Zantrex-3 Orange Octane
Cost: $? 2oz
Taste: 7 (for an energy shot)
Power: 5
The good stuff: Green Tea, Kola Nut, Yerba Mate, Guarana
Energy shots seem to be everywhere now days. Little 2oz bottles that are supposed to pack as much kick as a full sized energy drink with only a fraction of the calories sound like a dream come true. They are small enough to drop in your pocket so that you can save one for later, or just dump into another beverage to give it an energy spike. The problem usually stems straight from fact that they are so small and concentrated. Typically all the stuff that gives you the kick in the ass you so desire really tastes like crap unless its candy coated with sugar, water, and all sorts of other stuff that would probably be better suited for killing small animals than indulging your taste buds. Without all the added extras to give you that candy, citrus, berry, fruity, tart, sour, tropical flavor we all know and love you’re left with something REALLY nasty. It’s because of this that I have decided I need to start rating these things among themselves, and not against the regular drinks out there (much like I do with diet drinks.) And so it begins…
So as an energy shot Zantrex-3 is one of the best I have tried taste wise. Usually when I down an energy shot I feel the IMMEDIATE need to follow it with a chaser of some sort. Zantrex-3 more or less makes me simply desire one. It’s actually quite possible to go without anything at all after dumping the 2oz bottle down your throat…which believe it or not is a HUGE improvement over other energy shots out there. The taste of Z3 is more or less what I would describe as concentrated sugar free Tang (or some other sugar free orange flavored beverage.) It’s quite sharp going down and extremely dry…almost making my mouth feel a bit gritty. This lasts for a minute or so after you have finished it off which is why you kind of desire something to drink afterwards….combine that with a vitamin-ish after taste and many of you out there will quickly find that a glass of water will become your best friend. Luckily, all that goes away rather fast (which is way more than can be said for competing products out there) so if you find yourself without said chaser you’ll probably be OK.
The power of Zantrex-3 was kind of a letdown for me. As a matter of fact, it probably had the weakest effect on me of any energy shot so far. I actually took it on an empty stomach as soon as I got in to work, and I never really felt wide awake. I was definitely not sleepy, but at the same time I was far from being wired. I even tried an additional sample of Z3 a week later and had an identical result….disappointing to say the least. I was really hoping for an energy shot that didn’t make me gag and wired me up first thing in the morning, but alas, no luck. For a lot of you out there that are more sensitive to energy products than me, you’ll probably find this to be a good alternative to the other energy shots on the market. The taste is the most bearable to date, and odds are you’ll still find that it gives you a solid kick. For the hard core energy drink folks you may want to try something else.