Sometimes I find myself stuck in a situation in which writing an energy drink review in that place and time seems like worst thing to do. Like writing and skiing downhill, or driving cross country, or like when you are in a packed bus, stuck in a cramped smashed seat listening to these two obnoxious drunk dudes yelling at the bus driver from across the length of the bus. Still, when you like a drink this much, sometimes I feel the need to sing the praises regardless if they are now turning their alcohol soaked breath at me, asking me what the hell I think I am doing, asking me if they can have me autograph. Fortunately, I have this Vuka Think in me – a new pomegranate energy drink, with dmae bitartate and ginko biloba, along with a good healthy dose of caffeine too.

Somehow, through the screams of “TOO F**ING FAST MAN _ WERE ALL GONNADIE!” and ” DOOD, YOU”RE GOING THAR WRONG WAY”, I am able to navigate my morning around these drunk arseholes and get off the bus safely, and without much incident. While I chalk the riddance of these 7AM wasted dudebros mainly to the very competent skillz of the RTD Bus driver, I credit the Vuka for keeping my spirits up, not engaging with them ( I kinda have a habit of playing with very drunk people), and keeping my cool when they started their violently inebriated rant.
Not to mention, the big metal can could always have been used as a weapon in a pinch too.

Taste:9
When I saw the shiny purple metal can, my head immediately went to this tasting of grape juice. After all, grape makes a good juice drink filler, especially when the flavor was supposed to be Pomegranate and Lychee, both pretty expensive when it comes to juice concentrates. It poured out a reddish color, which also led me to believe this was a grape drink. Upon first drink though, my mouth came alive with a unique flavor combination I have never had before. The first juice ingredient in this is listed as Ginko biloba juice, followed by followed by ginseng and about a dozen cool ingredients. There was grape juice in here, but it is buried right above the sweet potato juice and under the carrot juice. It is like a fruity exotic V8, filled with all these delicious flavor combinations that you never would normally put together, but work so fantastically well.
For those with a discerning palate and enjoy complexity in their drink flavors, this one holds a plethora of delicious surprises.

Buzz:7 /Nutrition:9
As you can imagine from the ingredients, this is not your ordinary energy drink. This one is supposed to promote your alertness and ability to think – and I think it works pretty well. While I don’t really understand what DMAE is or how ginko biloba is supposed to help your mental acuity, I found myself being able to handle more complex tasks, such as dealing at 7Am with angry drunks on the bus, and still making it to work in time to develop a complex application form. For me, being a caffeine junkie, I wish there was a bit more caffeine in here to give a stronger jolt PLUS the alertness, but this certainly did the trick.

Packaging:10
Like their other Awaken bottle, I was very impressed with the entire can. From the lovely lid to the brushed purple aluminum, this behaves more like a Gaiam bottle found at a specialty food store more than an energy drink can. I felt so badly throwing this can in the recycling that I ended up using these as my water bottles for some time. The think design is a little more urban looking than the Awake, but still very lovely. The can is impervious to small dings and breaks – so it makes it the perfect candidate for very rough terrain, like mountain hikes, jammed in outside pockets of backpacks or wielded defensively in public bus rides.