Whoopass has always been one of those brands that was more fun to say than to drink. This was back in the early part of the century, where there were more energy drinks flooding the market than there were flavors of Starbucks. IT had a big strangely drawn mascot boy and the overall feeling was that this was a funnier drink to give as a gag gift than something you would actually want to drink.
Then sometime in 2010, Jones Soda did a very smart move and overhauled their Whoopass line into a real Whoop Ass energy drink. For a drink brand this has just about everything you would want - a cool can, some decent flavor profiles, a wicked buzz and still has the funny too.
Packaging:9
This is the flagship Whoopass flavor - the big black can full of sugar and calories, but also full of the flavor and image they are going for - and it is one hell of an image. While I might not have been wanting to have been seen carrying around their old can in my hand, the Iron Cross design is done well enough that I actually feel more macho drinking it. It is like wearing a leather vest or a motorcycle chain wallet - it is a way to buy a little into the biker culture and still not give in completely to the 2% or OCC crowd. The slogan "Open a can" written on bottom gets their point across without going over the top.
Functionally, they did fantastic too. They list all caffeine and other ingredients, double face the can, and do an overall top notch job in production. This is a very cool can - made cooler by starting out its life so silly.
Taste:8
There is no real flavor written on the can, so my first inclination was that it was going to taste like the usual Red Bull/Monster clone, but it was more berry and fruity than that. Rather than go for the apple bubblegum that most energy drinks go for, I tasted hints of berries and grapes - and rather juicy and real - not candied and fake. Part of this could be because of the real sugar used in here giving a nice soft sweetness to the whole thing.
Buzz:8
This is one of the better energy blends I have seen for an energy drink in a long time. Now in terms of being healthy, do keep in mind that a can has 220 calories in it - and almost all of that is made up from the 52 grams of sugar added, so healthy is a pretty relative term. But there is more than just sugar in here too, with grapes and green tea polyphenols and catechins if you get into that antioxidant stuff too. Along with that, there is a host of B vitamins and l-carnitine to help with workout recovery at the gym too.
In terms of Buzz, there is a nice jolt of caffeine too. The sugar helps get you moving, and the 100mg caffeine, guarana, yerba mate and green tea all have even more caffeine which puts this far beyond the energy found in most other popular brands. On top of that, they also add 5 Hours secret weapons - the amino acids L-arginine and L-lysine. I got a very nice four hour buzz from a can - and a pretty heavy crash from it afterwards too. While I would definitely go for their Low Calorie version in a white can - if you are down for the high calorie version it is a great drink to have around for your next poker run.
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