🔌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:

🥃Review 92: 1.75L Costco's Kirkland Kentucky Bourbon 2026

Costco has historically worked with Barton 1792 for it's bourbon line, putting out a small batch , bottled-in-bond , and single barrel edition in liter bottles in waves over the last few years. This new 1.75L edition debuted in Spring of 2026 and mysteriously lacks a named distiller. The label proudly states that it was distilled and aged in Bardstown, Kentucky before being bottled in Columbia, Tennessee by DC Flynt MY Domaines & Estates (never heard of them). Flynt appear to be more wine focused and have led a number of wine bottlings for Costco historically in addition to some Gins. Distilleries at scale in Bardstown include Jim Beam, Barton 1792, Heaven Hill (though primary production is at Bernheim in Louisville), Lux Row, Willet, and Bardstown Bourbon Company. I doubt it is Barton 1792 since they proudly label their existing collaboration and I suspect it may be a producer without a 1.75L bottling line (would justify the move better than just adding logistics for ...

☕ 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,...

🎮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...

🎮🥃 Call of Duty Zombies: Perk-a-Cola Cocktail Recipes

With yet another Call of Duty release on the horizon, we have assembled a collection of Perk-a-Cola themed cocktail recipes to help you get your zombies gaming session kicked off in just the right way. Be sure to check out our Zombies Drinking Game Rules as these recipes make for a great companion. Recipe Overview In general, these recipes attempt to mimic the color and feel of each perk-a-cola. Dark liquors can be swapped interchangeably to your liking and you can substitute vodka or light rum for gin if needed. To lower the calories, you can use sparkling water of a complementary flavor. Alternatively, you could use hard seltzer to up the alcohol content. Use ice aggressively to fill up to 12oz. To little ice and it will melt faster and provide too much dilution while cooling the drink. All of these can be scaled to make a pitcher, just stir extra where it says to shake. Always drink responsibly. 1. Jugger-Nog Boost your health pool with a bracing and creamy cocktail...

🔌Review - Costco's Kirkland Sparkling Energy Drink - Orange

Released earlier this year in 2026, the Kirkland Sparkling Energy Drink lineup features three flavors: Orange, Tropical, and Peach. The style, ingredients, and caffeine content seem to be talking aim directly at recent CPG success, Celsius Energy. It echoes that brands "clean" veneer with no high fructose corn syrup, GMO ingredients, or artificial colorings. 🛒 Price: $16.99/24 ~$.7/each - Costco. Celsius is normally around $20/12 without sales, so figure around 95 cents savings per can vs. full sticker which is around 58% savings. Celsius is showing up frequently on sale around $15 now but that's still not nearly enough to reach parity. ✨Calories: 10 , 12oz. can 🍵 Caffeine: 200mg, around a third more than a cup of coffee, more than Monster and Red Bull - similar to Celsius. 👅 Flavor: Very effervescent, I get tons of bubbles - close to Red Bull and more than Celsius. It does have a thinner mouthfeel vs Monster Ultra and Red Bull on balance whi...

Castle & Cairn

Search This Blog