After nearly two solid decades of heavy caffeine consumption, I count myself nearly immune to the wonder drug. With a thousand different kinds of energy drinks on the market, I've decided to find out which ones work, and which should just be mixed with vodka and evacuated a few hours later. This week, I gave NOS Energy Drink a shot.
This drink is available almost everywhere now, so you won't have a hard time picking it up. It comes in a couple different flavors, orange and grape. I went with the original orange flavor, for no other reason than I liked the look of the bottle. I'm a sucker for marketing I guess. Inspecting the label, I see the NOS energy drink is labeled as a dietary supplement. I'm not sure what diet calls for 3000 mg of Taurine, 400 mg of caffeine, and 90 grams of sugar, but I've officially signed up for it. To NOS's defense, it does contain 300% of your daily B6 and B12 vitamins, so that should make you feel better.
Just to make NOS even more awesome, it's not filled with simply "ingredients." No, you see NOS only has "Power Ingredients" like carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, and taurine. Wow, taurine is the fourth listed ingredient. Beneath the power ingredients, there's a warning that children, nursing women, and people sensitive to caffeine should avoid this product.
I crack open the bottle and take a swig. This is the second energy
drink in a row that actually tastes pretty damn good! It's like being
punched in the gut by an orange creamsicle. It has the chemical scent
of orange cleaning products, and I'm sure after drinking about half the
bottle I've done some sort of irreversible damage to myself.
One hour after drinking: Damn, this thing is really strong. My
eyes are bugging out of my head and I can't stop my foot from bouncing
off the floor while I'm sitting at my desk. Unlike last week's
Rockstar, I'm not feeling jittery, but I am certainly wide awake and
hyper.
Three hours after drinking: The hyper feeling is still here. My
foot is back under control and my eyes are firmly back in their
sockets, but the energy hasn't subsided. I do have a slight headache,
but I can't blame it on the NOS after staring at a computer screen for
three hours.
Five hours after drinking: The energy is all gone now and the
sugar low is taking its toll on me. I'm feeling tired, but not
exhausted. Definitely not as big a crash as I was expecting with all
that sugar and caffeine pumping through my veins.
As is normal with energy drinks, NOS costs about $3. It comes on very
quick, tastes good, and lasts for quite a while. The crash isn't as
hard as you'll expect, but it will leave you lethargic after a few
hours.
