Inspired use of a resealable cap! More energy drinks should have it, but none should taste like this.

Anyway, I break mine down because I just don’t need that much caffeine.  And assuming it’s not a diet, or “zero” drink, I sure as hell don’t need that much sugar all at once.  The average can has somewhere around 50g in 16 oz. and if I drank all that, Monday through Friday, I’m pretty sure I’d be a diabetic by Wednesday.  Besides, the only thing that happens when it goes flat is that the carbonation merely disappears.  Other than that, it tastes exactly the same and has the same caffeine content, so it doesn’t bother me.  This was just a longwinded way of saying I like that I can just screw the cap back on and lock in the freshness for another day.  There, I said it, and it only took me two paragraphs.

I was more excited than usual to try this, because Big Lots was out of energy drinks for a full two weeks before getting these in, and so I eagerly grabbed a couple different flavors and loaded them into my cart.  Unlike a lot of the beverages that seem to find their way to Big Lots shelves, I liked that this one was clearly labeled, so there was no confusion as to what I was getting.  “Storm” doesn’t describe the flavor too well, but it was an intriguing enough title that I wanted to give it a go (note: since then, I’ve discovered that the flavor is described on the back of the bottle, toward the very bottom).  The fact each bottle was only $.50, along with the knowledge that they were selling out fast really helped to solidify the decision for me, so I grabbed one.

I actually went back to get more a couple of days later, but they were sold out.  As it turns out, though, it was a good thing, because Storm pretty much sucks.  It takes the “standard” energy drink flavor, and throws in a ton of extra tartness; usually, this is counterbalanced with something not quite as tart, but here, it’s not.  What there is, is a severely watered-down back-end that tastes almost diety, leading to a nearly-pungent aftertaste.  But while it may avoid being called “disgusting” by the slimmest of margins, it’s still nowhere close to being considered “good”.

It still gets some marks for value–after all, fifty cents for a full-size energy beverage is pretty much unheard of–and it still retains its marks for the incredibly novel plastic bottle.  I had some left over after the first day, screwed on the cap, and had plenty of carbonation for the second go ‘round, which was a welcome addition.  Unfortunately, the poor taste and even worse aftertaste ultimately combine to do this one in.

Overall: 4/10.  The plastic bottle with screw-on cap is way niftier than it should be (seriously, why don’t more energy drinks use them?), but this is done in with a strong tartness that’s only counterbalanced with a watered-down back-end that leads to a nearly pungent aftertaste that makes you want to shave off your taste buds one by one.  It does get marks for value, as they are a mere $.50 at Big Lots stores, but no matter how inexpensive something is, if it tastes like crap, it’s not much of a value. I’d avoid this one unless in a serious bind.

An improvement over “Storm”, but still not good.

It smells tropical enough, with a nice sweetness that reminded me of bubblegum at first, before giving way to a fruity sweetness.  It’s hard to tell exactly what it is that I was smelling, because there isn’t an ounce of actual fruit juice, nor any fruit flavors explicitly listed–all we get is the mysterious “natural flavors” BS that’s typically found in cheap energy drinks.  But it smelled good enough that, despite all that, I was still looking forward to digging right in.

I will give it that the taste is much better than “Storm”, but there’s still that pesky tartness that feels even more out of place here (though it’s also a little more subdued).  The first flavor is a pleasant sweetness that dances on the tongue initially, but that’s when the uninvited tartness settles in, causing everything to come crashing down, and leading up to an unnecessarily sour finish.  Again, the bottle situation works to its advantage, so points must be given for that, along with the $.50 asking price at Big Lots stores.  But while this is a minor improvement over “Storm”, it still wouldn’t be my first choice for an energy drink.  Nor my tenth.  Nor my fiftieth.

Overall: 5/10.  It’s a little bit better than “Storm”, but this tropical-themed drink still has an unnecessary tartness that ruins what actually starts off as enticingly sweet.  The smell reminded me of bubblegum, and the initial flavor is a welcome combination of unidentifiable but tropical-y flavors–until the sour rush comes in, essentially ruining what could have been a delicious drink.  Points must be given for the cool, recappable plastic bottle that locks in freshness for multiple servings, as well as the low $.50 price point, but even keeping those in mind, there are plenty of better energy drinks on the market.  In a bind, this will work–otherwise, stay away.

An intriguing concept with decent execution.

Anyway, if I wouldn’t have read the label before opening the bottle, I certainly would have noticed the presence of the grapefruit just by taking a sniff—it smells overwhelmingly of the fruit.  That was rather disappointing to me, because grapefruit is a pretty tart and unsweet fruit by itself, and I didn’t want something that was going to taste like that straight up.  And lemon isn’t a real sweet fruit on its own either, so I was really starting to doubt where this was headed.

Thankfully, it has plenty of sweetness in it, though even knowing what the flavor is supposed to be, it’s kind of hard to detect it in action.  There’s a brief, initial burst of grapefruit, and then it all just gets lost in a tangy little mass of citrus that I guess is supposed to be the lemon.  Really, the two fruits don’t mesh together all that well, but it’s still very drinkable assuming you’re just in it for an energy kick—at least the weird taste manages to be well balanced, as it’s neither too tart, nor too grapefruity.

But this is called “ice” for a reason, and you’ll find out a little ways in to this whole affair, as a creepy mint aftertaste starts creeping up on you.  It doesn’t happen immediately–in fact, it literally took me a couple minutes after I finished the can to even realize it.  By that time, I’d totally forgot that this was called “ice” and was starting to panic as to why there was suddenly a minty taste in my mouth.  The next day, after I drank the leftovers and had it happen again, is when I finally pieced everything together.  It’s really a crazy feeling, and not one that I can say I’ve experienced before.

This is clearly the best of the varieties in the Tornado energy line, whose major claim to fame (at least in my eyes) is that they are housed in 16 oz. plastic soda bottles. Normally that wouldn’t be very cool, but it’s different for energy drinks, and it’s a welcome addition to be able to pop on a lid and seal in the carbonation if I stretch it into two servings.   In other words, it’s good if you’re looking for a fruity flavor rather than the standard energy drink taste, and while the flavor itself is unremarkable, the frosty aftertaste is certainly unique enough to recommend giving it a go.

Overall: 6/10. A rather bizarre blend of grapefruit and lemon that tastes like a scattered mess. To elaborate, if you weren’t told what the taste was on the packaging, you’d have a hell of a time figuring it out.  It does smell strongly of grapefruit, and also tastes that way for a split second, before the tartness of the lemon taste kicks in and muddles everything.  To top it all off, there’s a weird mint aftertaste that creeps in slowly.  It also has 142 mg per bottle, so there’s enough here to give you a kick for at least a couple hours, and 50 g of sugar per can, which is standard for this kind of drink (and yet still rather excessive).  They are available for $.50 at Big Lots stores, so there’s definitely some value to be had—which is the main reason, along with the intriguing inclusion of mint, that it scores above a five…I certainly wouldn’t spend over a dollar on this stuff, but worth a look for the intrigued.