Scary energy elixirs from the Far East. Noxious Liquid Vi

Nice - I'm not dead from this stuff yet. In fact, I am a bit sleepy. I am waiting for the jitters to die down though. Are those palpitations, or am I just just making a hypochondrial mess of my head? This is what I get for trying out an energy drink without a REAL label. Could I be feeling energetic and tired at the same time?
Feh - maybe its all just from the spicy breakfast burrito.

Packaging:3
From my exciting goodie trip to the Asian food market I found this ultra scary bottle of Liquid Vi energy drink. Looks kinda neat, having that Bacchus-D feel but in an even more medicinal shape. This thing could EASILY be mistaken for a bottle of cough syrup - and looks like it should be in the medicine cabinet more than in the fridge. What makes matters even worse is the label that is poorly printed is slapped on crookedly, like the practitioner barely had time to slap the label on before the sheriffs run them out of town.
OK - Its not THAT bad, it still is not that good. I still get an ingredients list, a manufacturer and a Nutrition Facts box. The company importing this stuff was very nice, if not completely unhelpful, knowing absolutely nothing about this drink they brought in from Thailand. A littel website, a little phone number, some caffeine listing on the label and we'd be in business! But for now, this thing is too scary but for the most brave and stupid caffeine adventurers.

Mon Chong Loong Trading Corp. brought this drink in, a NY based corporation that is one of the largest Asian food importers and distributors in the United States. M.C.L. handles over three thousand food & grocery products, many under exclusive contracts; so it is no surprise they know next to nothing about this, even though it is one of only two energy drinks they import.

Nutrition/Buzz:4
This is Energy Drink syrup more than any other little vile vial I have tried, including powershots. It is thick and syrupy like a Nos Powershot, but still manages to smell and taste like cough syrup going down. I almost felt like using a teaspoon to administer myself some. The ingredients list looks pretty tame though, Water, Taurine, Sugar, Citric Acid, Mixed Fruit Flavor (!!!) Sodium Benzoate, Caffeine, Inositol, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B5 and caramel color. So really, the only thing scary about the drink is the undisclosed amounts of caffeine. There are 90 calories in the little 150ml bottle, and not much else. I would say this has around 50-60mg of caffeine, as it gives a little lift but nothing too exciting.

Taste:2
Very very very bad. First is the mixed fruit flavor, which is strong and so so bad. Secondly, it is non-carbonated, so the taste of flat syrup shines on through in all its nasty glory. If I did not refrigerate this swill I would not have even been able to drink down the whole bottle, as it was way to large to slam it, with an oddly shaped body and a small opening. It took 4 big chugs to get this crap down - an experience I am not likely to forget. While not Kombucha, it was one of the worst sweet drinks I have put into my mouth.


Not really their website - but this is as close as it gets:http://mclfood.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=4804
Topics: Powershot , international caffeine