BOOM energy drink

It is always exciting when I get the privilege to try drinks from a different country. Boom Energy drink is from the tropical land of Jamaica, where they regularly need to beat the hot humid weather outside. Strangely, this is might not be the number one selling energy drink in Jamaica (according to press releases, this honor goes to Liquid Nitro), but is the first Jamaican Energy drink. Production on Boom began in January 2010. The product is distributed island- wide through a company called Wisynco, which also owns the islands franchises for Wendy’s, Haagen-Dazs stores and Domino’s pizza restaurants. They distribute 110 brands with over 4,000 different products between beverages, grocery and synthetic items. While they manufacture synthetic items such as foam containers, plastic forks, spoons and cups, this is their only energy drink.

Taste:9
Ad with something that tastes this good, I can almost see it helping curb the violence on the island. It is known that as it gets hot, the increase of violence goes up. Many studies have shown that as temperatures rise, so do people's temperaments. So by drinking ice cold Boom, you can stay more cool and refreshed. This tastes like a mix of Monster and Sprite - easy to drink and delicious. You can tell that this started out with a regular energy drink profile, but then time and care was spent cutting back the medicinal edge - leaving a heavy soda in it's place. From what I understand, this drink is also much cheaper than Red Bull and counterparts, making it easier for people to enjoy!

Buzz:3
And it is pretty heavy and thick. There are 280 calories in a 20ounce bottle of Boom, attributable to the pure cane sugar used. There is also some dextrose used to help sweeten the drink up, some preservatives and a the energy blend.
The energy ingredients are a bit weak, mainly consisting of some B vitamins, ginseng and caffeine. No taurine, inositol, or anything particularly jamaican in the ingredients list. While they do not list the caffeine on the bottle, it tasted weak to me, and I really did not get as much of a buzz as I was expecting from a drink called BOOM. An email I received from Wisynco then told me what I suspected. Although I thought it had more like 50mg of caffeine per serving (this drink was weak, but I did not get a caffeine craving, and did not feel the pull to the coffee machine for about 3 hours after drinking), I was told that the whole bottle of Boom (20ounces) has only around 50mg. That means, this drink has much less caffeine in it than a majority of sodas sold here in the US. That is pretty sad for a drink that tastes so good.

Packaging:8
One of the cooler and more interesting things about BOOM is the bottle that it comes in. Yes, a bottle. Unlike most energy drink aluminum cans, this comes in a solid black plastic bottle, reminiscent of a Sprite or Coke 20 ounce bottle, only in solid black. While I know this is a cheaper way to produce energy drinks, but in this case it really works. I love the bright colors of the wrapper, and the cool 70's colors used the packaging. If you were to imagine an energy drink designed for 1979, this would be the Bomb!
My only real issue with this whole design is the lack of caffeine in formation on the bottle, which is a problem, but the warning that informs that "Athletes who consume after strenuous activity incur the risk of experiencing a serious adverse cardiovascular event" makes up for it. Now that is a Serious Warning.