Gasping desperately for air during the warm up? Crying and vomiting at half time? Not to worry – energy drinks will save you. But which to choose? As usual, JOE.ie is here to help. We’ve road-tested four of the best-selling energy drinks on the market so you don’t have to.
Lucozade Sport Lite 
Fresh from the stable of Lucozade sport’s energy drinks is Lucozade Sport Lite. That’s ‘Lite’ with a ‘te’ rather then a ‘ght’. Because Lucozade are down with the kids. Anyway, this stuff comes in a couple of flavours but because JOE.ie is attracted to pink things, we went for Summer Berries flavour.
It tastes like heavily diluted Ribenna although with a slightly sour aftertaste. It’s not bad. The fact that it’s not as sweet as its competitors means it works better as a thirst quencher when you’re dehydrated from a long game of badmington. Or whatever you people do. It’s also just 50 calories per 500 ml bottle.
Lucozade say its drinks will help you go up to 33 per cent longer. FACT! We don’t know whether this is true or not, kind of difficult to measure, but we do know this stuff will put a spring in your step. One downside though is the price. This was the most exensive of the four and by some margin. The 500 ml came in at €2.19.
Powerade Isotonic Sports Drink
This is the blue stuff Brian O’Driscoll scratches the side of his head with in post-game interviews. We went for Berry and Tropical Fruit flavour, although we’re sceptical about whether there is much by way of fruit in this gear. For a start, it’s electric blue. There is no such thing as an electric blue fruit. Secondly, the makers seem reluctant to specify what type of fruit is in here. ‘Berry and Tropical Fruit’ flavour? What type of berries? What sort of tropical fruit? The people want answers.
Lucozade made a big deal about the fact that its new ‘lite’ drink is only 50 calories. Big swinging micky Lucozade, the original Powerade is only 50 calories too! Powerade has revealed details of a study carried out by an Irish university which proved that pre-hydrating with Powerade before prolonged, strenuous exercise allowed athletes to perfom at optimal levels for longer than when given either water or nothing. So there you have it. In black and white.
While normally wary of consuming anything blue, Powerade isn’t as a bad as it looks. The visual similarity to blue cool pops means you’re mentally prepared for a gush of sugar, but it never comes. Again, it has an inoffensive watery, somewhat sour taste. Powerade is kind of middle of the road when it comes to price – we got ours for €1.99.
Energise Sport Isotonic Sports Fuel 
Energise Sport was developed and formulated in 2003 by Britvic Ireland’s product development team. They don’t mess about when it comes to telling you what this stuff can do for you. Apparently, it contains an optimum balance of carbohydrates and electrolytes so it hydrates faster than water. Makers say it is designed to “fuel working muscles for greater power output during exerciseâ€. Sounds like just the ticket.
So what does it taste like? Well, we went for the orange flavour which as it turns out, is the sweetest of our four beverages. It tastes like the diluted stuff your mother used to put in your beaker before packing you off to primary school in the eighties. Remember beakers? Jesus. Beakers. I feel old. Anyway, Energise is rather inoffensive and goes down easy, but wouldn’t be something you would drink with your lunch if you had a choice in the matter.
It comes in at a reasonable €1.90 and you will get that warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing that you are helping our moribund economy by buying Irish.
Gatorade 
The big, brash American of the energy drinks world, Gatorade has been rapidly eating into the market since it’s relatively late arrival to the party. Gatorade is so on the ball that each bottle can actually pose and answer questions. The Lemon Flavour Gatorade we picked up asked, ‘What exactly does Gatorade do for an athlete?’ The bottle answers but not before giving itself a quick compliment. ‘Good question,’ Gatorade says to itself before adding: ‘It’s scientifically formulated to replace more of what you lose when you sweat. By providing fluids and electrolytes to promote complete rehydration and carbs to refuel working muscles, Gatorade helps you keep going longer and stronger.’
If you’re concerned about your caloric consumption then Gatorade is the way to go. It has just 25 calories – half that of Lucozade Sport’s new ‘Lite’ drink. Another big plus is that Gatorade is far cheaper than its competitors, coming in at just €1.69. That’s around €0.50 less than the priciest drink we road tested.
One thing, though, is that it tastes like cold Lemsip. That said, I quite like Lemsip. So maybe that’s okay.
Robert Carry
