What makes a grape wild? (Jolt CX2 Wild Grape)

Member Name: edinburgher

Product:	Jolt CX2 Wild Grape
Date:	15/05/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of flavour, caffeine and vitamins for tired souls

Disadvantages: Contains too much sugar and is fairly dear

No, it's not a new Dooyoo jokes category, but the intro for one of the most enjoyable energy drinks I've had in a while.

Jolt CX2 Wild Grape is the final caffeine packed wonder from the massive crate of imported American energy drinks that my loving (but possibly mad) girlfriend bought me for Christmas. I've been trying to hold off reviewing too many of them too soon so as to not bore you all with my carbonated odyssey!

Despite the fact that the claim to being grape flavoured (or flavored, if that's your flavour/flavor) is somewhat tenuous, I found this drink to be a worthwhile and delicious addition to the range. The North American love for supposedly grape flavoured treats is somewhat hard to fathom. The typical flavour returned by the food scientists at Jolt, Welches and the like is a cross between a red grape, bubblegum and a bottle of Shloer.

*Well worth buying a can (or twelve)* 

The only website in the UK where I've seen this is www.americansoda.co.uk - a relatively small operation that manages to offer a good range of North American goodies. For those of you lucky enough to visit the US with any regularity I'm sure it's much more widely available there.

Sadly for myself and the rest of the caffeine addicts, 6 cans of this costs £18.10 (£3.02 each), or £26.60 for 12 (£2.22 each). You will usually be given a £5 off £20 or more voucher with each purchase, meaning that any further purchases of 12 cans would cost a more reasonable £1.80 each. Considering that this is only £0.50 more than a can of Red Bull in a station, it's probably not the worst deal ever.

Each can comes in at ~470 ml (the size has recently shrunk for some unknown reason) and this is enough for two regular sized glasses or one blast of energy on a bleary-eyed morning.

*Be sure to recycle once you get the can off the shelf* 

I remain enthralled with the trendy battery shaped cans that these drinks came in and it's taken a lot of cajoling from aforementioned loving girlfriend to get me to recycle some of the hoard of ~24 or so cans that I was hiding in my cupboard for some unknown reason. Perhaps I had a planned modern art installation in mind? Joking aside, I really should recycle them all, as the food miles accrued during their trip from the States to my door are somewhat horrifying.

*Purplest of all the purple fruits* 

Jolt CX2 Wild Grape is a wonderful rich purple colour and for those who like this flavour it is grape juice embodied. It makes me think of over ripe fruit, recently pressed wine (well, that is grape juice of a sort) and the colours used for costumes in a good Harry Potter film. I love the taste, which is fruity and incredibly sweet. Be warned, if you're not a fan of grape sweets/drinks, this one may be a bit much for your no doubt more refined palate.

The drink is particularly fizzy and this works well to stop the rich flavour becoming too cloying. Red grape Shloer (already mentioned) can be guilty of this in my opinion.

Despite the fact that there's a bit too much sugar in this for use as anything other than an occasional treat, it deserves its claim to be an energy drink. It contains the caffeine of two cups of coffee, ginseng and guarana (herbal stimulants) and added doses of B Vitamins and folic acid etc. On the 3-4 times that I was lucky enough to sup on this I definitely felt 'perkier', more awake and able to maintain exercise for longer.

Summary: Not the healthiest drink ever, but it works as an energy drink. Stuff the calories - a great treat!