6 Gatorade Fast Twitch Energy Drink Flavors, Ranked
As Gatorade is approaching its sixth decade, it is still pushing the envelope for the athlete, and the consumer. Its latest foray is Fast Twitch, a new energy drink gassed up with 200 milligrams of caffeine, electrolytes, and 100% daily value of vitamins B6 and B12, but devoid of sugar, carbohydrates, artificial flavors, or colors. Anuj Bhasin, VP of marketing and general manager for Gatorade Brands, said in a statement via AdAge, "There hasn't been an athletic energy solution [athletes] can trust that is designed for them to start fast and ignite their performance. We're thrilled to change that."
The name "Fast Twitch" refers to the quick contractions of the human muscle fibers experienced during high-intensity exercise. Since being introduced a year ago to NFL athletes like George Kittle, Stefon Diggs, and DK Metcalf, it's now primetime-ready for everyone else's consumption... with even former player JJ Watt pitching in to deliver them to stores.
With six flavors of Fast Twitch now readily available for purchase — Cool Blue, Glacier Freeze, Orange, Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry Watermelon, and Tropical Mango — we uncapped them all to see which was the true MVP, and which ones are perhaps in need of further conditioning. Behold, here are the energetic results of our sips...
6. Strawberry Watermelon
Out of all the Fast Twitch flavors, the Strawberry Watermelon has the starkest of colors — a fruit punch red. The scent leans heavily on watermelon, and a taste confirms there's not much room for its strawberry companion flavoring to stand out. While an actual watermelon certainly hits the spot as a juicy post-meal treat, we're not sure this artificial take translates to a flavor an athlete wants to down after an intense workout. Oddly enough, while unidentified natural flavors are included in the drink's makeup, the known juices listed are red sweet potato and carrot concentrates, which are little-known juices you should add to your diet.
The Strawberry Watermelon is more akin to Italian ice, an overly sweet dessert that is better suited to a stroll on a boardwalk than a jog off the field or a court. This flavor is the only one that checks in at 10 calories (the rest are only 5), but we're not sure it's worth the extra indulgence.
5. Strawberry Lemonade
The Strawberry Lemonade Fast Twitch is a slight step up from its sister flavor Strawberry Watermelon. Its Barbie pink color indicates a cooler affair, and its smell leans more on hailing from a strawberry field than the prior drink does, although there doesn't seem to be much of a hint of lemon to be found within. While the flavor has a high level of artifice taste, it isn't as noxious as the Watermelon flavor. The actual essence of strawberry or even lemon may be buried under the natural flavor's ingredient, but what's actually under the hood here are the concentrated juices of purple sweet potato, apple, and sour cherry. One might even say it tastes like a Gummy Bear.
Strawberry Lemonade could pass itself off as an actual normal diet lemonade product — like Crystal Light Pink Lemonade or the Zero Sugar iteration of Country Time — and wouldn't be out of place for sipping on a porch swing or perhaps slow rocking on a wooden rocking chair. That imagery screams more of a past, old-fashioned passive time, rather than one measured in yards on the green grasses of the gridiron.
4. Cool Blue
For a drink called Cool Blue, it's rather puzzling that the drink isn't blue whatsoever. Its label is royal blue, but the liquid inside the plastic bottles resembles watered down cranberry juice or even grape juice, where purple and red are in a harmonious swim meet. A quick taste reveals a berry blast that then takes on more of a turn to a fruit punch flavor with further sips. No surprise here that blueberry juice concentrate is included as an ingredient, and is joined by black carrot juice concentrate as well.
Fans of Juicy Juice or ones looking for a toned-down version of Hawaiian Punch may feel right at home with Cool Blue as a flavor of choice for replenishment. It's a nice middle-of-the-road choice that doesn't seem like a common Gatorade flavor, but also one that isn't too extreme in sweetness like the two Strawberry varieties that are a bit too much to tackle.
3. Glacier Freeze
Another Fast Twitch conundrum is how the Glacier Freeze flavor, with its label of sea blue, is also not blue in its liquid form. Personally, that's fine with us, as drinking blue liquids always seems so unnatural (unless you were watching an "Avatar" movie).
Another puzzler with Glacier Freeze flavor is how it seems to be identical from top to bottom with the Cool Blue flavor. A blind taste test wouldn't reveal much of a difference. A side-by-side read of the ingredients match up word for word, down to that black carrot and blueberry juice concentrates, and the rest of the elements that all Fast Twitch flavors are made of, like water, citric acid, sodium citrate, caffeine, salt, monopotassium phosphate, sucralose, xanthan gum, and the B6 and B12 vitamins.
The Glacier Freeze has perhaps less of a tinge of berry here but still rings true with a fruit punch flavor that tastes more like a Jolly Rancher than a juice. To reach a full arctic blast, throw in the freezer for a bit before cracking it open.
2. Tropical Mango
After escaping the strawberry patches and singing the blues about the blue flavors that aren't at all blue, the Tropical Mango feels like a paradise vacation in the land of Fast Twitch. It has the most appealing aroma out of all the flavors, and with a mild mango taste, aided by carrot and apple juice concentrates, smoothly goes down with each gulp.
Light and refreshing, Tropical Mango is an excellent choice for athletes after completing a rigorous regimen, or for a casual drinker looking for a low cal pick me up in the morning, noon, or at night. The folks over at Capri Sun should take note, as this Fast Twitch flavor is like an adult version of its no sugar added line. Perfect for the adults who want to feel young, but don't want to be caught with a pouch in hand, and a tiny straw in their mouth.
1. Orange
As a flavor with no fancy name, but simply being called Orange, it doesn't have to aspire to, like the others that are trying to conjure up some exotic fruity taste sensation, or create a feeling of some dreamy or far-off global destination. The Fast Twitch Orange is the one flavor that most resembles a classic Gatorade flavor through and through, which in turn makes it the most desirable out of the six.
Like the Tropical Mango flavor before it, Orange is more peach in appearance than orange-hued, but looks aren't everything — taste is. With a great, light orange-y taste, this flavor is a winner for any type of drinker, be it a seasoned Gatorade veteran looking for a break in the action, or rookies ready to join the big leagues of caffeinated cooling drinks. Congrats Orange, you are the MVP of all the Fast Twitchers. Orange you glad we tasted them all and sent our report from the field?