Rockstar Punched Guava Energy Drink Aussified

I was stoked to see Rockstar Punched Guava in New Zealand stores because of the great review Dusty gave it a little while ago.

However, upon closer examination I discovered that it has a different formulation and not in the good way.

The can did create quite a bit of attention as I was sitting at the cafe eating lunch. People seemed to be amazed and strangely drawn to the huge, purple 500ml can sitting on the table.

Rockstar Energy has established a separate Australian Division to their Company and unfortunately for us has to adjust their drinks to conform to the caffeine regulations in AUS and NZ.

Taste

The good news is Rockstar Punched Guava has pretty much the same taste Dusty raved about. From the first sip I knew that it was a winner and with later gulps, I had to remind myself that I was drinking an energy drink…Yes, it is that good! Completely void of any mediciney taste whatsoever.

The only complaint about Rockstar Punched Guava would be that I found it a tad too sweet. It was great at first, but towards the end of the can the 83.5 grams of sugar was making my teeth hurt. Certainly not something you want to drink after having teeth whitening; caffeinated drinks already have a reputation for discolouring teeth!.

Ingredients

Ok, here’s the sad part. This version of Rockstar Guava only has 160mg of caffeine per 500ml while in the USA this energy drink has 254mg/500ml. Also, the down under version has no milk thistle. As for the rest of the ingredients they appear to be the same.

Effect

I’m sure you know the feeling, you have just eaten lunch and now you’re back to work fighting to stay awake at your desk, right? Well, drinking Rockstar Punched Guava with my lunch completely annihilated my desire for a siesta. I’m not crazy energized, but feel pretty motivated.

Verdict

My number one drink in New Zealand used to be Rockstar Juiced, but then last week Demon Killa Troppo toppled it from its throne. Now it seems I have a new contender in Rockstar Punched Guava. I guess it might come down to price when I’m forced to decide between the two.

5 Comments

J
11/4/09
well I will say this: Good Luck with that, my friend
Nick
11/4/09
This is one of my new-ish favorites. Though I live in the U.S. and according to this can in front of me there is only 80mg per 240ml, so I think it’s the same. But I do know that the Punched Citrus has 120mg per 240ml.
Nick
11/4/09
I just noticed something. The bottle in Dusty’s review says Punched, your can says Punched, but my can says Juiced… Do they have a Punched and Juiced version?
Evan
11/5/09
Yea, there’s a Punched and a Juiced version. The Juiced has been out for awhile, and I have never heard about the taste being that amazing. The Punched came out more recently and is supposed to be amazing.
ted
11/8/09
Nick, the punched guava version is only available in bottles in the states. This version is only available in Rockstar’s other markets outside the USA.