This is one of the better hangover drinks – even if you did not imbibe too much the night before. This drink is pumped full of vitamins and electrolytes, giving you the best of a vitamin drink, a sports drink and and energy drink. Hydrive V gives you a full RDA of vitamin B and D, tons of potassium, lots of caffeine, and still manages to keep it light and low in calories.

The CEO of Snapple Beverages and the President of A&W Brands and the CEO of Yoo-hoo/Orangina are the developers behind the hydrive brand – and so far their drinks keep the good stuff coming, producing another winning drink. From releasing a sports-endurance drink to tackle Gatorade, to a strong vitamin(Water) infused drink, 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.

Hydrive V’s copy tells you this drink counteracts the bad stuff you did last night. Drinking the bottle and its like “it” never happened. At first, like all hangover remedies, I expected tons of caffeine and bad taste. Even though I did not imbibe last night ( very much…) I still felt a rush of energy and the certain full happy glow you get from being potassium deficient and then downing a sports drink. If you have ever worked out and sweated a ton and had a sports drink you know that feeling.

Nutrition:8
Full of vitamin D. gum arabic, sucralose, taurine, carnitine, arginine, and ester of wood rosin, and like all the hydrives, has a good 145mg healthy dose of caffeine hiding somewhere in it too. While this would not take the place of the daily multi, it is still a very nice pick me up in the morning.
Taste: 8
The citrus burst is one of the best I have had – light and crisp, not too sweet or tangy. Unlike so many other citrus energy drinks, this one is easy and clean to drink. IT is not watered down, but a very fresh and complex citrus taste. I did feel completely quenched after drinking, as this drink is also fortified with electrolytes. I guess I am old fashioned as I like my water to taste like water.

Packaging:8
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 orange starburst and clear bottle work well together, so even though it is not the brilliant design of some of their labels, the packaging, layout and design,inclusion of a logo, website, caffeine content, and all other essential info fit in a very pleasing form.

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 their 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 for shipping (around 6 bucks for postage and handling). Still, for 2 bucks a bottle it is worth a try.