COMPANY: Wet Planet Beverages, Rochester, NY
CAN DESIGN: Jolt Cola is nostalgic for me. I remember all of the hype surrounding it in Junior High. It is, in my humble opinion, the first true energy drink. They blatantly advertised that their soda was triple the caffeine of Coke or Pepsi (I think it was triple?). And of course parents disapproved which made the kids want it all the more.
Now Jolt Cola has come back to compete with the new contenders in the up-the-caffeine game. And they've come bearing a new can design. I'm sentimental for the old bottle and can designs but I must say that their new design is better than anything I've seen. First off, they avoided the usual can top and went with a twist-off metal cap. It almost feels like you're opening a can of fuel or something that's flammable. Along the side of the can, big and bold, is the word JOLT. The colors work together and the can stands out immediately. I have no criticisms. You could be picky and say the lightning is a cliche design element except that Jolt came before all of these wannabe Jolts. They have earned the right to claim the lightning as their own.
CAN DETAILS: 23.5 FL OZ, 300 Calories. With a can this size you're not meant to drink it all at once, though I know many soda fans will. The intended serving size is meant to be 8 OZ and with this can it makes sense since you can open and close it. Other energy drinks with the pop tops that open but can't be sealed again I think are deceptive when they give serving sizes and calorie counts. Once you pop it you have to drink or it will go bad so it's one serving, not two or three.
PRICE: Food Emporium had these for 2.29 which is a good deal considering that the usual energy drink is the same price for less ounces.
WEBSITE: Jolt understands that it needs to put it's website address on it's can, unlike other drinks I've reviewed. Official site is www.JoltEnergy.com
Their main site slogan isn't too original but it works: Size Does Matter. On the can the slogan is: It's all positve. I'm not sure they've decided on a final catchphrase yet. Personally I would choose something related the name of the drink.
The site is nicely designed, though again I hate anything gray. At least the gray portion of the homepage is an original pattern.
And in general each section of the site is well done. I can't be too picky here. They pitch their products, have a drink recipe contest, sponsor events, video contests, etc. Overall it's a solid marketing effort aimed at college students. Nothing wowed me but the presentation didn't disappoint either.
TASTE: If you've never had a Jolt Cola the best way to describe it is RC Cola with more sugar. It tastes kind of like a cheap knock-off of Coke. But then when we were kids the taste wasn't why we were drinking it. We wanted the caffeine kick. There are definitely better tasting energy drinks on the shelves but this is the original energy soda. It's not bad, but not great. Do note though that Jolt has a whole new line-up of other flavors so I'll have to review them to see what else they came up with.
SUSTAINED EFFECTS: Yeah, I think I got a little wired just drinking one serving. More so it seems than with the fruity-flavored energy drinks. Cola is the original source for caffeine after all.
OVERALL: This one is more nostalgic than anything else. It's a regular cola taste with a ton of caffeine. Great for study sessions and all nighters when you have a project due the next day.
WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN? Yes, but this is something from my childhood. If I wasn't sentimental about it I'm not sure I would have the same reaction to it.
GENERAL COMMENTS: I need to check out the whole line of Jolt's new flavors but I would say with all of the competition they do have their act together. Hopefully they can build on their past and recreate themselves for the next generation of caffeine addicts.