MAYrathon 2.0 Day 20 - Pac-Man Power Up Energy Drink

Really quick one today. I am off to the casino with my brother and need to get a little caffeine boost before hitting the road. Which brings me to today's drink - Pac-Man Power Up Energy Drink. Now I've seen, and tasted, a few of these video game celebrity endorsed drinks before. There's Sonic, Mario, Street Fighter, Donkey Kong, etc. And they all come from the same company - The Boston American Corp. I have a feeling they all taste the same too. Like a generic Red Bull most likely.

Well let's get right to it cuz I gotta get on the road. I crack it open and, yep, it smells like a generic red bull. Taste? Energy Drink flavor. That's all I can describe it as. It's an easily crushable 8 oz can and it's not awful, but nothing exciting. People buy these kinds of products because of the celebrity and not the taste. Just ask Hulk Hogan and his Pastamania.

MAYrathon Day 15: Popeye Energy - Clobberin' Clementine

I'm tired; this extra long week really kicked my ass. I really looked forward to having this Sunday off to accomplish some things, but I've just been sitting and staring like a sleepy zombie for the last several hours. I need something to really jolt me into action. I need SPINACH! Or at least an energy drink based on a guy who eats spinach! It's Popeye Energy. My feelings on Popeye have always been - he exists. I never loved him and I never hated him. He's certainly been around for awhile, and the chubby burger guy was sorta funny, but much like "The Simpsons," I feel like it's past its prime. However, I'll still drink his celebrity endorsed soda that I shelled out an extra four bucks for!

Here's what the can says on the back: "Strong to the finish! When you've had all ya can stands and ya can't stands no more, grab some of me bestest energy blend and get back in tha' ring!" That was a real test of my sanity to try and type in Popeye's atrocious grammar. I looked online and there are apparently four different unique flavors of Popeye energy, all made to spoken of with a mourh full of marbles. There's Bruiser Blackberry, Anchorin' Apple, 'Low Me Down Lemon Mint, and the one I picked up, Clobberin' Clementine. There are so many red spelling error messages popping up online right now. It's not ME internet, It's POPEYE!!! Anyway, I chose this one (actually I didn't even see the other three flavors) because I've never had a clementine flavored pop or energy drink, so it definitely spoke to me. The can also goes on to say that it "contains 70% juice, natural caffeine, nothing artificial and an excellent source of vitamins B and C." I'm impressed that it has 70% juice; that's pretty high for an energy drink. Finally, they recommend two cans per day which...I'd like to see the doctor who would advise that.

So let's try this Bluto Bustin' Beverage. I open it up and it's got a great citrus scent. I take a few sips and...well blow me down! It's pretty damn delicious. For an energy drink, it's clean, crisp, refreshing and not bitter like a Red Bull or Monster. I would 100% buy this again. And I'm already feeling more awake and refreshed. Time to go think about doing laundry some more!

Milo: Chocolate Nutritional Energy Drink

Well...this one's been in my fridge for months and it about to expire, so what the hell? It's Milo time. (Get it? Like Miller Time? Get it?). At first I thought this was a celebrity endorsed beverage by some famous soccer player named Milo, but I was terribly wrong. It's an amalgamation of different countries that you rarely hear together in a conversation. It originated in Australia in the 1930s as a powdered product, is distributed in energy drink form by the American company, Nestle, is manufactured in Malaysia, is most popular in Singapore, and was found in the Mexican section of my local grocery store. Dear God, Milo - how many cultures put their blood, sweat and tears into making this can just so a fat, white kid can make fun of it?

Appearance:
Milo is still mostly consumed around the world in its powdered form (much like Nestle Quick), but we're lucky enough here in the states to enjoy the green 8oz can of pure milk juice. The fancy can also features not famous not soccer player, Milo celebrating his huge milk drinking victory. I looked on Wikipedia to see how it was made, but it was quite literally an entire essay of information including words like hygroscopic, theobromine, and thick opaque syrup obtained from malted wheat barley. Yep. On second thought, I don't need to know how it's made. Let's drink.



Smell/First Sip:
I crack it open and DAMMIT, I forgot to shake well! If it sucks, it's on me this time. It smells a lot like Nestle Quick. And seeing as it's made from the same company, it's probably the exact same thing with caffeine. (here goes) It's quite chocolaty and is quite a bit thicker than I imagined it would be. The best thing I can compare it to would be if you leave your chocolate ice cream out in the sun and try and sip up the soupy remains. It's tasty, but I still don't feel like playing soccer.

Drinkability:
It's been around since the 30s, so who am I to judge? But I definitely think it's strangely marketed. This is a tasty chocolate drink more akin to being the awesome thing the cool kid sneaks over at a sleepover for eight year olds. When I was a kid and my friends and I would create our own energy drinks to stay up, it would usually end up tasting something like this. I certainly don't see a fit athlete swiggin' some Milo and then scoring the winning soccer goal, but who knows, maybe things are different in Singapore/Australia/Malaysia/Mexico. Who am I to say?

Overall: 
It's no thirst quencher, but I like the taste. Now that I've had my Milo, I'm off to play some soccer with the Quick Bunny and Stuart Little. Until next time friends.