Energy In A Bottle? (Lucozade Energy)

Member Name: cazkins

Product:	Lucozade Energy
Date:	12/11/09 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sold in bottles for better practicality, popular, can help overcome colds & perk up your energy

Disadvantages: High in sugar & calories, not the same taste & fiziness that I remember

Initially 'Glucozade' when it was first produced in 1927 (I didn't realise it was that old either!), it became known as just 'Lucozade', but has more recently become Lucozade Original to help distinguish it from the other similar variants in the ever-expanding range. It's produce by GlaxoSmithKline, a very popular & prestigious company who I would expect good quality products from.

The range has expanded greatly since I was a kid, where Original Lucozade was pretty much the first and last choice. Perhaps that's why I've never been that keen on trying the other flavours, because I got used to how the original tasted as considered it to be the best after being disappointed by their Energy Orange several years ago. Other variants include: Apple, Sports range (ie. Hydroactive citrus fruit), Cherry, Energy Orange, Sport Tropical, Sport Raspberry, Energy Orange Barley and Sport Orange Still.

Lucozade Original is available in a few different sizes, including:

6 x 380ml bottles £4.42 (Tesco) - slightly smaller bottles by 120ml than the standard individual size
1 x 1L bottle £1.89 (Tesco) - I wouldn't buy this unless it would get consumed fairly quickly as it goes flat when left, no matter how tightly you screw the cap on.
500ml 96p (Tesco) - same ish as other bottled pop

Lucozade is an energy drink, promoted as one to give you a quick uplift and burst of life when you need it. It's the high glucose content that gives this benefit, but just because it supposedly gives you energy doesn't mean it's actually a healthy drink. Not the original version at least. I recently found out that it was actually a religious crime for Muslims to drink this prior to 2004, just in case you were interested! Anyway, enough of the blurb, does it work and it is tasty?

I remember when I was little and feeling ill that my parents would give me Lucozade. I got sick a few times in primary/secondary school, as most children do, and strangely enough, Lucozade always seemed to help after being hauled up on the sofa with a bucket for my queezyness and tissue for my cold. Perhaps it doesn't work for everyone, and it may have changed since I was younger as it doesn't taste the same to me anymore, but it's energising properties may help you out of a slump and get you feeling a bit perkier. It's worth a try anyway!

As I said, it doesn't seem to taste quite the same to me anymore. I'm not sure if this is because my taste and preferences have changed, or if the product actually does taste slightly different, but I know someone who agrees with me so perhaps it's the latter.

Although the original version isn't classed as 'Orange', it has a refreshingly orange taste to it. It's a fizzy drink, and is best drank ice cold and consumed shortly after opening it. I remember this to be very flavoursome, with a good fizz and a bit of a kick to it. When I had one recently, after not having had one for so long, I was a bit disappointed. It seemed to have a bit of a tang to it in terms of an aftertaste, and lacked the fizzy spark it once had. It's still fizzy, but it's slightly more bland and so less refreshing or different to the average carbonated drink.

It can be quite filling, so a whole 500ml bottle may leave you feeling a bit full, gazzy with bubbles or slightly sickly because of the sugar overload. It may, however, help you kick that cold or kickstart your energy levels, but only for a short period of time.

Although the fizzyness and distinctive taste may not be what it once was, it still packs plenty of sugar and calories in per bottle. A 500ml plastic bottle, the average single size, contains 175 calories per 250ml serving. So presumably the manufacturers think that you would only drink half of the bottle per serving, though I wouldn't recommend drinking half and leaving the rest until the day after because it tends to go flat quite quickly. So, 350 calories per bottle is very high in my opinion for something that is pretty much just glucose syrup and passed off as being a quick fix for energy deficiency.

Overall, I must admit I'm a bit disappointed with Lucozade. It seems to have a strong image and is still regarded as one of the first and most popular energy drinks, but it's just not quite what it used to be.

I can also think of better energy boosts that aren't as pricey, unhealthy or high in empty calories, but if it's quenching thirst I'm after then I'll still opt for a Diet Coke over this I'm afraid.

It makes a nice change to have some every now and again, so I would recommend giving it a try if you haven't already, but probably not for frequent consumption.

Summary: It may not be the top drink of my choice, but it's still the longstanding original energy drink