UPTIME Original Citrus Cane Sugar

Introduction

Time to come back to the sugary goodness filled twin brother of one of my all-time favorites, UPTIME Original Citrus Sugar Free.

Appearance

I gave the white (sugar free) UPTIME cans a 9/10, but I’m gonna drop this one to 7.5. Still a great design but the black can doesn’t look as slim and clean in my opinion.

Taste

Very smooth and extremely crisp. Like a nice McDonalds sprite from the fountain. I can taste the cane sugar but it’s not overwhelmingly sweet. Gets high marks from me along with the sugar free version as the standard for citrus energy drinks.

Kick

142mg of caffeine in a 12oz can which fills a nice niche for me; when I want something in between a coffee and the typical 160-300mg energy drink. Keep in mind you might get a sugar crash if you’re sensitive to that. 37mg of added sugar in total.

Conclusion

If you like any kind of citrus flavored soda you’re gonna enjoy this drink. It’s not anything crazy, but it hits the spot for me in so many ways, with the refreshing taste, slim can, and reasonable amount of caffeine. A delicious palette cleanser, if you will, between the insane flavors that we have the honor of being able to get in the market nowadays.

Introduction

When I first opened Uptime Original Citrus, it was ice cold and mildly refreshing. I was ready to give it a solid 5.5-6/10. After just a couple of minutes, it started heating to room temperature, and I would have trouble rating it higher than a 2-2.5/10. Since I believe a drink should not be required to be kept borderline freezing to be even mildly refreshing, I gave it a 3.5/10. Uptime Original Citrus has a mild citrus flavor, which I find weak compared to most other citrus energy drinks. When it is not cold, the bitter aftertaste is stronger as well. It has 37g of sugar in a 12oz can, so there is not really a need for artificial sweetener. With 142mg of caffeine (11.83mg/floz), it has a decent concentration of caffeine, but not enough in the 12oz can to really rev you up. Overall, there are far superior citrus energy drinks than Uptime Original Citrus.

Upside

The upside is that it is a really light beverage. While I do not necessarily prefer this for my energy drinks, it is different than many major brands and can be desirable as such. It is also quite smooth despite a decent level of carbonation. Besides this, I do not see much upside to drinking Uptime Original Citrus over other citrus beverages.

Downside

The sugar content is high, the caffeine content is low, and the flavor is not nearly as good as most other citrus energy drinks. The kick is practically nonexistent as it is smooth upon hitting your tongue and will not rev you up in any capacity. The appearance is weak as the cans are quite bland. Most energy drinks with sugar are desirable because the sugar should theoretically enhance the taste over those with more artificial sweetener, but I fail to recognize this with Uptime Original Citrus. I would never go out of my way to consume another one of these, and I am only going through the Uptime flavors to write these reviews.

Upshot

Uptime Original Citrus is one of my least favorite citrus energy drinks. When it is ice cold, it is actually quite refreshing. As soon as it starts warming up within two minutes of removing it from a cooling source, it gets considerably worse. If you want a good citrus energy drink, go look at some of my other reviews. Most arel considerably superior to Uptime Original Citrus.

Appearance

If you've read my review of Original Citrus Sugar Free, you'll find that almost all of what I said applies to this drink. Uptime distinguishes its sugar free and cane sugar bottles by changing the background from white to black, respectively. The skinny, aluminum that feels unique and premium is retained. Naturally the primary drawback, being too slim for most cupholders, still applies. Changing the background to black also doesn't make the bottle any less minimalist in appearance. I know those sound like a lot of gripes, but they are all minor at worst. Original Citrus Cane Sugar is wearing the same classy suit as its sugar free sibling, albeit in a different color.

Taste

I know I said that Uptime Original Citrus Sugar Free tastes like soda from the fountain that just got reloaded with syrup. Well if that's true then Original Citrus Cane Sugar is the McDonald's Sprite right after the syrup has been refilled. It's delicious in a similar way to Mountain Dew's Baja Blast. Similarly to other Uptime drinks, Original Citrus Cane Sugar must still be consumed when cold. It is dramatically better when cold, sometimes even the fridge isn't enough to get it to the right temperature. Sometimes a quick trip to the freezer will do the trick. A minor inconvenience for a delicious beverage.

Kick

The beverage has 142mg of "natural" caffeine. Personally I found it to provide a sufficient amount of energy. Most energy drinks don't need to have 300mg of caffeine despite the market trending that way. I was able to enjoy the drink and gain energy and focus without feeling jittery or anxious. The carbonation is slightly less potent than in the sugar free version due to the sweetness of the drink and therefore does provide as much initial bite.

Overall

Uptime Original Citrus Cane Sugar is the fountain soda of energy drinks. It improves an already delicious lemon-lime flavored drink with the addition of cane sugar. Obviously that comes with a price, 39g of sugar compared to its sugar free sibling. Personally I would choose the sugar free version the majority of the time to avoid all the sugar (ignoring an artificial sweeteners debate here). That being said, the flavor with cane sugar is so good that it is worth the splurge on occasion. In summary, the unique combination of taste and packaging creates a compelling package that has few direct competitors.