Xyience Xenergy Citrus Slam

It has been just over a year that Xyience, the bad boy in a field of bad boys, had filed Chapter 11, and left a trail of missed opportunities, lost jobs and prison terms. All in all, the company who had a great thing going with the tie ins to UFC and a fantastic drink imploded - many thought for good. I found myself buying cans of Xyience at local shops I could find, thinking I was going to have to save them as energy drink rarities.

Then one day in the mail I get this great little package, and inside are 4 new Xenergy drinks and a couple slightly retooled favorites. It seems Xyience is back, with a new heart and from judging Citrus Slam, a fantastic new set of drinks too.

Taste:10
The first of the bunch I picked, Citrus Slam, starts like sprite and ends with a bite all its own. Something about this kick almost seemed to me more like a carbonated lemonade with a splash of lime, as it was tart and very very fruity. It was very sweet and very crisp, and if I did not know this drink had no calories, I would have expected sugar cane or some other natural sweetener. Somehow, they just managed to strike the right balance of tartness and surcralose/Ace-k to make a rich and flavorful lime/lemon drink. This is not sprite, or any other lemon-lime soda you have had before. This is more tart, more sharply citrus, without being over the top or syrupy. I think part f the complexity of flavor has to do with the content of potassium or sodium in the drink, but the added touch of saltiness really rounds out the flavor profile. I would gladly drink this flavor again and again.

Packaging:8
I love the black evolution of the Xenergy - so much cleaner than the bare metal with stylized kanji of years past. I see this one as the final evolution in a package design that has taken years to get right. Now, I don't mind the Berry Pom clear cans as much as I used to, but the dark black design is a real winner. They even managed to get the lid on right, so the logo points outwards while drinking from the can. The branding is double facing, so the distributors and clerks don't have to worry about facing the drink - and everything is laid out very nicely. Yo get the UFC logo and slogan, as well as their official circle within circle design, with all fonts easy to read and without pandering to the "XTREME" grunge typefaces. The only real problem I see is that they hide their caffeine amount within a proprietary blend, a real mistake when one of their big selling points is that these new flavors have a bigger boost. With the impressive nutritional content in here, I am surprised they don't advertise it more on the label.

Nutrition/Buzz:9
Xenergy packs more B12 vitamins and slightly more caffeine than regular Xenergy but is still sugar- and calorie-free with a minimal carb count. I drank this after the gym and felt a great rush - not only the caffeine stimulation, but I really needed the potassium too. There is about 250mg of caffeine in here, from both guarana and chemical caffeine, plus lots of potassium, some electrolytes and the usual energy drink ingredients. I found this to be really effective as a post workout morning stimulant - and had a hard time taking a moment to savor the flavor instead of just chugging the 16 ounces down. This one really impressed me with their nutrients, although it was a little light on the vitamins. Still, as an energy drink goes I thought it was muy bueno.