🔌Review - Monster Energy

🔌Review - Monster Energy - Ultra Violet

First released back in 2016, this purple retro themed can probably has you thinking "grape" and you'd be right! The can art is vaguely 1970s themed with paisley and kaleidoscope designs. Ultra Violet seeks to combine the traditional citrus tingle and effervescence of the Ultra family with a sweet red grape. How does it hold up?

🛒Price: $17.99/15 - Amazon with 40% subscribe and save coupon

✨Calories: 10, 16oz. can

🍵Caffeine: 140mg, slightly less than a cup of coffee

👅Flavor: On the tongue, it is a lot of what you might expect from a Monster Ultra family member. The grape definitely takes a backseat and hits after the initial tangerine and grapefruit citrus tingle. It is reasonably bubbly but the conflicting flavors mute out some of the cleanliness of the experience. Most other grape beverages are sugary and syrupy, providing more of an illusion of body/thickness, which makes this seem unexpectedly lighter, a playful prickle with a purple fruit undertone.

🧪Ingredients: Around the same as the rest of Monster's Ultra editions.

Sweeteners: Erythritol & Sucralose (Standard Ultra blend).
Energy Blend: Taurine, L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, Caffeine (140mg), Panax Ginseng, and Inositol.
B-Vitamins: B3 (250% DV), B5 (400% DV), B6 (220% DV), and B12 (490% DV).

🏆Rating: 3 - Good - It's solid but overall falls short of the clean execution of Ultra Zero and other flavors in the portfolio. I could do with less of the citrus and more grape. If you like the tangerine+grape combo, it may be a niche hit for you, but otherwise I'd look to other variants.

⚖️Scale:

🎮Call of Duty Zombies: The Drinking Game - Rules

Since its introduction in Call of Duty: World at War , Call of Duty Zombies has been a PvE staple for gamers everywhere and has appeared in many subsequent titles. In this post, we'll explore rules for turning a game of round-based zombies into a lovely drinking session. As with all drinking games, set limits before you begin and be sure to conduct yourself both legally and responsibly. Preparation To play the game, you'll need the following in addition to an internet connection, gaming device, and Call of Duty: A Party Sipper of your Choice - I recommend something relatively low ABV. We balanced the rules for a player of moderate ability and a sipper of 4-8% alcohol. Light beer is my go-to here since it has enough lovely hydrating waters to help stave off some small sadness. A Couple of Shots - I would pre-pour a couple of shots to have on hand. Again, lower end of ABV which for shots likely means 80 proof. Kirkland Canadian Whiskey, Tito's Vodka, or Lunazul Tequila wo...

🥃Review 29: Costco's Kirkland Canadian Whisky - Is it Crown Royal?

Awarded 91 points and a gold medal by the Beverage Tasting Institute, Kirkland Canadian Whisky is known a great value and many in the popular culture have alleged that it is repackaged Crown Royal due to its relative quality for the price. But is it? 📚 Background: Kirkland first introduced their line of spirits in the 1990s and has expanded their offerings over time. While I wasn't able to find a first release date for this product, the first TTB label in the COLA database is from 2016. The whisky is imported for Costco by Wide World Importers in Louisville Kentucky. Digging a bit further reveals that Wide World Importers is an alternative name for SAZERAC . For me, this conclusively busts the popular myth that Kirkland Canadian is made by Crown Royal (a Diageo property). Sazerac has a number of Canadian Whisky brands in-house, including: Rich & Rare Reserve ($19.99 for 1.75L - No Age Statement), Seagram's VO ($22.99 for 1.75L - Aged Six Years),...

☕ 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...

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