The Rockstar Roasted Energy Drink: A Review

Clocking in at $2.50 per can (standard retail price at "big box" chain stores such as Walgreens), the Rockstar Roasted coffee energy drink is about fifty cents cheaper than the Starbucks Doubleshot, which is the nearest comparison in terms of energy content and flavor. The Rockstar Roasted apparently can be found at some Wal-Marts for $2, and I'm sure there's convenience stores out there jacking the price up to $3-$4, but $2.50 is about all the more or less you should expect to spend on it in most circumstances.

Both the flavor and ingredients are so similar to the Starbucks Doubleshot Vanilla and Mocha varieties that the difference is negligible. The one major difference is that the Rockstar Roasted seems to be lacking the massive dose of maltodextrin that the Starbucks Doubleshot gives you, so if you have problems with metabolizing glucose, this might be one to look into as an alternative. Sugar content is also lower than most energy drinks but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "low" by general standards.

The beverage gave me a clean, clear-headed energy rush for about two hours with no twitching, jitters, nausea or headaches. Of course, different bodies react differently to different combinations of ingredients, so your mileage may vary in this regard, but if you generally drink regular coffee, you'll find this product goes to work a lot faster, gives you a little more of a boost and lasts longer than a comparable sized cup of standard drip coffee.

Protein and carbohydrate content are negligible at 3 grams and 18 grams per can respectively, and carbohydrates are kept reasonably low at about one hundred per can. The only significant vitamin content is 100% of the daily recommended value of B3, B6 and B12. Energy content comes in the form of 1000mg of taurine, 150mg of gingko bilboa leaf extract, 120mg of caffeine, 25mg of guarana seed extract, 25mg of inositol, 25mg of L-Carnitine, 25mg of Panax Ginseng Extract and 20mg of milk thistle extract.

For me, the Rockstar Roasted worked just as well as the Starbucks Doubleshot if not better, and I thought the flavor was maybe just a touch better. It's more of a value at 50 cents less for the same amount of drink, as well. I found it to be a good alternative if you want a chilled coffee beverage with significant energy content. I'll probably pick one up again in the near future if I'm in need of an immediate 2 to 3 hour energy boost.