mine was from batch 1124. The bottle presentation is supposed to evoke the same feel as other small batch whiskeys and there is a decorative purity seal that is reminiscent of the ever reliable bottled in bond green filigree, albeit in a meaningless red. Unlike its bonded brethren, this edition comes in under 100 proof and does not have any age statement. There's not a whole lot of additional information provided by Costco or the distiller, but we can reasonably assume that it shares a similar pedigree as the entry level 1792...

🔌Review - Phorm Energy - Grape Smash

A purple explosion from triple threat partnership Phorm Energy, Grape Smash was one of the initial flavors in the company's drink portfolio. Phorm is the progeny of 1st Phorm nutrition, UFC's Dana White, and beer giant Anheuser-Busch. The brand focuses on a patriotic and blue-collar vibe with slogans like "We do the work" and flavors like " Screamin' Freedom ". 1st Phorm performs extensive product testing and all Phorm products are produced only in facilities that are FDA inspected, SQF Level-3 certified, & cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) compliant. 🛒 Price: $1 at Kroger, typically $2-3 per can in most formats. Available in 12 oz can 4-packs and 16oz. singles or 12 packs. ✨Calories: 15 , 16oz. can 🍵 Caffeine: 200mg, on par with Celsius (little less per volume), sourced from green tea extract. The 12oz. format has 150mg of caffeine. 👅 Flavor: This is the classic natural flavors grape that you're probably used to from Fanta or oth...

🍺 Review - The Heineken Draught Keg - A Modern Marvel

Consuming almost seven years of robust internal research and development, the Heineken Draught Keg or "party keg" hit stores in Europe in 2005, waiting another seven years till it was introduced to the U.S. in 2012. Their goal was simple: satisfy consumers who have a preference for draught beer from the comfort of their own homes. Why do people prefer draught beer? There are a number of reasons but the main contributor to draught's supremacy is texture. The foam bubbles on top of a draft beer are a uniform 0.8 to 0.9 millimeters in diameter owing to the carbon dioxide pressure used to push the liquid through the keg system. Bottled beer has to be dumped quickly to create a head and produces bubbles that are a good deal bigger, 2 or 3 millimeters across. Bigger bubbles dissipate more quickly, while the small bubbles persist and produce creamy mouthfeel. Some keg systems use nitrogen or a blend of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in their beer gas which may further promote a r...

🥃Review 53: Costco's Kirkland 15YR Highland Single Malt Scotch 2025

The 2025 release of Costco's Kirkland 15-year Highland Scotch hit shelves in late January and is a recurring installment on an annual cadence. The first pallet to hit my local store sold out almost immediately. Thankfully, we got two more shipments at one pallet each that hung around a bit longer and I was able to snag a bottle. Like in previous years, this Highland Scotch is finished in sherry casks. Alexander Murray & Co. is the bottler with MISA imports out of Texas bringing it to the States for consumption (Costco's standard sourcing pattern for Scotch). The bottle has a nice heft to it and there is an ensconced Alexander Murray Lion adding some nice texture to the front of the bottle. Steve Lipp, CEO of Alexander Murray, calls it "Perfect for after dinner drinking." All-in-all, this shows an attempt to elevate the product and presentation from the ubiquitous blends and non-age stated iterations you'll sometimes find under the Kirkland label. Neither Alex...

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