Now, I have gone out shooting before too, with my dad's .22 rifle, and then out with my father-in-law shooting Magnums and big pistols off his back porch ( and there is still the massive hole in his floorboards to prove it), and I can appreciate the work necessary to dress in camo, spend all day guzzling beer in a blind, blasting an animal down, then heading down to the Waffe House to relax and bask in the blood spillin'. Team Realtree are the fellas behind this drink - kinda. They are at least the ones responsible for the package and idea, but really Team Realtree is in the biz of slapping their camo designs upon anything they can possibly get away with. In this case, it is an energy drink made for them by J & M Concepts. At least this makes more sense than, say, a Team Realtree APG camouflage covered KJV Holy Bible (hey - you never know when you are going to be on a turkey hunt and have to tell a PETA member about Genesis 27:3) but not by that much. This is really just a nice can covered in their prints and design, but the drink inside is just another private label commodity.
Packaging:7
I like Realtree's camo - no doubt. The camo pattern they have is second to none. They certainly have proven with their videos and early early morning TV shows that elk, deer and even little birds could not pick them out from a stick in the ground. Almost all the can is covered with it - even under the cap! However, I just can not be convinced it is a good idea on an energy drink. I mean, how often do you need a camo can of energy drink? Well, I need one about as much as I need a pink Camo string bikini, camo-so-real-it-is-practically-invisible Hobo Handbag and of course a camo Reatree iphone case - like I need any more damn help losing my cell phone...
Camo aside, there is a TON of extra crap on here that really stands out. Firstly, there is a big badge letting you know about Advantage Max-1 HD. What is Advantage Max-1 HD? No Idea, except it is obviously important as it is printed big and bold even including big yellow triangles to stand out. My guess is that is the pattern they used for the can - but it does not explain why they need to brag about their pattern so large and bold on the can. Also important is their noting "NOT FOR CITY BOYS" in big bold letters in the ingredients list. While they probably mean not for people who don't hunt - I know lots of people in my city who love to go out hunting every season. According to the Urban Dictionary, this just means the collective players of the mighty chelmsford city football club are out of luck - which seems like a pretty small niche to exclude. The can iself is also pretty cool - looking like it would make a great reusable bottle, as it is thick lined and easy to refill with a big widemouth top. In terms of design - this thing is prettier than the bloodied corpse of a 7 point buck.
The problem is the complete lack of energy ingredients in here. At first I thought it was camouflaged in the ingredients listing, but it did not bother to list the measly caffeine or taurine contents. It just does not make sense that something that looked this good would choose to fail at this most basic packaging rule for energy drinkers - we wanna know what we are consuming - even if the amount in it is paltry. It is like shooting without aiming - the target is important.
Taste:6
The taste does not really stand out from the pack either. I appreciated that it was not a Red Bull, but it was not anything amazing either. I tasted a whole lot of berry citrus - a flavor used by about 200 energy drinks. But it is not like Team Realtree makes this flavor - and that is the real shame here. Imagine what you could do with a drink that is made for the real outdoorsman! This could taste like pine tree or musk or something exciting to hunters - likewhitetail buck and doe urine.
But hey, it is not like anyone is going to buy this for the taste - it is all about embracing that huntin' lifestyle - and the flavor is good enough to drink and not be grossed out by. For a drink that tastes like a decent Squirt mixed with a cream soda, so as long as it tastes decently enough that is what matters.
Buzz:4
Of course, waiting for hours for a rabbit to come out of a hole can be very tiring work - especially if you spent the day consuming beer. I can understand real hunting would make a person tired - and the need for energy so important.
So why make an energy drink and fill it with soda? Yes, there is the undisclosed amount of caffeine, taurine and Vitamin B, but it is missing all the other usual energy ingredients. No Inositol, no Glucurolactone, and certainly no ginseng. This is sweetened by just high fructose corn syrup, and packed full of preservatives to keep it tasting fresher than a skinned and quartered field dressed doe. There just is not enough in here to really feel much of anything. My guess is there is round 75-85mg of caffeine per serving, or around 150mg per 16 ounce can. While it certainly could have been worse, It could have been a whole lot more energetic too.
http://caffeineking101.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesodajerks.net/soda-reviews
http://rambulatoryambulatory.com
http://oeoutdoors.com/
