This is the best Hydrive water I have had so far – everything seems to have come together for this drink, with a great taste, great packaging and their powerful blend of nutrients and caffeine. If you are looking for a vitamin water that is both cool, refreshing, tasty and energizing, put down that vitamin water or that Snapple – this drink has the others beat.

The CEO of Snapple Beverages and the President of A&W Brands and the CEO of Yoo-hoo/Orangina are the sevelopers behind the hydrive brand – and so far their drinks dont dissapoint. From releasing a sports-endurance drink to tacke Gatorade, to a strong vitamin(Water) infused drink going after that crowd, to a straight on caffeinated water, their drinks cover all the bases.

As I mentioned in my previous review, I found it amusing that rather than dealing with extreme sports sponsorship, these guys took an interesting route sponsoring the speed dating site Cupid.com/PreDating, doing an integrated partnership that includes sampling at speed dating events, advertising and sponsorship.

Taste:9
Better than most flavored waters out there, the Acai is a very flavorful and unique berry, being very tart, but not really sour. It is like a sweet raspberry, only without being overwhelming or leaving much of an aftertaste. The use of sucrose as a sweetener works well, so it is tangy without leaving a film in your mouth. While this is a pretty strong flavor, it is not unpleasant, and it is complex enough thatit does not have the same Watered-down-Kool-Aid weakness that many energy waters seem to have.

Nutrition:10
As I mentioned in previous reviews, In bottled waters, the test is not what you can taste, but what you cant taste. The purer and more natural it is, the better off people will think of you. When the Coke plant was recently caught numerous times filling Dasani bottle with city tap water. ( just one example of the story)

Needless to say, the fewer and purer the ingredients the better. This one does not do too badly, only adding in 2 preservatives to the water, along with the usual energy drink mix ( tons of taurine and L-carnatine and all the Bs for the day) and like all the hydrives, has a good 145mg healthy dose of caffeine hiding somewhere in it too. This is with only having 30 calories in the whole bottle, so it does not leave you feeling heavy or bloated.

This one has the added benefit of Acai berries in it too, so it has some antioxidant properties that the other flavors I have tried do not. From the great 145mg dose of caffeine, to the taurine, B and potassium, if you are looking to something other than water for hydration and energy you dont need to look any farther.

Packaging:9
The coolest one of the entire hydrive lot. The big blue/green/yellow burst is bold and psychadelic, but still fits with the whole spring water theme. It look even more refreshing and natural than the others because of the wests association of cool and liquid being blue tinted. Like vitamin water and the rest in this category, the sealable PET top is nice. This special “gripper” style of bottle formulated for Hydrive’s drinks is completely proprietary and so hopefully wont be immediately stolen by giant faceless monster corporation ( Coke).Packaging is now “dual front,” so it’s not as crucial how bottles are placed on shelves. The caffeine content, website and all info I could want, including the mission statement are on here as well.

Website:http://www.hydriveenergy.com: 7
Pretty basic, but chock full of information; from their press release to a FAQ for those of you who dont know about caffeine and hangovers. I do like their store locator. Unfortunately, there is not a place near me at all that has one. Fortunately, the Hydrive Gods sent me a box of all theri flavors to give a try – thank you SO much, as this is one that I had previously only found when visiting back east. Another cool thing about the site is the ability to get free samples from the site too, Well, almost free – you just need to pay fror shipping (around 6 bucks for postage and handling). Still, for 2 bucks a bottle it is worth a try.