Yesterday, during the tail-end of my massive cleaning session, my energy really started flagging. I didn’t have any 5-Hour Energy left 😦 and the local convenience store didn’t have any left so I picked up an iSatori Hardcore Energize Bullet instead. It’s bright blue, like Blueberry Kool-Aid, and comes in a fat, test tube-shaped (or cheap dildo-shaped, depending on how you look at it) container. It tastes better than 5-Hour Energy (less tart) .
Energy Fiend describes the taste as:
This tastes very similar to blue Kool-Aid, but leaves a strong aftertaste due to the acesulfame-potassium and sucralose used to sweeten it. This bullet is meant to be slammed back fast! It has a syrupy texture which isn’t surprising since there is a lot of stuff that gets packed into this 2.9oz shot.
I got no artificial sweetener aftertaste, unlike with 5-Hour Energy, and it isn’t at all syrupy. It has the same consistency as 5-Hour Energy — or Kool-Aid for that matter. I swear, it’s like we tried different products. Maybe the formulation changed since the review.
It seemed to do a pretty good job of keeping me awake and alert. The effects of it, unfortunately, seem to last a very long time. I took it at 02:00 yesterday and could not get to sleep properly until over 24 hours later. 5-Hour Energy’s effects definitely don’t last nearly as long and degrade well — even when I was still feeling lingering alertness, it didn’t prevent me from being able to fall asleep; Hardcore Energize Bullet did. I expect that’s from the massive amounts of caffeine — each shot contains the equivalent caffeine (300 mg) of 2.6 liters of Pepsi or 3 regular NoDoz tablets or almost 4 Red Bulls. (5-Hour Energy doesn’t disclose how much caffeine it contains but rather just states that it is the equivalent to a cup of premium brewed coffee. Energy Fiend estimates it at 60 to 100 mg, which is 1/5 to 1/3 of what is in Hardcore Energize Bullet.) Still, despite the massive caffeine and the extremely extended wakefulness, there wasn’t a jittery sugar/caffeine crash later on that you’d get from 2.6 liters of Pepsi. That’s definitely something that both 5-Hour Energy and Hardcore Energize Bullet (and probably many other similar energy shots) share. Definitely a better choice than mainlining Pepsi to stay awake.
I also should have paid more attention to the ingredients of the Hardcore Energize Bullet — the last time I tried ginseng, I had an allergic reaction to it and I think that’s the cause of the tongue swelling I experienced yesterday. Once the Hardcore Energize Bullet started to leave my system, the swelling started to subside and by the time I woke up this morning, the swelling was gone. (Mind you, I woke up with a terrible head cold and cough instead, but that’s a whole ‘nother story of misery.)
In short, I’m still very much a 5-Hour Energy girl.
(Haha just noticed that someone has written a review remarking on the slightly obscene shape of the container. LOL)
Life Begins at 41...or maybe 43 
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