Voddy Awful! (Red Square Reloaded)

Member Name: IainWear

Product:	Red Square Reloaded
Date:	23/04/04 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Too sweet and sickly

I?ve never really understood the whole idea of mixing an energy drink like Red Bull with vodka. Surely the two would cancel each other out? Maybe the idea is that you?d still fall down in the gutter, but you?d have the energy to get up afterwards, instead of falling asleep there. Or perhaps it?s so that you can dance all night?like an idiot?

But mostly the reason I don?t understand it is that I don?t like either of the products in question. Vodka I can handle, although I don?t tend to, if covered by a mixer. But energy drinks? The smell of Red Bull is enough to put me off, never mind tasting it! And drinks of that nature seem to be loaded with sugar and, not having a particularly sweet tooth, the very thought of drinking one of them makes my teeth curl.

So quite what made me say yes when I was offered a bottle of Red Square Reloaded, I will never know. I?m guessing it was probably the snazzy silver coloured bottle that caught my eye, as knowing it contains taurine and wolfberry certainly wouldn?t influence my decision ? I have absolutely no idea what they are. Discovering that it contains 17% cane sugar syrup, however, leaves me on the verge of throwing it away unopened.

Having overcome that urge, barely, the smell isn?t awe inspiring, either. It?s certainly got a hint of the nausea inducing Red Bull smell I dislike so much, but there does seem to be a little undertone of something else as well. It doesn?t smell as tooth curlingly sweet as Red Bull straight away, as there?s an almost fruity undertone and a hint of what I?m guessing must be the guarana, seeing as it smells a little like those guarana Boost bars.

It?s slightly different in appearance to Red Bull, too. Although the basic colour is that of treacle, not unlike Red Bull, it seems to have a subtle green tint to it. Poured into a glass, it doesn?t appear to be unlike lager, only without a head.

But as soon as you take a taste, you?d know it?s not lag
er. Even speaking as someone who has drunk bottles of both Babycham and peach Archers Aqua, this is quite possibly the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted in my life. And with my cooking skills, that?s saying something! It?s so sweet, it?s like drinking sugar. I can feel my teeth packing up and running for safety as I sip. Somehow through all this, there is a slightly bitter herbal aftertaste which, after all the sweetness of the original sugar rush, is a surreal experience, but not enough to save this from being way too much for my tastes. On the plus side, I couldn?t taste the vodka at any point in proceedings.

If you don?t have a sweet tooth then there is no way that this will be to your taste. Indeed, it may prove too sweet even for people who do think they have a sweet tooth. If you have no taste buds, however, you?ve got nothing to lose. There?s a warning on the bottle that suggests that if you are sensitive to caffeine, or diabetic, that you should be avoiding this. I?m not sure about the caffeine, as I can?t feel that having any effect and I drink so much coffee in an average day that it would take more than this to keep me awake, but I can see where the warning for diabetics is needed ? this stuff could make a serious mess of your blood sugar level!

A 70cl bottle of this stuff will set you back £2.34 at Tesco, although you?ll be hit for £1.39 for a 275ml bottle, which is far worse value, relatively speaking. Prices for vodka based alcopops and alcopop style drinks in general are usually fairly equal anyway, so essentially all this means is that you?re not going to avoid buying Red Square Reloaded for reasons of price. You?re going to avoid buying it because it tastes awful! I got my bottle for free, and I still feel as if I?ve been ripped off!

Summary: