I will be honest, I am not much for energy drinks, but Merica Energy was solid. Merica Energy doesn’t kill you with caffeine (I don’t need 300mg+ per can), and lays out what is packed into a can transparently. You will never jam everything you need into a RTD energy drink, but they do a nice job of synergizing ingredients with a great taste.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/I3dWQo3SKzY” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” bg_color=”#2e2e2e” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”padding-5-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#efefef” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_color_hover=”#ffffff” background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”medium_depth” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”2px” column_border_color=”#000000″ column_border_style=”solid”][text-with-icon icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-arrow-right” color=”Accent-Color”]
Why You Should Trust Our Reviews
[/text-with-icon][fancy-ul icon_type=”font_icon” icon=”icon-ok” color=”Accent-Color” alignment=”left”]- EXPERT REVIEW PANEL
Our review panel is made up of individuals with many years of experience in the sports nutrition industry, dating back to the early 2000’s. Their tenure gives them knowledge on brands, supplements, ingredients, dosages and more. - FULL CONTAINER REVIEWS
Unlike the majority of “review” sites on the internet, Fitness Informant reviews every supplement on a full-container basis. What does this mean? It means that a review is not written or recorded until the last serving of that product has been finished. We’ve all had products that were great for the first couple of days, but then lost their effectiveness shortly after. We want to ensure you are getting a full review based on a full product. - INGREDIENT EDUCATION
We breakdown each ingredient in our reviews to educate you on exactly what the ingredients do, and what is the proper dosage of each ingredient to effectively do what they are intended to do. - 100% HONEST – NO B.S. REVIEWS
Our number #1 priority is to inform you proper supplement selection through honest reviews. The majority of “review” sites on the internet will push you to buy a certain product based on the commissions they received. Not us. We want you to purchase the highest quality supplements at the best value. We put your health and wellness first. To achieve your goals we want you to use only the best supplements that you can afford. We do this by being honest.
We then look at effectiveness. An effective energy will use high quality, proven ingredients. This is generally an extension of the profile section. The higher quality ingredients used, the more effective that product will be.
Then we move into the taste of the different flavors we’ve tried. We grade each flavor separately and average the scores for their overall taste rating. We were able to test out the following flavors: Impeachment, Make America Grape Again, Not Your Granny’s Apple, Merican Made and Freedom.
Finally, we talk about value. Value is the combination of profile, effectiveness and taste in relation to cost. Another part of value are the competitors and other versions of energy drinks products on the market.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Ingredients Profile
[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Listen, let’s just start by laying it out. This is not a pre-workout. Some people treat it as such, but there’s no way they could pack what is needed for a good pre-workout into a 16oz can – especially one that sits on a shelf. It would be gross.Merica Energy is one of the first products released inside the supplement industry, within this category, that elected to use the sugar alcohol, erythritol, the low calorie sweetener. This is listed as #2 on the ingredient deck, but the nice thing about sugar alcohols (if your stomach can handle them) is the FDA is requiring them to be listed on the label – so we know we are getting 3g of erythritol per can. You know, per FDA labeling rules, that everything listed after erythritol is 3g or less.
After you get through some other flavoring agents you get to your first active ingredient Acetyl-L-Carnitin at 250mg. No, this isn’t the 1,500mg minimum we’d want to see, but then again we know it’s not feasible typically to pack all of that into one can. This ingredient has been shown to increase energy and help with fat burning. You also get 250mg of Choline Bitartrate, a cognitive enhancing ingredient. This is actually dosed well for that in a RTD beverage.
Here’s the part people are looking for, 190mg Caffeine. This is essentially two cups of coffee. No, this isn’t 300mg+ like some, but I think that’s a bit insane to be that high for an energy drink. Especially when you have focus ingredients and then Carnitine. You also get 50mg of Guarana Extract which has caffeine in it to make a total of 200mg of Caffeine per can. Respectable.
This is a 0 calorie, 0 fat, 0 carb and 0 protein drink.
Overall, I like the fact it wasn’t caffeine crazy and featured Choline. That’s a win for us.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”6342″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Effectiveness
[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]The purpose of an energy drink is to boost energy levels. I was lucky that I got to test this out after the birth of my daughter. Anyone who has had a baby knows how much sleep you DON’T get. This product worked well. I take pretty high caffeinated pre-workouts, so I wasn’t expecting a ton, but it was just enough to allow me to regroup, focus and get shit done.I mentioned the word focus above. It helps with that. The 250mg of Choline is a huge contributor, but Caffeine and Carnitine can help enhance focus too.
Overall, this was an effective energy drink, not one of those cracked out ones I am sure we’ve all tried.
PS I don’t have issues with the system and sugar alcohols. If you do, you may not enjoy this.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Taste
Impeachment:
Merican Made: Make America Grape Again: Freedom: Not Your Granny’s Apple: [/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]First off, you won’t find a company with more clever names than Merica Energy. Just pure gold.We received the variety pack so we got to try them all. I actually liked everyone I tried. I really did. As you can see by my ratings, I enjoyed Freedom the most. This tasted like the Bomb Pops you would get around the 4th of July. Not Your Granny’s Apple was surprisingly refreshing and delicious. Merican Made tasted like Hi-C (do they even still make this?!). Impeachment and Make America Grape Again were good, but ended up being my least favorite of the five. If you love Purple Drink (Grape) you will love that flavor.
Bang makes some of the best drinks on the market, but the profiles are crap. Merica Energy has awesome tasting flavors and a much better profile. I would elect this over Bang.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Value
[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]When you look at Bang, you see $2 a can. That’s kind of the benchmark we set. Merica Energy is $30 for 12-cans. This makes it more expensive at approximately $2.50 a can. This is also more than Monster in a gas station. The biggest different here is that the profile on this is superior to both Bang and Monster, so a premium is expected. With me not being an energy drink person, I wouldn’t pay $30 for 12-cans. But I also wouldn’t pay $15 for 12-cans of Bang either.If you are an energy drink person you probably look at low cost. Many of you don’t look or seek the benefits you get from a can of Merica Energy. If you do, then this is a good option. I would personally like to see the price decrease to be more in-line with the comps, but I understand smaller companies have higher costs.
Overall, this is a good product, just hard to justify a $30 price tag for 12-cans.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_custom_heading text=”Available at these Fitness Informant approved retailers:” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:22px|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Lato%3A100%2C100italic%2C300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:900%20bold%20regular%3A900%3Anormal” link=”|||” el_id=”table”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color=”#efefef” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”2px” column_border_style=”solid”][tabbed_section style=”default” alignment=”left”][tab title=”12-CANS” id=”1509114502646-00fc8-496c” tab_id=”1510512996012-3″][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” top_padding=”10″ bottom_padding=”10″ text_align=”left” css=”.vc_custom_1509116724210{background-color: #2e2e2e !important;}”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text] PRICE COMPARISON:[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” centered_text=”true” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/4″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” centered_text=”true” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/4″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” centered_text=”true” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/4″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]$29.99
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” centered_text=”true” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/4″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]