I'm a monkey! I'm a monkey man!
Buzz Monkey Energy Drink
Ok I had this drink for a while and I had misplaced it until the other. I apologize for the delay. Things can get a little crazy here at edjunkie headquarters. I saw this drink and was intrigued by the unique Wild Plum ingredient and crazy can. Let’s check it out.
Packaging: Buzz Monkey comes in a classic 8.3 oz aluminum can. The can is green and silver with a purple and silver fractal pattern in the background on the front. There is a crazy looking green monkey in the upper portion that makes me think of wild energy. Diagonal in a green and white bar is “Buzz Monkey” in a purple font with “energy drink” in a red font. Around the top is a listing of key ingredients and at the bottom it mention wild plum and Taurine. On the back you have nutrition info as well as the slogan and a little blurb about Wild Plum being used by native Australians as an energy and endurance booster. Nice can all around. I love the crazy monkey. I give them a B for packaging.
Slogans: “It’s all about the Buzz” is on the back of the can and on their website. Good slogan. That is the main point of energy drinks. I give them a B+ for slogan
Taste ect: I opened the can and right away got the typical scent of a RB clone. The drink has a high carbonation and is a light caramel color. I taste it and it taste like a RB clone. A good one with a little bit of spice added to it. I will give them a C+ for taste. I would grab Buzz Monkey over a Red Bull if they were side by side in the fridge. I really think the color and the taste should have had more plum. Why have a plum drink without any real plum color or flavor. I know the plum was for energy and endurance but some taste and color would have scored it higher.
Kick/Ingredients: It was late afternoon and I had had a long day. I needed a pick me up but not something that would keep me awake till 2am. I drank the can pretty quickly and got a nice middle of the road boost. It lasted around 3 hours but not much more. That worked fine for me since I did not want to stay up too late. Buzz Monkey contains 77.5 mg of caffeine, 500mg of Taurine, and 1000 mg of wild plum extract. It also has Glucuronolactone, Inositol, and B Vitamins. There are 100 calories per can and 30 grams of carbs. I like that the sweetener used is sugar and not HFC. I will give it a grade of C (average) for kick/ingredients. Not bad but nothing exceptional.
Web presence: They have a pretty good site at buzzmonkeyenergy.com. It has ingredients information, Promotions, a photo Gallery, News, and they sponsor a cool looking F1 Super Boat. It does look like a lot of the information is outdated though with the last news listed as Nov 2006? They also have a myspace page I will give them a Grade of C- for web presence.
Recap:
I had high hopes for Buzz Monkey with their Wild plum and their Crazy green monkey. I was not completely let down it was just not what I expected it to be. It’s a good energy drink but I was hoping for a unique flavor and a longer lasting buzz. Still I say if you find one give it a try. If you’re a Red Bull drinker you might find it is the kind of drink for you.
