Exclamation Energy Drink: Too Good For a Name?
Could there be an energy drink out there that was so impressive, so awe-inspiring, and so truly magnificent, that no name could ever do it justice? It turns out somebody seemed to think so and that somebody created a brand new energy drink; ! .
Fear of a Name!
At this point most of you are probably thinking I failed 3rd grade writing, obviously I do in fact realize there is an exclamation point exclaiming quite literally nothing but there is a reason to my childish ways. This energy drink actually IS called ! (Exclamation) and the only visible marking on the front of the can is a piercing black and silver exclamation point. Oh it gets better though, on the back of the can is the catch-phrase “Exclamation Needs No Explanation”, go ahead and laugh now, in a moment you’ll realize that the whole package is annoyingly clever.
Judging by the name, or lack thereof I’ll admit I prejudged this beverage. I figured it would be another one of those soda-disguised energy drinks that never seem to live up to their promises. With ! there wasn’t really anything to live up to, problem solved. Think about it, without hopes you can never have ruined-hopes, without expectations, there’s never anything to not meet. Remarkable.
Taste of Fear!
Unfortunately, even with the lack of expectations the taste wasn’t much to exclaim about. Coming only in 12 oz cans of Orange, I quickly got tired of the tangy supplemental flavor. At least, that’s what I thought the flavor was, but without labels who knows! When I first drank this I thought it was orange flavored, the next time I tried it I second-guessed my initial taste and thought peach, but by the third can all I could notice was the supplements. With Caffeine, Inositol, Guarana, Ginseng, Milk Thistle, Niacin, Taurine, and a whole range of B vitamins, there wasn’t much room for the taste of anything else. It almost seems like they wanted to reel people in with the fact that they used every chemical legal for energy drink use. My nerves somewhat appreciated this but my tongue had opinions of its own.
As the chemical concoction coursed through my veins I couldn’t help but notice the effects. For whatever reason, I felt energized but lacked the clarity of thoughts I normally see. It was almost as if I suddenly had Caffeinated Attention Deficit Disorder. Needless to say I couldn’t concentrate normally and the effects as a whole were off par from what I’m used to. It could have been a weird reaction or it could have been the unnecessary and excessive added supplements, I guess I’ll never know.
Fearful of Failure!
Anyone who has ever tried “Mystery Flavored” products will agree with me when I say that it really comes down to interpretation. Words are a powerful thing when it comes to any food, beverage, or product and without them; there aren’t any real boundaries for the mind to stay within. The flavors changed with the number of times I tried ! and the effects at times were more than irritating.
Pricing is $2 a can ($12 shipped for a 6 pack) and can only be found online. Maybe I used up all my spontaneity on Mana but the whole nameless, flavorless, over bloated drink concept just doesn’t work for me.
Overall Score (2.5/5)
Review by Josh (blog: Cubicalism & Coffee)
8 Comments
Grapefruit is the flavor. It is a nice change of pace I think. It has 150mg of sweet caffeine. I have tried hundreds of energy drinks and I was surprised by this one. You get sick of the RB clones. I think exclamation does a better job with this flavor than others like Monster Heavy Metal or Lost Cadillac. The latter 2 say they are margarita flavored but I have drank even more margaritas than energy drinks and they are grapefruit flavored. Neither of those include the flavor on the can. In fact I’d say 80% at least mention no flavor. Red Bull? who knows, Monster?, Rockstar? I could name a hundred others. Your problem with mystery flavors does not hold up. It is very common in the ed market. Heck in the soda market you don’t get a named flavor most of the time. Dr Pepper, Coke, Pepsi, RC ect.
What’s with the “mystery flavor” comments. Citrus based is the flavor for those that read comments on reviews. The energy drink market has basically separated itself into two flavor categories, soda based (black cherry, cherry, etc) and citrus based (grapefruit, peach, etc). To not understand that basic element should remove you from reviewing energy drinks on a whole. I also found the energy ingredients in ! Energy to be on par with most other energy drinks. To have some adverse effect says to me you should probably just stick to your low dose coffee.
Waterjoe was harsh. I enjoy your reviews. Sadly enough on dr’s orders I won’t be able to try any new ones for approx 9 mos. I love being pregnant, but switching to decaf is hard.
Waterjoe, you must be an expert. Why don’t you just start your own energy drink review site? It would be way better than energyfiend.com because they obviously do not know what they’re talking about.
Based upon other online reviews I bought some ! from Beverages Direct and I think it is quite good. I find it to be a cross between NOS and Sobe AR minus the aftertaste. The ingredients appear to be quite similar to NOS. I do not experience any “Caffeine Disorder” when I drink it but that could be because my system is used to energy drinks. As for the name (or lack thereof) I like it. What tires me is all the “extreme” names in the market trying to get my attention. Look forward to ordering more!
Are you sure it isn’t called “Bang”, an alternative name for the exclamation mark?
Also, waterjoe, how is peach a citrus flavor?
Citrus is defined as:
1. Any of several shrubs or trees of the family Rutaceae
2. The fruit of such plants, generally spherical, oblate, or prolate, consisting of an outer glandular skin called zest, an inner white skin, and generally between 8 and 16 sectors filled with pulp consisting of cells with one end attached to the inner skin. Citrus fruits include orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and citron.
Thanks for the correction on citrus. Then replace “peach” with “orange” in my original comment.
Very well written…Looking forward to more of your writings