And now even Rappers want a piece of the shot market…  That’s right my friends 50 Mutha Lovin’ Cent has a new shot out called “Street King”.  Let’s hope this is better than “Pitbull” or the short lived “Pimp Juice” Energy drink.  In other words, not just a cool nostalgic or funny marketing concept.

The Look:  Best looking shot on the market.  Simple with an urban edge.
(9 out of 10)

Taste: Most shots are simply a flood of sweetness and then a flood of bitterness.  Happy to say that this wasn’t totally either of that.  In fact the orange mango tasted like an actual juice.
(7 out of 10)

Does It Work: We took these shots while on a 5hr 45min drive to pick up some of our own product (www.drinkthepanic.com) we thought it was a no brainer since it is a “6 hour shot”.  To be honest the initial boost was like a money coming to my kitchen and making me some E.D. moonshine… non-existent.  However, we were 2hrs, 3hrs, 4hrs, and eventually we had made it to our destination to sign off on our product run and then headed on back only to realize we hadn’t stopped for another E.D. or shot of any kind.  This is somewhat disturbing and awesome all at once!  The founders of MANdrate.com and the inventors of the MANdrate Dictionary only partook of one energy product on an entire road trip!  So, while the initial kick was like someone drateraping you… not good.  The bottom line is this shot did exactly what is claims.  6 hrs of energy.
(9 out of 10)


Overall Thoughts:  From a marketing perspective, Street King has something a little unique (no matter how much of the profit actually goes to feeding children) in the sense that while 50 wants to “feed a billion kids” he wouldn’t mind making a billion dollars we well.  From an energy shot perspective, it’s the best one we have tasted and the retail cost is less than the leading shot on the market.  So we don’t care if it’s winter out, roll down your windows and blast 50 while shooting down the King of Shots.

Official Website: http://www.streetking.com/

How can you not love the energy that Clay brings to the UFC and the all out positive attitude he has brought for years to the organization.  Here is a clip to showcase that: http://www.ufc.com/media/FOX1-POST-GUIDA

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

10. PANIC
09. SleepingSux
08. Pssst Click Ahhhhh
07. GameFly Promo Code
06. UFC Coupon Code
07. Brock and Overeem!!!!!!!
04. Did I really just type “07″…. Pssst Click Ahhhh
03. America!!
02. Why is my brain shouting!?!
01. MANdrating Right Now!

Caffeinated Waffles?

In a hurry? Well why not grab breakfast and ditch the coffee. Wired Waffles come packed with 200 mg of caffeine per waffle (WOW!). Each waffle is individually packaged and can be eaten without syrup or flavoring if wanted because of the caramelized pearl sugar that is cooked in. Look for gourmet Wired Waffles to be popping up around June.

Official Website: http://www.wiredwaffles.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/wiredwaffles
Posted by Caffeine A Holic at 4/21/2011

Friday, April 8, 2011

Monster M3

After trying Monster Rehab, I was very excited to get my hands on Monster M3. I searched constantly for the drink for over a month with no luck. My luck finally changed last week when I spotted the beautiful looking little 5 oz bottles in the cooler, next to the other Monster drinks. I immediately snagged up several of them and made my way to the car. Let’s see if Monster M3 lives up to the hype that I keep hearing.

The Look: Monster usually has fantastic packaging on all their products but I think they out did themselves this time. Monster M3 actually comes in a green glass bottle. Each bottle is 5 oz in size and has a top that you have to get off with a bottle opener (no twist off). They also put a Monster emblem of an eagle holding what looks like a Monster crest directly into the glass. Around the bottle they wrapped a black label that features the Monster “M” (to the 3rd power apparently) in the usual Monster green color. On the back there is a very entertaining passage about Monster M3.
Even the slogan on this bottle is great: “Grab an M3 glass and kick some ass!” Normally I dock a slight amount if the caffeine content is not listed on the bottle but I will give Monster a free pass because the rest of the packaging looks so nice.
(10 out of 10)

Taste: This drink is listed as a “super concentrate” so I was not sure what to expect taste wise. When I first pried the metal cap off the container I was greeted with a familiar smell of Monster. Imagine the original green Monster with a slighter higher carbonation level and that is exactly what this taste like. If you hate Monster then you will probably dislike this drink but if you like it…..
(8 out of 10)

Does It Work: Monster M3 promises to have the same kick of a full 16 oz drink crammed into this 5 oz glass bottle. It took me about 4 or 5 minutes to finish the entire drink and I started to feel quite energized within 10 minutes. The drink actually caught me a bit off guard and even caused a slight amount of jittery energy. All together I experienced roughly 3.5 – 4 hours of energy that ended in a very mild crash.
(8.5 out of 10)

What’s Inside: Each bottle of Monster M3 contains 50 calories, 13 grams of sugar, 4 different B vitamins, 2000 mg of taurine, 120 mg of sodium, 400 mg of panax ginseng, and 5000 mg of their energy blend (l-carnitine, glucose, caffeine (an undisclosed amount), guarana, inositol, glucurono-lactone, and maltodextrin).

Overall Thoughts: So was this drink worth the wait? I believe it was. Monster M3 delivers a truly bad ass bottle, the usual Monster flavor, and a kick that is on par if not slighter stronger than a full size Monster. Just like Monster Rehab, you should start to see these appearing in more places this month.

Official Website: http://www.monsterenergy.com/
Posted by Caffeine A Holic at 4/08/2011

Rockstar Recovery Orange

A while back Rockstar released Rockstar Recovery Lemonade and it was a huge success.  It was a great tasting drink, with minimal carbs that was one of my go to, readily available energy drinks.  Now Rockstar is back with 2 new Recovery flavors: Orange and Grape.  Today I will be taking on the orange variety.  Let’s see if Rockstar Recovery Orange can continue the success that Rockstar Recovery Lemonade created.

The Look: Rockstar makes some of the slickest cans on the market in my opinion.  This can is done in orange to match the flavor and has the same design as Rockstar Recovery Lemonade.  I think the orange looks a bit nicer than the yellow did and really makes the can look amazing.  Rockstar did everything right once again, and my hat goes off to them for listing the caffeine content instead of including it in an energy blend.
(9 out of 10)

Taste: One of the things that drew me to Recovery Lemonade was the amazing flavor.  Upon cracking open the can I got a nice orange scent that reminds me of orange flavored Gatorade.  The taste also reminds me of an orange Gatorade, which is a plus because I really enjoy Gatorade.  There is no hint of caffeine in the taste department, and the fact there is no carbonation makes the drink go down very easily.  I think Recovery Lemonade was just a touch better in flavor, but Recovery Orange is still a damn good drink.
(8.5 out of 10)


Does It Work: One of the great things about the Recovery line is that you get some added ingredients that promote hydration along with providing a great boost of energy.  Inside each can of Rockstar Recovery Orange there are 20 calories, 2 grams of carbs, a handful of B vitamins, 80 mg of sodium, 2000 mg of taurine, 160 mg of caffeine, 100 mg of panax ginseng extract, 50 mg of prickly pear extract, and 40 mg of milk thistle extract.  As you can see Rockstar did not skimp on the ingredients here.  After finishing the entire can I started to got a great boost of energy within about 15-20 minutes.  The kick lasted for over 3 hours and ended with no crash.  I also got to test this after a night of heavy drinking and I easily noticed the addition of the extra ingredients that help to hydrate me.
(8 out of 10)


Overall Thoughts: I am really glad that Rockstar decided to expand on the Recovery lineup.  As always you can tell that Rockstar put in a great deal of thought into the packaging, the taste, and even the ingredients.  I have started seeing these almost everywhere lately and I highly suggest that you give them a try when you find one.  Rockstar Recovery Lemonade is still my favorite of the 3 but I am glad to see more choices.

Official Website: http://www.rockstar69.com/

Contest: Rockstar was very nice and hooked me up with some extra cans.  So I decided I will hold a giveaway to go along with the review.  Simply leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win one can of Rockstar Recovery Orange and one can of Rockstar Recovery Grape.  Please make sure to either leave your email address or Twitter name so that was I can contact you if you win.
The contest will end Tuesday March 29th at Midnight CST.  I will choose a random winner Wednesday March 30th.  I will also be holding another giveaway when I do the review of Rockstar Recovery Grape, so keep an eye out for that review as well.  Good luck to everyone.

By Franklin McNeil
ESPN.com
Archive

Losing the UFC heavyweight title to Cain Velasquez in October 2010 left Brock Lesnar with an uncomfortable feeling.

But it wasn’t the first time Lesnar exited the Octagon uneasy. The former champion had never felt comfortable letting his hands go in stand-up.

Although most observers believe Lesnar (5-2-0) lacks stand-up skills, he’s quick to dismiss that notion. He claims to have good punching abilities, at least in the gym.

The problem occurs inside the Octagon. Going into his title bout at UFC 121, Lesnar was not yet comfortable letting his hands go on fight night.

He’s comfortable now, he says. And he credits the Velasquez fight with getting him over the hump.

“I stood there and traded with Velasquez, and in this game, in the heavyweight division, it’s a matter of inches,” Lesnar told ESPN.com. “I got him uncomfortable enough to make him shoot in on me.

“Going back and looking at the fight, it was toe-to-toe. We were toe-to-toe in all aspects of the stand-up. When I stood back up in the transition was when I got caught with a left uppercut and wasn’t able to recover.

“After watching the fight, I came out of my evaluation with confidence. I just have to step in there and execute.”

With his comfort level inside the Octagon and stand-up confidence on the rise, Lesnar is eager to step into the cage with his next opponent, Junior dos Santos.

They are scheduled to meet June 11 at UFC 131 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The winner gets a shot at Velasquez for the title.

“He’d better get good with his double-leg takedown defense,” Lesnar said of dos Santos. “There hasn’t been a heavyweight that I’ve faced who I haven’t been able to take down.

“That’s a helluva lot harder to learn than what I have to learn.

“I can take this fight wherever I want to take it. And that’s half the battle right there.”

Before stepping into the cage, Lesnar and dos Santos will coach opposite one another on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 series. The series is scheduled to debut on Wednesday (Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET).

It was on the set of TUF that dos Santos (12-1-0) got an opportunity to see the new, more comfortable and confident Lesnar. He was impressed.

“I didn’t know Brock before,” dos Santos said during a recent conference call to promote TUF 13. “But after getting to know him on the show, Brock is a professional guy. He’s a pretty nice guy.

“But on June 11, none of that really matters. My goal is to go in there and beat Brock.”

Franklin McNeil covers MMA and boxing for ESPN.com. He also appears regularly on “MMA Live,” which airs on ESPN2. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Franklin_McNeil.