Fine, then you can suck my Bawls

Energy drinks. A computer guy's best friend. Actually, I hear they're good friends to a few other demographics as well, but I can speak for certain about the geek population.

Bawls, Jolt, Red Bull, Amp, Monster, and a slew of lesser-known ones, some indigenous to certain areas, they all offer that familiar kick in the ass (and hellacious crash soon thereafter), and with a variety of different tastes as well.

Which ones are your favourite? Why? And are there any mixtures or concoctions that you or your friends know how to make?

Personally, I'm a fan of Bawls (when I have the insane amount of cash needed to indulge) and Amp. Most of the others have a "chemical" taste that I can't get past, particularly Red Bull and Monster.

A few summers ago when I hosted my first LAN party, we got 3 cases of Bawls (24 bottles to a case, and beating back the natives to keep it safe till the LAN was a full-time job). Since my friend and my brother pitched in to help buy them, we had a couple bottles to ourselves first, and tried mixing it with various other sodas or juices. I honestly can't recall what went best with it, but I get the impression it wouldn't taste half bad with some Mountain Dew or Dr. Pepper. Orange juice would be interesting too. Like a caffeine screwdriver.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I haven't had Bawls, but every energy drink I've had has that nasty aftertaste. I actually allowed myself to get used to the taste of Red Bull, though.
I just usually stick to coffee nowadays.

Has anyone had that "Vault" drink from Coke? Worst. Shit. Evar.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Bawls is one of the better energy drinks I've tried of the few at the LANs I attend. Most of the time I just stick to drinking copious amounts of Mountain Dew or a few Rockstar energy drinks to keep the buzz alive. My cousin and his circle of friends can consume a two liter of Dew one to a person and still want more. I think they have some hundreds of empty bottles stored away at their church for boasting rights.

What surprises me how much people depend on those drinks when the party goes on after midnight. Either they get tired way too fast when gaming or I'm just an insomniac.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Caffeine is the drug of choice for many of us . Green tea used to have a kick until the last few months. Totally unaffected by it now, which isn't such a great thing. NOW I NEED MORE ALTERNATIVES...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Caffine doesn't seem to affect me at all, in any form. But I like the taste of Red Bull.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Best Energy Drink Ever. If you dont like it then you are a terrorist.

How ya doing, buddy?

Going to have to go with Power Trip. Its a little un-known but a good friend of mine is sponsored by them for inline skating so he has cases of the stuff and I get as much as I want for free which is nice. The taste is pretty good too, not too strong, not too weak and none of the gross aftertastes.

FELIPE NO

Amp is by far my favorite! Tastes so awesome, red bull is good too, but I find the taste rather unsatisfying. My dad works for pepsi, and amp is a pepsi product, so maybe that contributes.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

For me, Rockstar does the trick. I don't mind the taste (it's almost exactly like Red Bull), and it really helps me focus. But only if I need it desparately; I would hate to get 'used' to the caffeine and require even more.

I can't stand Bawls...it didn't do shit for me. I might as well have drank a regular soda, for all the energy boost it gave me. Maybe I'm weird...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I used to have to drink like 4 or 5 cups of coffee in the morning just to open my eyes in the morning. Then I had to basically detox from that shit for about 2 years and have recently started drinking coffee again. I usually buy a cup of coffee in the morning, but that's usually all I need for the rest of the day.

Make no mistake, people. Caffeine is a drug. You get addicted to it and pretty soon you come to depend on it for dear life. :\

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I love the taste and colour of Red Bull. I remember we had bought a case of it for a school trip, so we could stay up for a few days. We did manage to, but it was hell. On the third day we crashed so badly, and I'm pretty sure one of my friends OD'd on the SOBE energy drink. He was pretty messed up.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Encephalon

Then I had to basically detox from that shit for about 2 years and have recently started drinking coffee again.

At the moment I'm going on 8 months without the almighty bean .
The other day I was fantasizing about how wonderful it will be to be able to drink coffee again...although it would be supreme irony if I drank it only to discover that I didn't like the taste anymore.

At the moment Green Tea with Yerba Mate seems to be a good booster from day to day. I still put cream and sweetener in it, like coffee, except it turns a pretty shade of green instead of hazel.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I had to cut the caffeine after my last flare up, so its been quite a while since I've even had a cup of joe let alone an energy drink.

Even so, I was never big on the Red Bull/Amp/Adrenaline Rush stuff. Except for Pimp Juice. Mostly I stick with energy mints, specifically Jo Mints. Four of those mints gives quite a kick. Eat the whole container in 30 minutes and get ramped.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Arkhangelsk

At the moment Green Tea with Yerba Mate seems to be a good booster from day to day. I still put cream and sweetener in it, like coffee, except it turns a pretty shade of green instead of hazel.

Oh my god... That shit keeps you WIRED! My friend Eddie and I drink that shit at UCSB when we go down to do our nights of drinking. Fuck cocaine! Mate won't kill you and can keep you twice as wired.

How ya doing, buddy?

My cousin used to work at Whole Foods and made some straight Mate for my mom and I...we kinda thought it tasted nasty, but mixed with green tea, it just works wonders.

In fact, I do believe I'll be having some in about 10 hours, with my every-Thursday breakfast crew .

FELIPE NO

I've tried a lot of these, but never really came to enjoy drinking any of them. I guess the one I enjoyed most would probably be Monster Energy Drink, though. It tastes exactly like Red Bull, and is twice the size for the same price.

Wojo - :'D

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I have only honestly tried Monster. I drank about half the can then poored the rest out the window (I was in a car when this happened).

My bf says he likes RedBull + Coke but, meh...

I prefer green tea or coffee for my caffine^^

Jam it back in, in the dark.

My college recently put in a refridgerator dedicated solely to energy drinks. I drink mostly Monsters', Lost Planets', and Bawls'. I'm really grateful they did this.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I've only had 2 or 3 kinds of energy drinks due to the fact that most of the energy drinks out there taste like moose piss mixed with Skyy Vodka.

Bawls - Ahh, yes, the energy drink of the Gods. This baby kept me up til the ass-crack of dawn at many LAN parties as well as gave me energy for DDR tournaments. This shit's gonna come in handy next week at Showdown, assuming I can get some. Basically, Bawls is my favorite energy drink.

Amp - Amp to me is a spiced up Mountain Dew, but it sure as hell is awesome. This also kept me goin for DDR tournaments and regular days of training. When Bawls is out of stock at the coffee shop, Amp is the next best thing.

I'm under the impression that MDX is an energy drink, though it just tastes like slightly-less-spiked Mountain Dew. Someone who first sold it to me said it "Quenches your thirst and gives you energy", so I took it for an energy drink, but it's probably not.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Redbull and vodka or gin is always a favourite. This christmas I tried an 'absolut shambles' as described by shin a while back. Vodka (Absolut Vodka, hence the name) Champaign and Redbull. It was pretty nice really, made a nice lunch time drink anyway.

[V] is always nice too, but I doubt you yanks would have seen it. I think it's an Australian (and New Zealand perhaps?) only drink.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I'm going to be the village idiot here and ask, what is Yerba Mate?

I'm a caffeine junkie, although I have a heart condition so I really shouldn't drink it at all, and I steer totally clear of energy drinks because I'm afraid they might kill me. I do drink a couple of cups of coffee in the morning and I love green tea and a soft drink they sell in my area called Sun Drop. It's basically a yellow soda (with a stronger lemony taste than other yellow sodas) with more caffeine than Mountain Dew or Mello Yello.

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Most energy drinks I've come across contain no more caffeen than the average cup of coffee. So you should be pretty right Alice.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by AliceNWondrland

I'm going to be the village idiot here and ask, what is Yerba Mate?

Yerba (meaning herb) mate is a really good tea leaf that's dried and ground to a powder, except you don't pour it in your tea and drink it. You usually have to prepare it in a little clay gourd and drink it with a silver or stainless steel straw commonly known as a "bombilla". The straw is flared on one end and sports holes so that you can use it as a stirrer, sieve and straw at the same time.

The gourd is filled about 3/4 of the way with ground mate tea leaves and packed rather tightly. Hot water is poured into the gourd with the ground leaves and then shaken well. The leaves then take on this slightly expanded form that packs them rather tightly into the gourd and hence the silver or steel straw is necessary to be able to penetrate the thick mass of leaves. You then drink the water as it's poured in. All you have to do is have some hot water readily available so that when you want to take another sip of mate, all you have to do is pour the water in, let it seep through the leaves and once it's at the bottom you can enjoy it. The flared end with the holes will prevent any of the leaves coming up with the tea fluid.

Some people mis the mate with green tea because it's really quite bitter. It was originally grown in Argentina, but it is still mainly only grown in South America.

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I think Bawls is terrible. I also think that all energy drinks are terrible.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Anyone ever heard of VPX Redline? Marketed as a 'fat incinerator', its proprietary blend incorporates multiple forms of caffeine, yerba mate, as well as a compound that stimulates the body's own shiver mechanism. Its sold in two forms: a highly potent syrup whose dosage is measured in milligrams, and a pre-diluted 8 oz. energy drink.

I've not seen the stuff sold anywhere except vitamin and nutrition shops round here, but I've heard that you can find it some 7-elevens in other states.

Reports vary; some people love the stuff and the huge kick that they get. Others are finding that they black out after 30 minutes of a bad uncontrollable rush.

I personally know of a trainer/body builder who takes the stuff every day, and he strongly warns people about it. Its not for the feint or those sensitive to caffeine in any way.

How ya doing, buddy?