Long before Cocaine was found in liquor stores and blow was being mixed into cool glasses of water, Kronik was bought and sold from inside convenience stores throughout America. Mind you, the stuff they are selling is a bit different than Chronic, but the druggie connotations are still alive and well in energy-drink land. This has been sold for years with just the regular and diet versions. The big warning on the front then was just that it may “Suppress Your Appetite”. A bit different than telling me about my mother’s taste.
I was very surprised how well they have held up through the years… Kronik grind is delicious, full of energy, and while the can is a bit pandering, it still gets the job done. Overall Kronik grind is a winner as a Full-on-in-yer-face energy drink. It offends a little, tastes great and gives you a great boost of energy – what more could you ask for?
Packaging:7 ( 1 point deducted for poor choice of hardcore symbols)
Design of the can is elegant – simple white can with a big red barbs and the iron cross in the background. Why the iron cross? because the designers have absolutely no idea what the iron cross is, why it is used as a symbol of cross culture or why they shouldn’t use it. As far as this company knows the iron cross is just another symbol of Harley riding anti-conservatives. And yes, I do know my history and the history of the iron cross. And even though it was used in the 1800s, it is still associated with Nazi Germany’s attempt to conquer Europe. While in the US, the symbol now connotes those who can and have built their own choppers from the ground up. Builders and Kustomizers have this as their symbol of their pride in their own craft, hobby and life. Plastering the IC on everything from belt buckles, t-shirts, energy drinks and crappy TV shows just goes to prove you don’t know your symbology (yes – I know that’s not a real word).
But I’ll look past the crosses. Onto the rest of the package. no listing of caffeine, but they do list the website… So while I am not sure I would grab this drink at my local parts swap meet without looking like a loser, I might take it with me on my next 1%er poker run.
taste:8
has notes of Red Bull, but not so much that it could be considered a clone – more of an improvement. It has more of a berry flavor and less sour. I have heard it tastes more like grapes, but with all the artificial flavors it is probably just a mix – and a good one at that. There are no real sour overtones, and it’s not too sweet either.Overall this is just a great tasting energy drink. While not as easy to get down as their diet version, the flavor is one I can easily get down with.
Nutrition/Buzz:7
The label on the can “fearless energy supplement” did not go bouncing off walls, but the kick is there quickly and lasts for a good couple hours. The can has Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6. 1000mg of Taurine , Glucuronolactone and Inositol . There is also 240 calories in here, and sweetened both with sucrose (sugar) and sucralose (splenda). They do not tell you the caffeine amount on their site or on the can, but it feels like a slightly larger dose than your average Red Bull. I would guess there is between 180-200mg for the can. Enough to get you moving without going into jitter territory.
Website:7 http://www.kronikenergy.com/
While this looks great, the things I want to know about the most are non-existent on the site. I can find their ads in BMX magazine, their skateboarding crew, and even music they like. But what I cant find out about is their company, what went into the drinks, what went into their branding, or anything useful about the drink itself. While I liked the style, I could not care less about their Photo Ops when the most info I can find about Grind is a reprinting of the can label.
Overall site design is very nice. All links are css driven and there is no weird code. The layout works sitewide, and although I dislike the lack of information, that is the companies decision, not their web team. everything loads quickly and it presented as well as it can. while not outstanding, it is still a very solid and fast site.