V Energy Drink Black

Atomic went V Black, but will we ever go back?

In an effort to solidify my typecasting as "that energy drink guy", I've slowly been going through all the energy drinks out there, straying from the tried-and-tested path of reliable drinks to look at a wide spread of flavours. V is not a new brand for me, and I've looked at the original apple-flavoured one quite some time ago, so today I've grabbed V Black to quash any curiosity over this interesting-looking drink.

First off, you'll notice that the can is black (makes sense, right?). Costing anywhere from the three bucks that I paid to a more-stomachable $2.30 from supermarkets, it's a 250mL can that includes 78mg of caffeine (at 31mg/100mL), 1000mg of taurine and 300mg of gurana extract. Gurana is revered in the energy drink market as a wonderdrug to cure tiredness, rescue the sleepy princess from the castle, and remove your need for sleep completely. It's a herb that can be made into tea, containing caffeine similar to coffee but releasing over a longer period of time to keep you up all night long.

Unlike the Sugarfree Red Bull I looked at last time, V Black actually contains real down-to-earth sugar. It's got 25.9g of the sweet stuff, though it's also pretty salty at 280mg. Actual nutritional content is questionable; but hey, you're drinking an energy drink, not a health shake. V Black is special compared to normal V thanks to a doubling in Taurine per 100mL, throwing 400mg at you opposed to 200mg. It's described on their site:

V Black is the dark horse of the family. It carries the same formula as all other Vs, but has double the Taurine and a stronger coffee flavour, with a touch of citrus. The additional Taurine delivers a stronger punch and ensures you can keep going all day, and all night - no matter what you're into. Unless you're a grandma - then we recommend sticking to the pink lemonade.

It's not every day that an energy drink accuses you of being elderly, and the coffee/citrus flavour has piqued my interest. Cracking open the icy cold can of V Black released an actually mouth-watering smell, as I took the very first sip...