Energy Drink Review: Kirkland Signature Energy Shot

Only the finest.

I'm not that into the energy shots, you guys. I've tried a few and they always make me feel kind of funny, and not like in a good way. One of the reasons I like the 16-ounce "two serving" energy drinks is because of how I can take my time with the caffeine consumption and drink faster or slower depending on what I need or how I'm feeling. A shot is, you know, the opposite of that. BUT a friend of mine generously donated a couple of Costco-generic brand energy shots to my humble caffeine research blog and my stomach is kind of annoyed with me right now, so I figure if I need caffeine, less content and carbonated chemicals is probably the way to go.

The 2-ounce shot contains 180 mg of caffeine, which sounds pretty good to me. The tiny bottle also states that it is "For individuals with normal caffeine tolerance." HAHA. I had three Diet Cokes and a Monster yesterday over the course of a 9.5 hour work day and still immediately went to sleep for three hours when I got home. I would not call my tolerance "normal." BUT WE WILL SEE HOW THIS MAKES ME FEEL.

FLAVOR: It does not taste that good. It's reddish and tastes vaguely fruity/candy-ish, but not in a very good way. If the mouth of the bottle were wide enough to actually take one-gulp shot, it would be helpful.

EFFECTIVENESS: I took it in a succession of gulps over about two minutes. AND SO IT BEGINS... About ten minutes later, I've got some extra leg shaking happening. Kirkland claims their drinks won't make you jittery or crash, but if I'm not jittery, it's useless to me. I'm feeling a little more alert. My fingers want me to type super-fast, but my thoughts haven't caught up yet. I've gotten headache-y and dehydrated from energy shots before, so I'm hoping with my constant water consumption at the desk, I'll be able to avoid this nasty side effect. About ten more minutes, and my head feels a bit swimmy, but not sleepy anymore. No longer fidgeting as much.

It's been about 40 minutes since I drank that shit, and thought I'm not sleepy, my head feels a little bit achy and I don't love it. I'm drinking a lot of water, but my head is still kind of hot. Why do people drink these? I don't understand. I felt energized for like 15 minutes and then just kind of weird but I guess also awake?

OVERALL: Not really recommended but do what you want, you're a grown-up.