BeigeJournal

If you own a television set, or set foot outdoors from time to time, then you have no doubt heard of Red Bull “energy drink.” In addition to goofy animated commercials, they sponsor everything from Formula 1 race car drivers to aerobatic pilots to events for people who were drinking something other than Red Bull and who decided to sign a waiver and take the “Red Bull gives you wings” slogan a bit too literally. It is my understanding that many consumers of Red Bull prefer to mix it with something that contains a high concentration of ethanol, which might explain some things.

I decided to try some. It comes in tall, skinny, 250ml aluminum cans. Though the bull is red, the drink is yellow, a lot like apple juice, or urine. (Seriously, it looks like apple juice.) It is “lightly carbonated.” It smells like some kind of candy and it tastes like…. How can I describe it? Like ginger ale plus some kind of citrus plus other stuff? If you really want to know, you’ll have to buy a can. I can’t say that I particularly like it, but it is OK.

Each 250 ml can contains 80mg of caffeine. For comparison, a 355ml can of Pepsi contains 37mg of caffeine. A can of Mountain Dew, 55mg. A 355ml can of the famous Jolt cola would contain 72mg of caffeine. Each can also contains 110 kcal worth of sugar, thus the sugar is just slightly more concentrated than a typical soft drink, but in a smaller can. The caffeine concentration is much higher than a normal soda, but the total amount is not really especially high. A single cup of coffee would usually contain more. It also contains taurine and glucuronolactone, substances for which their is no evidence of either benefit or harm.

As usual, Dave Barry said it best: “…tastes the way Limp Bizkit sounds. I tried one, and it gave me a refreshing lift. I hope to be able to sleep again by Halloween.”

Frankly, as a drink, I’m not too excited, but it is great to have someone out there sponsoring kiteboarders, winter surfers, and other people with “risk-oriented personalities,” even if the actual drink is consumed more by people getting drunk at parties rather than people engaging in extreme sports.