A-Game Citrus

This week’s beverage from Thirstmonger describes itself as a “Cross Functional Beverage” that will help you with rehydration, energy, and nutrition.  A-Game Citrus is what sits in the bottle to my right and judging by that last sentence it’s a sports drink that would like to differentiate itself from the other sports drinks you might find on the shelf at your local grocer.  It immediately gains points from me because of its name, A-Game.  My name as you know is Aaron, so anything that starts with an A and is followed by a hyphen and another word is always a potential nickname for me.  The A-Train is one of my favorite fake nicknames.  In this case any time I’m picked for a sports team, or beat someone at chess I can hit my chest twice and declare “I always bring my A-Game!”  Now I might lose friends in the process, but at least I sound cool. 

The second reason I’m initially impressed with A-Game citrus is that it contains sea salt and honey.  Now I’m not really sure what the difference is between salt and sea salt, but man does sea salt sound so much tastier.  Honestly, it’s the honey that impressed me as you don’t see many drinks use it as a sweetener.  Checking the ingredients I also see that Crystalline Fructose and Dextrose are also used for sweetening, so it’s not like honey is all that’s in the bottle.  Vitamins A through E are all represented in some way so that’s got to count for something, right? 

So the ingredient list is respectable and it’s got a name I can get behind.  So far A-Game Citrus is really making some headway and I haven’t even opened the bottle.  Speaking of opening the bottle, perhaps I should open the bottle after shaking well.

The aroma that sits right at the mouth of the bottle is certainly citrus scented.  Orange Tang is what I’m reminded of each time I inhale and I’d be perfectly ok if it tasted like that, but would that really be an example of them bringing their A-Game?  No, no it wouldn’t.  That would be an example of them bringing Orange Tang.  Taste time.

Ok, so while it’s not full of flavor, the orange flavor that is there is quite tasty.  You’re not going to find a good sports drink that shoves flavor down your throat, that’s not their motivation.  If you had sports drinks that tasted like Dr Pepper you wouldn’t be able to drink them as quickly.  These are made to be slammed, not sipped.  With all of that said we now come to the part of the review where I remind you that I don’t care that this is a sports drink.  I care if it tastes good as a beverage.  With that said it’s time to start the proper review.

The orange flavor is very noticeable to the point where I’m not sure why they have labeled this citrus.  If I allow my tongue a few more moments to take in what it just experienced it can pick out a bit of lemon as well which renders the previous sentence as foolish.  Of course there is no carbonation, but I figured I’d throw that in there just in case you got confused.  The sweetness level of A-Game Citrus is just right.  It doesn’t taste like I’m drinking a soda, but it still feels like a treat of sorts.  The negatives are few, but still need to be mentioned.  After each sip there is a slight coating of A-Game Citrus that remains in my mouth.  Now the aftertaste it leaves isn’t a negative one.  In fact it resembles the actual flavor of the beverage like you would think all aftertastes would.  Think of it this way.  Even though you like your best friend; if they lived with you, you would still want some “me time”.  My taste buds just want some “me time” after each sip.  That’s all.  While the Citrus (Orange/Lemon) flavor is tasty, it’s not delicious.  Again, I’m aware this is a sports drink, but I’m still looking for delicious.  That’s it, there’s nothing else.  See how painless that was?

Ultimately folks are going to want a comparison to the major players when it comes to a beverage like this.  When compared to lemon/lime Gatorade I have to say (well I don’t have to, but I am) that I prefer A-Game Citrus.  Now remember that I do very little physical activity so my experience with sports drinks is limited, so take that into consideration as well.  A-Game Citrus is a tasty beverage that I will continue to buy if I’m ever in need of being rehydrated.

~A

Twist was overly happy with how well it matched the new thrown together background