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Reign Lemon HDZ
Excessively sweet with a high kick. Refreshing upon initial sip, but enjoyment diminishes over time. Essentially overly sweetened zero Calorie lemon juice that is a great mixer, but not the best standalone.
Overall
6.5
Taste
6
Appearance
7
Kick
9.3
Intro
Reign Lemon HDZ was a difficult one for me to rate. My best descriptor is that it is treacly in nature. Essentially, it is sweet and refreshing upon the initial sip, but becomes excessively sweet and loses appeal over time. Whenever I start drinking Reign Lemon HDZ, I enjoy them immensely, but they always end up cloying upon repeated use. I rated this a 6.5 overall because I enjoy it a decent amount initially and it delivers a wonderful kick, but has an extremely low redrinkablility rate. It packs 300mg of caffeine per can (18.75mg/floz) that you cannot taste due to its sweetness (those of you who have had pure caffeine know how bitter it is naturally). The yellow and blue Reign logo looks pretty cool and is given a 7/10 in appearance. In my opinion there is nothing very special or unique about this, so I did not consider it in my overall ranking. There are very distinguishable strengths and weaknesses to this beverage that you will see throughout this review.
Upside
The number one upside to Reign Lemon HDZ is the kick. It has a good amount of carbonation, is very strong and bold in taste, and contains a ton of caffeine. I personally find the kick of this particular energy drink greater than any other Reign (of 300mg caffeine) that I have had. It will give you a great amount of energy for any activity, although I would not recommend drinking it casually if you are not accustomed to high amounts of caffeine because you will get a bit jittery and lose focus. Reign is made specifically for exercise ventures (although I do not use it exclusively that way) as it has no Calories and is filled with BCAAs, CO-Q10, and electrolytes. Having no calories is a plus, but as a health professional, I would not get wrapped up in the other additives.
The next best upside in my opinion is the mouth feel. It has a wonderful mouth feel if you are looking for a pick-me-up because of the carbonation and sweetness. It is not smooth by any means, but the mouth feel is still appealing when looking for a pick-me-up. Whereas the amount of carbonation is a plus, I will talk about the sweetness factor more in the “Downside” section. A very pleasant and unexpected upside to this drink is that it is a phenomenal splash in Margaritas (Disclaimer: I do not condone or recommend mixing caffeine with alcohol. Drink each responsibly). I have used it many times as my “secret ingredient” in homemade margs. While I have used many energy drinks as mixers before, Reign Lemon HDZ seems to be the best splash I have tried into most sweeter alcoholic beverages.
Downside
I am usually a fan of excessively sweet drinks, but know that the appeal to most other people is significantly less. I am putting taste in the downside section due to the abundance of sweetener and lack of uniqueness. It tastes like heavily sweetened, slightly less sour lemon juice. Once you start to taste the lemon juice comparison, every sip seems a bit worse than the previous. As I stated in the intro, it seems to cloy (“to disgust or sicken [someone] with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment”) over time. As Sharks, we always drink our beverages while writing reviews so we can have a fresh opinion. I currently find myself going back and adjusting my rankings as I get further into this review and therefore further into the drink. Today specifically I am drinking it post-workout so I have enough energy to get back to work. Initially it was very refreshing, but now it is starting to taste like caffeinated lemon juice. Again, the initial sip may seem refreshing, but it definitely diminishes over time.
Based on how negatively I have been describing Reign Lemon HDZ, it may be surprising I gave the taste a 6/10. Let me explain. Reign Lemon HDZ is fruity and a good compliment to other drinks. It is a great mixer as well as chaser due to how strong it is which will get any other disgusting taste out of your mouth instantly. Reign Lemon HDZ is quite refreshing, and I initially gave it a 7.5/10 for taste on my first few sips. Once I was at the bottom of the can, I was thinking it was closer to a 5/10. In the end, I figured 6/10 was a reasonable conclusion.
Upshot
The Upshot is that Reign Lemon HDZ is refreshing and sweet upon initial sip, but loses its appeal over time. It delivers a wonderful kick and is still worth a try. If you do not like it, you can always mix it in other drinks to sweeten them up (as I have said, it is my secret ingredient in home-made margaritas). It smells great, contains zero Calories, and will give you the caffeine hit you need for essentially any activity. My assumption is that Reign Lemon HDZ will be a highly disputed drink because it is quite strong so people will have varying opinions on its taste. I am looking forward to comparing this more to the other Shark and user reviews.
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