Jeff Gordon 24 Energy Drink

I know this sounds weird to everyone but energy drink connoisseurs, but sometimes there is no better feeling than discovering an old, outdated, expired energy drink in the back of some local convenience store. My glee could barely be contained as I dug this out from the back of the usual Monsters, Full Throttles and Amps. Jeff Gordon 24 Energy Drink, brought to you by the Pepsi folks, same ones behind Dale Ernhard's energy drink, Amp 88 energy.

This orange-tangerine flavored treat has not been seen on shelves in at least three years, and I missed being able to try it then. Even though the expiration date was stamped June 30, 2008, this stuff was so assuredly packed with enough preservatives that it would last past the age of the cockroaches after World War Three. It was a special promotion from 5/07 through 9/07, but gained a very loyal following -people are still selling cases of it on Ebay and trading them around.

Now I am not a NASCAR fan, although I do like driving way too fast - and did likeTalladega Nights. According to Wikipedia though, this is a definitely a guy who should have his own energy drink. Jeff is a four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, three-time Daytona 500 winner, and driver of the #24 DuPont/Pepsi/United States National Guard Chevrolet Impala. He is the first driver to reach $100 Million in winnings for the Cup series, the quickest driver to reach 50 wins and won 82 career races. I still bet The Stig would eat him for breakfast.

Packaging:9
At the time. the look was very similar to another Pepsi brand, SoBe's Adrenaline Rush. There is lots of flames surrounding the drink - something which I would imagine is not something you want to associate with cars. I know that Gordon is all about the flames - and covers everything from his car to his daughter with them.

If you are a JG fan, this can is awesome. Huge logo - cool layout, great fonts. The lid is on right - so you can show off your #1 fan staus easily. the drink has the double printing going on, and even lists how much caffeine, yerba mate and guarana it has inside. Functional, cool, and even has an autograph on it from the man himself!

Taste:8
I had to work to get all the grunge off the top of the can - and poured it into a glass. The look was different than I expected, having more of a yellowish-orange color, like that of a melon more than an orange. Tastes pretty good for being an old soda. It reminded me of a Sunkist Solar Fusion - a nice mix of tangerine and Orange Crush. I could actually drink this again, if I ever found another can. It is a very complex flavor - more than just your average Orange.

Like many orange flavored drinks, this one is super sweet. The orange candiness and syrupiness of the tonnage of High Fructose Corn syrup made this a hard one to slam, but decent enough to consume when cold.

Buzz:8
I did not have to worry about that expiration date at all. With Sodium Citrate to keep the drink from clumping, Monopotassium Phosphate as a thirst quencher, Ester of Wood Rosin to keep oils from separating , preservatives galore, then packed with Vitamin B complex, ginseng, insositol, l-carnatine, taurine and 100% of your total Vitamin C needs, this will keep you healthy and calcified for years. On top of that, there is 150mg of caffeine plus caffeine from Guarana PLUS
caffeine from Yerba Mate too! All this with 18 teaspoons of sugar in a little 16 ounce can is enough to give anyone the jitters.

For an old school energy drink that will keep you buzzed and hyper and crash hard like you spun out of control, smashed into a wall and catch on fire, this is definitely the drink to start hunting around for.