Tag Archives: william

LYFT Energy Stir Sticks

written by William Merkel

I drink a lot of energy drinks. (Like … a lot. I may or may not have written this review with a Monster in front of me and a Monster box on my head.) So I was the natural choice to review LYFT Energy Stir Sticks.

The idea behind LYFT is simple. Put powdered caffeine in a stick that can be stirred into any drink imaginable to give it an extra little kick of energy. But this isn’t just your regular “run-of-the-mill” caffeine that can be found in sodas, no sir. This is “clean caffeine”. It has zero calories, and is made from green coffee bean extract with vitamins A and B complex.

Depending on what drink you stir LYFT in to, the taste will vary. Their website gives some examples such as orange juice, water, soda (which already has caffeine save for a few root beers, caffeine free, etc), mixed drinks, or how I personally tried it, on the rocks.

Now, I may have chosen a bit of a strong drink to put it in … I used Mount Gay Barbados Rum and followed the directions on the stick: remove label, stir for 10 seconds. The claim is caffeine equivalent to one tall coffee, but not being a coffee drinker, I cannot attest to that fact. It did, however, give the rum a subtle, slightly sweeter taste which was unexpected. As for an energy boost, I did not feel anything. (Again, I drink multiple energy drinks each day, so I wasn’t surprised.)

Since there were two sticks in the package I decided to have another go. I used the second stick in a bottle of Seven Water and, in this, it did have a noticeably different taste. It was sweater, and a bit cleaner aftertaste. A lot different that my experience with rum, and it did give a little caffeine buzz, but still nothing too drastic.

Personally I think LYFT would be best enjoyed in water or a juice, something other than an alcoholic beverage which would overpower the the amount of caffeine in the stick. I can definitely see myself buying a couple more of these to put in juices or maybe coconut water to mix up my morning routine.

PURE LYFT ENERGY STIR STICKS
www.purelyft.com
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Red River Texas Bourbon Whiskey

written by William Merkel

Whiskey is one of my favorite beverages. Almost 100% of the time I drink it straight with no ice so I can enjoy the flavor, smell, and subtleties of a good, stiff drink. Another one of my favorite things is Texas. So when I got a chance to try Red River Texas Bourbon Whiskey I was preeettty … pretty stoked.

imageMade in Texas (more specifically, Carrollton) by JEM Beverage Co. The process is started with pure Texas water and then whiskey is aged in new charred American Oak Barrels and then bottled at 82.4 proof (yesssss). Each small batch is hand-bottled (and “hand tasted”) to ensure each and every bottle is up to snuff.

Proceeds from each bottle sold go to Texas Native Wildlife Conservation (which I am happy to support since I go to state parks regularly). The bottles are all silkscreened with the pictures of the animals that the conservation is helping to protect. (And they look pretty awesome.)

Put your nose to the glass and you will smell sweet, floral notes with a slightly strong alcohol smell. The taste is also slightly sweet with a hint of vanilla and has a nice potency in your throat as it goes down your gullet. Also noticeable is one of my favorite things about whiskey is the oak. You can literally taste the barrels that it was aged in, and I love that. The oak may be a bit overpowering for some people, but for me it hit the mark. Overall, it is not too complex a whiskey, but had enough complexity to make it interesting.  In short: I would buy this.

The price is around $30 for a 750ml, and yes, I know you can get other great whiskeys around this price point like Bulleit or Old Forester Kentucky, but give Red River a chance and you may have a new top choice of what to drink when cuddling an empty glass. And don’t forget, it’s made in Texas.  GO TEXAN.

Red River Texas Bourbon Whiskey
$30 for 750mL bottle
jembevco.com/redriver.html

About JEM: JEM Beverage Co. produces Red River in Original (reviewed above), young rye, and Canadian.  They also product Western Son Vodka, Southern Son flavored vodkas, Stingray Spiced Rum, and South House Moonshine (both original and flavored),