So there we are in Universal Orlando and we run across the Simpsons area. There's a Kwik-E Mart next to the attraction, although not as cool as the 7-11s they repurposed for the movie promo. But they did still sell Simpsons merch, including what I'm holding in my hands there: a Duff energy drink. How could I resist?

As you can see, it's in a can that's...well, it's a Duff beer can. There's not much else to be said. They nailed the design--which makes it automatically a worthwhile purchase for the novelty of those who are fans of the show. Investigating what's inside, we find 120mg of caffeine, 25mg of guarana, 25mg of panax ginseng, 41g of sugars, 1000mg of taurine, 300% of your required B12, 100% of your B6, 50% of your B3 and 50mg of inositol. So it's a decent showing.

How does it taste? Surprisingly...really damn good. No kidding. No real "energy drink" taste either before or after sipping, although it does have a strong soft drink kick to it--the same sort of kick of a Vault or Mountain Dew even though the taste is not the same. It also doesn't taste like Generic Energy Drink like most novelty drinks seem to--it has a unique flavor I haven't experienced before during my wide and reckless sampling of energy beverages. In fact, Dana Snyder, who also sampled Duff, called it when he likened the taste to Gatorade Gum. Although whereas the gum would only hold its flavor for about a femtosecond, this drink carries it. I honestly would drink this stuff on a regular basis. Perhaps I was just enjoying the taste, but it really did provide a pick-me-up for that late afternoon final push to blitz through the rest of what we wanted to see at Universal. I quite recommend it.

(more...)