I Love Rip It. Fruit Bomb is another in the long line of products I have reviewed. They were one of the first drinks I wrote about way back in 2008. I have tried over a half dozen diffeerent kinds of Rip it, and love each cheesy variation. Sometimes they have been clever - like putting aluminum foil on the top, and even have their own energy shot line. I love it that after all this time, they are still finding a way to keep kicking - even if it is regulated to warehouses and dollar stores.
Packaging:
As much as I am a broncos fan, the pastel orange on pastel blue is just off putting. Add to that the drink flavor and image being so poorly conceived it actually makes you laugh, and you are in for a real treat of a $1 wonder drink. The flavor name is written in multicolored worms - kinda squishy ones at that. I guess they tried to update it from the old look, but got their 9 year old kid to draw the letters. There is a stock illustration of fruit, I think. There was definitely a pineapple on it at least. However, they did do quite a few things exceptionally well.
First, it did not spring a leak - something important when reviewing discount beverages. It also held itself into more or less a can shape. Even more surprisingly, it both listed the caffeine content and double faced the can - something even Monster or Red Bull seem to have never learned to do. SO this can provides not only the funny, but also performs remarkably.
Taste:9
I think the bombs refer to the explosive burping i expelled. I am not really a heavy burper - but this stuff had me so full of gas I felt like I was hosting the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Fortunately, it all escaped out my mouth, or I would have been laying another type of Fruit Bomb around the office.
I was thinking I wold be drinking a fruit punch, as it is called Fruit Bomb. However, it really has not as berry as I would have imagined. Instead, this is almost exactly what you get by carbonating and caffeinating the heavy syrup left in the jar of fruit cocktail. The cloying fake sweetness is there - the thick consistancy and the almost chlorinated aroma - it is a taste and smell which will bring you back to school cafeterias and summer camps. I know the flavor does not really make much sense, but I enjoyed the citric sweetness. No, it is not healthy or clean or crisp, but any drink that can bring back such precise times in my life gets a thumbs up from me.
Buzz:8
This Bomb has some pretty explosive power behind it. While Rip It has never been a slouch when it came to the energy department, it has never been stellar. My opinion is completely changed with this one-dollar-rocket! Fueling this mix is the usual energy stuff - like taurine, inositol and vitamin B. There is only 210mg of caffeine in here - more than what you can find in a Monster or Red Bull, but not particularly unique. Both Full Throttle and Nos have equally powerful mixtures as well. However, Fruit Bomb kept me up and full of great energy for hours and hours. The 33 grams of sugar played a big part in the rush I am sure - but really this kept me up and cranking for longer than I would have ever expected!
