Price: C$2.00 (current Exchange rate: €1,49)Contains: 16 fl.Oz (473mL)
We've been offline for a while and because of a very simple, yet understandable reason.
We ran out of interesting drinks to review!
Well, loyal readers; time has come for some updates.
You see: a friend of mine went to Canada for the past few weeks and he was kind enough to bring us one of these (along with some other cans, you'll see).
When he was in Canada; I went on a trip to Germany and another friend went to Paris.
So no shortage of drinks to review in the following month...
The CR crew was very pleased with this baby and a four-man testing squad (constisting of me, my brother, my friend and his brother) was put on this can...
We all are big fans of the Monster drinks and from the start we were expecting something awesome.
So, was the transatlantic trip worth the effort? Let find out, shall we?
Packaging:
Monster always blows us away with their can designs and yet again, they managed to make our jaws drop on the floor.
This can is a welcome variaton on the Monster cans we know and love.
The eyecatcher remains the Monster claw logo, which has a nice shade of red on this occasion, but this time there's another detail that really sets off this can: the camo pattern.
Yes, Monster cans always scream 'hardcore' and this is certainly no exception.
The camo pattern really adds to this theme; it's different than any other camo pattern we've seen, though.
It consists of shades of gray and has a rather pixelated effect on it.
Underneath the usual Monster text, 'ASSAULT' is written in silver with an army stamp effect.
Because this can is from across the atlantic, it also shows two minor differences to the Monster cans we got used to.
The first difference lies within the size; this can is addapted to the United States' fluid ounces system.
Therefore: the content of this Monster can is 16 fl.Oz, which is the equalivent of 473mL.
The visual difference? Well, the can has the same thickness as the half-a-liter Monster cans we got used to, but it's slighly shorter.
The second difference is the pull tab.
European Monster cans just have the regular, rather standardised silver pull tabs, which is nothing to be excited about really.
This Canadian can has a custom pull tab; it has the same shade of red as the Monster claw logo on the front and has a really nice and professional touch to it: there's a small claw logo on the pull tab!
First time in our lives that we've ever encoutered that, actually, so it's quite a shock to see how much more effort is spent on the American/Canadian Monster cans when compared to the European ones.
Slogan:
Sadly: we couldn't find a slogan on this can... anywhere!
We were a little bit disappointed with this; so many things within the Monster Assault theme can easily be converted into a cool or cheesy slogan.
It's a bit of a shame, really...
Taste:
We stood in awe when we cracked open this can and as soon as it was done, a strong raspberry and cinnamon smell filled the room.
We started filling some glasses and test tubes (yes, we have test tubes now, we've finally reached that level of insanity) to share the drink amongst the test squad and noticed a nice, deep red color.
And then the moment arrived where we all had been waiting for, you know: the bumping glasses, cheers and bottom's up moment.
As we expected from the smell: this drink tasted like raspberry, but we could easily taste the cinnamon as well.
We knew from the very start that this drink was going to be special, but this exceeded our expectations.
With the Lo-Carb and Juiced drinks, we still tasted the Original Monster flavour through it.
With Assault: even this familiar taste has vanished.
This really is a drink on it's own and if I would have to go through a blindfolded taste test, I wouldn't recognise is as a typical Monster drink.
At first, I wasn't completely sure about the cinnamon; I thought that it's presence was a little bit too strong but later on, I found it to complete this drink rather than spoiling it.
The sugar and carbonation also are really well balanced, so that's no problem either.
I noticed the drink has slightly less carbonation than the other Monster drink, but frankly, I don't really mind.
Pretty much saves you on gas, doesn't it?
Maybe it was just the excitement of having a new Monster again, but we all agreed this to be the best Monster drink yet, as it slightly surpassed Khaos in flavour and originality.
Kick:
We shared the drink, so we shared the kick.
Monster Assault gave us a decent buzz and I'm sure that if we all had one on our own, the four of us would all have the notorious Big Bad Monster Buzz experience, which basically means that disaster would have struck upon the testing room.
I noticed that the key ingredients, which are displayed on top of the claw logo as always, are different than the usual Monster key ingredients.
They are more or less the same, actually, but there seems to be a lack of l. carnitine and the ginseng magically transformed to panax ginseng (nah, just kidding; it's still everyday ginseng, nothing new here).
Price/Quality Ratio:
2 Canadian Dollars converts to €1,49 on this date, which is really convenient because that's what we always pay for a can of Monster.
Monster did it again, folks: they've made this drink live up to every cent we paid for it.
But this time; our favorite energy drink brand has accomplished even more: now we want to go to Canada!
No kidding: we, as energy drink lovers, are so jealous of the transatlantic countries, such as Canada.
They get the full line-up, whereas us Europeans usually can get only three.
Well, I guess we'll have to order from the States sometimes, for the sake of this site and for the sake of our collections of course.
Too bad that those shipping costs are outrageous...
