I felt a bit odd sending a drink to the Giant Bomb crew without having tried it myself, so I'm sampling one at the moment, possibly at exactly the same time Ryan is pouring out the second for Jeff and Vinny and a reluctant Brad.
Black currants aren't a terribly popular fruit here in North America - they're much bigger in Europe, where the berries grow well in cold temperatures and make decent jams and jellies, and I think they're also used for syrup. If I recall my agricultural history their disuse here resulted from a ban over the currant plants carrying fungus or something of that nature. Maybe it was a pest or disease, I'm not quite sure.
They are grown now, however, and here in BC there are a few dozen tonnes produced every year. It's not much compared to the more popular berries (like blueberries), but still more than ten years ago.
If no one has had currants before, they're very much like wild blueberries - a little more tart than the commercial varieties and a more complex flavour. In many ways they taste like Saskatoon berries, which, coincidentally, is also another flavour of Beaver Buzz. Arguably the best flavour of Buzz, for that matter.
Anyway, to this Black Currant Energy.
It pours with no fizz and lacks much of the carbonation of the more popular energy drinks. It's a very, very dark purple colour and almost looks black unless you hold it up to the light. It also smells suspiciously like grape Mr. Freezies.
Kind of tastes like them, too. You can tell it's sugar and not corn syrup, and the currants (or fake currant flavouring, although I think it's the real stuff) give it a nice tangy edge. I kind of wish for more carbonation and less sugar, but it's not bad. I don't think I could drink an entire one, however...the colour is just a tiny bit too frightening.
Actually, I'm not getting any energy drink aftertaste, which is nice. Maybe that's the nicest think I can say about it.
The Saskatoon Berry one is better. The Green Tea? It's been ages since I've had one, but I remember it tasting like canned iced tea with a bit of an edge to it. If anything will get Brad in the game it's that one. And oddly enough, the only other energy drink I've seen with a black currant flavour is Bomba, which they taste tested on last week's podcast.
edit - after letting the dregs of my glass warm slowly up to room temperature I'm going to have to revise my description of the smell. It smells like a homemade red wine that hasn't quite aged long enough in the bottle - sweet and tangy but just a bit too green. I'm going to guess this thing mixes well with alcohol, too, although I don't want to try that myself.
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