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NOS Original
Smooth and satisfying upon every sip. Will help you concentrate and stay in the zone when needing to focus on any task at hand.
Overall
7.2
Taste
5.4
Appearance
9
Kick
2.7
Intro
NOS is one of the most interesting energy drinks out there because despite not bursting with flavor, I absolutely love it. Whenever I need to sit down and focus, whether it has been for a college essay, work, or leisure gaming with friends, NOS Original is my beverage of choice. Many energy drinks share the caffeine content of 160mg/can (or 10mg/floz) such as standard Monster and Red Bull, but there is something about the smoothness of the beverage in combination with the taste that really allows me to buckle down and focus on what I need to get done.
Upside
NOS is extremely easy to access despite not having the reputation of Monster and Red Bull. Essentially every convenience store (in the US at least) has it in stock. If you live in a place that does not have it for some reason, ordering it online is cheap and simple. Just be careful when purchasing “NOS,” since you may end up ordering Nitrous Oxide to help in your local drag races. Helpful tip: if the NOS cost over $400, you probably are buying the wrong type. The appearance is also incredible. It is designed after nitrous oxide bottles, and the NOS Energy Drink bottles actually look identical to them. They are the same shape and color with the same logo as well. This is a great marketing technique for them because (besides looking really cool) it is branded after a high-powered substance designed to increase performance.
Downside
While I believe that the drink does what is intended by increasing concentration, it simply does not have the “kick” of other energy drinks. If you want to have a crazy workout or increase performance to the point of feeling yourself buzzing out on the field or in the gym, you are going to be very disappointed in NOS Original.
Another point of contention would be the taste. Let me start off by reminding you that this is indeed my drink of choice while trying to concentrate, but certainly is not at the top of my list when I simply want to enjoy a delicious beverage. In my opinion, it tastes like a smooth carbonated version of something that would be used to increase performance in motorized vehicles (imagine that, branding done to perfection). While taste as a whole is arbitrary, there are objective aspects to it as well. I would broadly break down the taste of energy drinks into texture, sweetness, and arbitrary enjoyment of the flavor. The texture of NOS is smooth and goes down very easy when casually sipping on it. No other energy drink rivals the smoothness of NOS in my opinion, but it is on the lower end of the spectrum for sweetness. Arbitrarily, I enjoy it very much despite not loving the flavor. At this point, I have had so many that I enjoy the taste more because of the association with how well I can focus after consumption.
Upshot
NOS is my energy drink of choice when needing to focus, but not if I want anything to rev me up or drink casually for taste. I have never experienced any severe crash from it, but I also usually drink it more slowly than others due to the nature of how I personally use it. I only rated NOS Original a 7.2/10 mostly due to the lack of versatility. I only use it for one function, but it executes that function to perfection.
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