I first came across Monster Energy during Download Festival at Donington Park in 2007. At the time, i was more inclined to purchase isotonic drinks along the lines of Powerade, Gatorade, Lucozade Sport when i needed a bit of a boost while at work, gigs, festivals etc.

The first can of Monster that i opened was almost a completely new experience for me, as i was fairly uneducated/inexperienced in the field of carbonated energy supplement drinks. The first thing that jumped out at me (or more accurately what didn't jump out at me) was the lack of overpowering odour that you usually get from opening a can of Red Bull. Granted, Monster is hardly a drink with an inconspicuous aroma, but personally, the sweeter, fruitier Monster is preferable to the likes of Red Bull any day of the week.

Now, moving on to the actually flavour and taste. Again, i was totally unsure what to expect from this new drink as i chugged the first few mouthfuls. To this day, i still find it difficult to explain exactly what Monster tastes of. All i can really offer is what you would expect. A unique combination of fruit flavours, no doubt rounded off by pangs contributed by the "active ingredients" in the energy blend. The use of fruit juice is made more apparent as the various Monster drinks i have tried all seem to have a "thicker" composition than competitors such as Rockstar, Relentless etc. The best way i can explain myself here is to liken Monster to freshly squeezed orange juice and the likes of Rockstar to orange cordial drink.

Now onto the business end of the drink; the reason we were initially supposed to buy this or any other energy supplement. Its effect and side-effects on the body.

As i mentioned earlier in this review, the first time i had the chance to try Monster Energy was at Download Festival in 2007. Towards the end of the festival when a lot of food stalls and bars started to close down, we noticed a fairly hefty truck giving away free "samples" of Monster to clear out their stock and spread the word. My friends and I decided to give the truck a visit to see if we could get any free samples. Much to our surprise, we walked away with between 4 and 8 cans each. So as you can imagine, the following days involved "putting away" a fair few of these drinks.

Since the very first can i tried, to the present day (strangely enough i am drinking a can of Monster Energy at the time of writing), i have never experienced a noticeable detrimental side-effect. Now i am not trying to say that other people won't feel the side effects of anxiety, nausea and heart palpitations, as no doubt they will, with varying levels of tolerance to the various ingredients.
The actual energy hit that I receive from drinking a can of Monster, generally seems to be more effective than the likes provided by its competitors' products. I'm sure we've all been in the position of struggling through an afternoon in work and needing a pick-up to push you the extra distance. For me, there is nothing better to remedy this situation than a can of Monster.

Basically, what i am trying to encourage, is people to go out and try it for theirselves. Maybe buy a can and share between two or more friends if the possible side-effects are putting you off trying a product that you would otherwise jump at the chance of trying.

On from Monster Energy, there are other variants using the same active ingredients, but in a different recipe to achieve new flavours or low carb variants. I was so impressed by Monster Energy and Monster Ripper, that i splashed out to import a US variant known as Monster Assault, which in the end cost a rather hefty amount per can, but worth every penny in my book.

Then of course, Monster works as an excellent mixer with alcohol and appears to have made its way onto select bars' price lists as a mixer.

If you do decide to give Monster a go, make sure it is ice cold. I go as far as to put cans in the freezer for a while until they are virtually at freezing point. With or without alcohol, a refreshing, invigorating drink for those warm summer days (if we actually get any of course!)