Lightning crashes, a new mother cries
Amp Lightning Charge
Ok this is the second of the new Amp drinks I am reviewing. This time I decided to go with the lemonade flavor. I am not a big lemonade fan but I had a change of heart back when I reviewed the Crunk Citrus which was an awesome lemonade flavor. Would this new Amp keep me on this same track?
Packaging: While the new Amp Tea based drinks have some really cool new cans this Amp Lightning Charge does not. It is you basic 16 oz can with the Amp stripe pattern. This time the stripe pattern is in a very bright yellow. Around the top there is a black band with key ingredients listed in a white font. In the middle of the can is a large Amp logo with silver flame and white wording. The work “Lightning” is below the logo in a white font as well. Towards the bottom is the word “Charge” followed by” L-Carnitine” both in white font. Finally you have “Shock of Lemonade Flavor” at the bottom. Back of the can has supplement facts. While not as good as the new Tea cans I will give it a grade of C+ This is not one of the better Amp energy drink cans.
Slogan: While this can has the usual “More power to you” Amp slogan it also has “Charge up your Intensity” which is a good slogan that is specific for this flavor. I will give them a grade of C+ for slogan
Taste: So when I open the can there is a mild lemon scent that is not real strong. I pour some in a cup and Whoa!!! This is the brightest yellow liquid I have ever seen. The can color is a pale yellow compared to this. If you ate like a handful of multi vitamins and drank almost no liquids your vitamin pee would never even come close to how bright this yellow is. It is also dense and I can’t see the bottom of the cup. I am almost scared to drink this. I do though and it is a super sour and tart lemon flavor overload with a mid level carbonation. This stuff will pucker you up good. It is very sweet. There is no aftertaste at all. I think you could jam a truck load of ingredients in this drink and you could never taste them. One of the strongest flavors I have tried. Grade D for taste. Even if you like lemonade a lot this is probably too strong for you. Maybe if you enjoy sucking on lemons all day you will like this but probably not. I feel like my taste buds were assaulted like a skinny guy in prison. They might never recover.
Kick/Ingredients: I managed to drink it all but it took 30 minutes to get the job done (My taste buds put up a good fight like Tim Robbins in Shawshank redemption). By the time I finished the drink I was buzzing pretty well. I kept going around telling everyone how bad the drink tasted and probably boring them to death with my energy drink ramblings. I got about 3.5 hours of strong energy followed by a hard crash. Charged with 160 mg Caffeine, 296 mg Taurine, 248 mg Guarana, 34 mg Ginseng, 148 mg Maltodextrin, and 200 mg of L-Carnitine, There are no vitamins to be found here either. You will get lit up with 220 calories and 58 grams of sugar and carbs. It is sweetened with HFC but at least there is no BVO like in other Amp drinks. I give it a grade of D+ for kick/ingredients. Average kick, hard crash, and little to no nutritional ingredients. It just does not add up.
Web Presence: ampenergy.com gives you a Ton of sports info on Racing, BMX, NHL, Music videos and downloads, Amp Ads, a store locator, and product info. I think they have toned down the Dale Jr bit some and really overall it is a pretty good site to kill some time on watching videos and listening to some music. There is also a section for these new drinks at ampenergy.com/tealemonade/ but it is just eye candy with no substance. Grade B for web presence. They also have a facebook
Recap:
Ok now that my taste buds are walking funny with a grimace on their faces I am going to recommend you avoid this drink. I am usually a lenient reviewer who can find some good in most drinks. Not so this time. I say lock the assaulting flavor in solitary where it can no longer harm innocent taste buds. Trust me you want to avoid this drink unless you’re into that kind of thing.
