The Stuff We Drink...

One of my housemates works in television production. As such, there've been weeks and months where it's been rumored that we live together, but very little evidence of it. However, we do reap some benefits from his career, namely well-prepared office lunches; i've had some particularly sumptuous leftovers over the past six months, and can credit the folks in production for their choices in catering, at the very least.

Two weeks back, he brought home two cases of Socko, a new energy drink which contains healthy doses of caffeine, taurine, vitamins B12 and B6, as well as extracts of ginseng, yerba mate, and guarana, as well as something called 'horny goat weed extract,' which qualifies as an innovative ingredient, i guess. Judging from the Flash-y company website, they're certainly committed to snazzy promotion, although i don't quite understand why an energy drink would have a street team. The cans are also twice as big as Red Bull, a sell point for bars and nightclubs, and probably appealing to anyone seeking a caffeine fix.

I wasn't quite sure what to think of this green liquid, but it seems to be popular with at least one roomie, who has left a trail of empty cans in his wake. So when I woke up two hours ahead of my alarm, and nine hours before deadline (will cross-post the piece upon publication next week), I figured it as good as anything to get me into writing mode. Plus, with summer approaching, it might be helpful to move from coffee to energy drinks when seeking out caffeine, on account of the chill factor.

So what's my take? First sip was a bit syrupy, but it went down fairly clean. Effects so far? I'm more lucid than beforehand, yet not jittery and internally unsettled (which tends to be the second-cup effect). All in all, it's not hideous, but not a drink that i'd regularly seek out were it not already here. Barring significant price differentials, I'll likely gravitate to the familiar Bull.