Grab a bottle, grab some energy: just 10 calories. Photo by B.A. Van Sise.

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March 2007

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Beverages

Hiball Energy Drink & Mixers

Sophisticated Energized Drinks For 10 Tasty Calories

CAPSULE REPORT: So many energy drinks leave us listless. We just don’t love the flavors, heavy-handed and (regardless of how natural the ingredients may be) often unnatural tasting. And then there are the sweeteners: Energy comes at a caloric price. But Hiball is one of the very few that has excited us: Just a sip gave us energy, because we’re so happy that there are clean, fresh-flavored contenders in the category. If you drink other energy potions, try this one. If you aren’t an energy drink person but could use a boost every now and then, think of Hiball as club soda with a boost. In fact, in addition to four sparkling fruit flavors, there’s a plain club soda and a tonic water with the same energy formula.

• Overview
• Flavors
• Cocktail: Hiball Energy Greyhound
• Shopping Information

Roughly 500 energy drinks were launched worldwide last year, capitalizing on the craze for the typically sugar- and caffeine-laden beverages embraced by teens and younger consumers. They probably won’t like Hiball, which marches to the tune of a different drummer. It’s an energy drink that isn’t sold in a slender, sophisticated can but a cute, round bottle. It’s absolutely clear. It has only 10 calories, no sugar or artificial sweeteners, no carbs. That makes Hiball, according to the manufacturer, the first and only energy drink made without sugar or artificial sweeteners, or perhaps the only sparkling water with energy. The easiest way to envision it is as a flavored club soda or sparkling water packed with pep, which means it’s more of a flavor treat than a plain glass of bubbly water. And it’s much better enhanced for an energy boost than a cup of black coffee.

Hiball is a win-win, an energy drink for sophisticated palates or those who want their energy simplified.

Based on carbonated water and natural flavors (i.e., flavored club soda), the active ingredients are common to many energy drinks: taurine (1250mg), caffeine (p750mg), guarana (32mg), ginseng (32mg) and B vitamins (120% RDI).

High-Energy Flavors

You’re ready to roll with a choice of four sparkling flavors. The drinks aren’t sweetened but, in a manner similar to flavored club soda, the burst of fruit flavor—here completely natural—is very satisfying. There’s an added undertone of sweetness contributed by some of the botanical extracts in the drink.

We liked all the flavors, but were particularly attracted to Orange, the most vivid. But, there’s a “favorite” for everyone, and everyone who drinks Hiball will no doubt rotate among them:

• Grapefruit. The most sophisticated flavor, a gentle nudge of citrus.
• Lemon Lime. The flavor tips to the lime side (perhaps explaining the green
  label).
• Orange. Intensely, happily orange.
• Wildberry. A nice blend, somewhere between black cherry and raspberry.

The company also makes an energy Club Soda and Tonic Water.

If you’re not already converted to energy drinks but you keep running for that cup of coffee or tea when you feel sluggish, try a Hiball. With its comfort-fruit flavors, it might be the new beverage you didn’t even know you needed. If you already drink Red Bull or its descendents, perhaps you’d prefer something lighter and fresher tasting. If so, pour yourself a Hiball.

Cocktail Recipe: Hiball Energy Greyhound

You’ll have fun making cocktails with Hiball, whether with the standard mixers (soda and tonic water) or the flavored sparkling waters. Here’s a recipe using the newest flavor, Grapefruit.

Hiball Energy Greyhound Ingredients 4 ounces Hiball Energy Sparkling Grapefruit 1.5 ounces vodka Splash of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice Ice Fresh pink grapefruit for garnish Directions Pour over ice in a rocks glass. Stir. Garnish with a slice of pink grapefruit.

“Highball,” in its original spelling, conveys to many people a mixed drink made of liquor with a carbonated beverage and served in a tall glass: a whiskey and soda or a Tom Collins, for example. But in railroad language, a hiball is a signal that means “full speed ahead,” and it’s trucker slang for moving fast in general. It doesn’t matter whether you’re driving a train or a truck, seeing a long list of clients, racing in twelve directions or staring at a computer screen until your eyes cross: Whenever you need some Hiball energy, just twist off the cap!