Dopamine fueled energy keeps you jittering in style

November 11, 1:37 PMCaffeine ExaminerBig Red Boots  

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Dopamine is released from good food, good sex, good drugs and yes, good energy drinks.  Dopamine is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain activities, like   becoming a reviewer of energy drinks so I can have a big supply of caffeine at my fingertips.   It makes people thrilled to be alive and do stupid things, like jump out of airplanes, ride scooters on busy freeways and start small clothing lines for extreme sports.  Lots of odd things abound in this particular brand - some of which are brilliant and someof which are just plain goofy.

Before dopamine was an energy drink it was a clothing line - like Who's Your Daddy and Skin. One of the more odd things about this drink is the slogan "vegas in a can" written in big letters, even though the drink is from an extreme clothing line in Hawaii. Still , making a drink full of a drug that affects the levels of dopamine is brilliant. I understand the clothing line, but the drink really rounds the brand out.
A big thanks to Drake at Beverage Boutique for hooking me up with a couple cans.

Taste:8
One of the more odd things with this drink is the non-color of the liquid inside. I am used to brown, red and even blue energy drinks - some so full of food dye that my bowel movements turn neon colors (yes it is a link, but just to a review, not any pictures...) - but very very few energy drinks are clear. It also tastes like nothing like any other drink I have had before - a mix of grapefruit, lemon lime and gummy bears. It tastes refreshing  and clean , although it does feel a bit syrupy from the sweetener. Still, the drink goes down very very smoothly - a very unique and yummy drink all around.

Nutrition:8
My issues with this drink are the usual - in that they use High Fructose corn syrup and is pretty calorie laden. They also have a diet version - which I am searching high and low for. The 110 calorie can also has glyceryl abietate, also known as Ester gum, a food additive used to keep oils in suspension in water. This has all the energy drink stuff in here, with Inositol, Taurine , ginseng, and B Vitamins. As for the buzz, the 120mg caffeine in this little can is super-powerful! This little thing kept me up and bouncing for a good 3 hours - very surprising for such a little can. More than other big drinks, this is a great one to slam down and oscillate against the walls with. This is the drink of choice for mosh pits, lanparties and any place you need a super fast balls-out burst of jittery energy.

Packaging:8
Clean, nice, and way wierd. a lovely background, a design that holds everything together, great fonts, but the text is covered in wood grain. Huh? Rarely would I associate faux wood shelf paper design in an energy drink. But mixed with the distressed background and the warning of " mixing with alcohol may enhance late night activities." big and bold on the side, I think they pull it off. If I were a late nite partgoer, I would be proud to have this can in my hand.  They also have a definition of dopamine, along with a statement that there is no actual dopamine in ths drink (Duh). They printed it wrongly though, as the logo should be facing outward, so everyone can see the brand while the drinker is guzzling. Instead the moniker is off to an odd side, making harder to show off this cool can. This whole thing is close to great, but needs a few tweaks to become fantastic.

Website:7 www.dopamineenergydrink.com
For a flash website this is pretty decent and thought out. There is both a regular version and a sugar free version. It is pretty heavy on load times, sometimes dragging my computer down with slow animation. Still, it is very well maintained and very nice on the eyes. I would appreciate a volume slider, as the music was nice but too loud. I am not sure if this has anything for the average surfer - maybe some nice girlie shots in the gallery and a little tiny bit on the drink - but dont expect this to be a major powerhouse of a site. FOr a business card website, it does the job.
taurine rules
Caffeine Fiend