Balls was originally a
gamers beverage as it was a designed a high caffeine drink. Hoby Buppert (1998 CNN
Money interview) created the drink as an alterative to coffee as part
of a college class project in 1997. He came up with a carbonated and
non-alcoholic beverage made with guarana, a highly caffeinated berry native to
the Amazonian rainforest. This root beer is no
exception.
The original variant,
Bawls Guarana, is packaged in a cobalt blue, non-slip glass bottle. Bawls
EXXtra comes in a clear bottle. Both containers are covered in approximately
104 bumps for easier gripping.
The root beer was released
in 2008 and has about 64 mg of caffeine in 10 ounces. This is more than Mountain Dew Game Fuel. Almost double a Dr. Pepper or Coke, (according to
caffeineinformer.com). The bottle is labeled “Warning:
This product contains high levels of caffeine”. Another example, Bawls has 6.4 mg/floz whereas Barq’s has
1.9 mg/floz . As far as energy
drinks, KickStart is lower at 6.0 mg/floz yet Monster is higher at 9.4 mg/floz.
Now for the
review. (Click here for information
on the rating criteria and a table of all the root beer brands tested or to be tested.)
Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High
Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Citric Acid, Natural Guarana Extract, Sodium
Benzoate (preservative), Caffeine, Natural & Artificial
Nutrition information from the label (per 10 oz):
- 130 Calories (13 per oz)
- 35mg Sodium. (3.5 mg per oz)
- 36g Sugar (12%) of Daily Carbohydrates (3.6 per oz)
- 64mg Caffeine (6.4 mg per oz)
Aroma and Flavor – 1.25 out of 3 mugs
It is the use of
high fructose corn syrup that caused me to lower the score by 0.5.
When I opened the beverage the aroma was
outstanding! The taste was nothing
special, but good. It has the
commercial root beer taste (like A&W) and carbonization with an unidentified
fruity aftertaste. I assume that may be the caffeine and
Guarana? It left my mouth a little dry.
Head -- 2.25 out of 3 mugs
The head it one of
the best I have tested. Full and
frothy and lasted to the last drop. Its only negative is it impacts the overall enjoyment.
Zip -- 1 out of 3 mugs
The zip is actually strange. It has a strange sensation that leave
the mouth feeling a little dry. While
not disappointing, it is nothing special either.
Post Consumption
Impression – 1 out of 3 mugs
This is a typical
root beer. I would drink it again,
but at breakfast. The caffeine
punch was noticeable! When I get
this type of caffeine buzz, I usually feel it when the effect is past through
my internal organs. In fact, the
buzz was such that I actually became dizzy and felt ill for several hours. Realistically, this is a solid energy
drink that lacks the vitamins. While
I enjoy energy drinks, I usually take 6-8 hours to drink one where I could not
imagine that with a root beer.
Would I recommend
this at 6.25 out of 12 mugs?
This is not the worse, but
based on the effect it had on my internal organs and nothing special in taste,
I am not sure it would be the root beer of choice for me. If this would not have such a solid
head, it would still not be at the bottom of my rankings.
No comments:
Post a Comment