Bawls Guarana

So today I've been tucking into a bottle of Bawls Guarana; as you can see from this photo. This beverage is only available in America. I managed to get hold of some from an online american beverage import company. 

 

It costs around £2.20 (excluding shipping), which is rather a lot for 296ml (less than a UK can of Coke, which is 330ml). No doubt it is significantly cheaper in the US; however, it is still expensive relative to other beverages. I am aware of its existence in 455ml cans, providing better value.  I couldn't get my mitts on any cans of Guarana, although I managed a can of Bawls Cherry (around £2.50). It's little wonder that they're marketing this as an 'adult' energy drink at this price.

So what does it taste like? It doesn't have your 'generic' energy drink flavour. It is a very mild and inoffensive taste. A little like mild cream soda, with a hint of pear/citrus flavours. It's certainly very fizzy and frothy when sipped. I can't imagine many people dislike this. I personally think it's delicious and very drinkable, none of the sharpness/strange flavours associated with many energy drinks.

Due to the price and flavour, it's marketed as an 'adult' energy drink. This makes sense. Because of the quality of the excellent packaging, the inoffensive taste (could imagine this being mixed) and the champagne like colour (rather than bright yellow like many), this is the type of beverage I could imagine being drunk at a party/gathering as an alternative to alcohol. One other note is that it has a twist to open bottle cap; it's been a while since I've open one of those!

So how about the energy content? Well I'm led believe that some of the caffeine comes from the natural Guarana berries; however, the ingredients (shown below) would suggest that there is some artificially added too. This bottle contains 64mg, so about 22mg/100ml. That's slightly less than many beverages (often they have 32mg/100ml).  A standard 'benchmark' 250ml can of Red Bull contains 80mg.

If you take on the 455ml can of Bawls you'll be looking at 100mg of caffeine. I'm sure that's enough for most of the year; however,  on special caffeine soaked occasions (such as when the latest instalment of Modern Warfare is released), they do a  version called Bawls Guarana EXXTRA. This 455ml can packs 150mg of Caffeine - that should be enough for most people; although, make no mistake, there are more caffeinated beverages on the market. Bottles of EXXTRA are available as well. Unfortunately I haven't managed to get my hands on any of this, hence tying it into this review; if anyone knows where I could find some please get in touch!

If you want some more information, the official website for this beverage is here: http://www.bawls.com/

Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Natural Guarana Flavor, Sodium Benzoate (as a preservative), Caffeine, Artificial Flavors and Caramel Color

As always, please feel free to get in touch, either for beverage requests, information, comments, anything!

Mat.