Molotov Explosive Energy! Mango con Tapatio

A Fair & Honest Energy Drink Review

Molotov Explosive Energy! Mango con Tapatio Retail Package Description

The Molotov Energy can has a real "Rage Against the Machine" feel to it. I guess Molotov Cocktails have a real "Rage Against the Machine" feel to them, and angry hand holding one is front and center on the can. The colors are banded vibrant oranges and reds, what you may expect to see on an Ortega or Old El Paso product. Maybe it's the star, but the Molotov logo actually has a bit of a communist feel to it. "Molotov Explosive Energy!" is in white, outlined in a bright redish-orange. Underneath the rebelling hand, "Mango" is also in white/redish-orange, "con" is in a cursive font and the "Tapatio Salse Picante" looks just like the Tapatio logo, minus Steve Buscemi. At the very bottom, "y limon" looks like the "con". The only real noteworthy text on the back is that "Portion of the proceeds benefit the Hispanic Scholarship Fund". I think it's worth noting that the "front" of the can is actually repeated twice to cover two-thirds of the can, increasing the likelihood of ideal presentation to the consumer.

Caffeine Addict's Molotov Explosive Energy! Mango con Tapatio Review



This is the time of year to curl up in the recliner next to gas logs that don't work, and watch a pirated movie loosely based on a poorly-written book next to the warm glow of a gaudy lead-based-white-painted Chinese-made Christmas tree.

Like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Molotov Explosive Energy Mango is new and hot. It's from the makers of Go Girl, and is spiced up with Tapatio Salsa Picante. For most, the idea of fruit and hot sauce together is as unholy of a union as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

While we're on the topic of soulless gingers, the initial taste of Moltov is very much like Blenheim #5 Ginger Ale (The gold cap, which is not as hot). For anyone who's enjoyed Blenheim, you'll know "not as hot" is a relative term. I've never been able to find Blenheim #3 (the srsly hot recipe) in local store, but their website describes it as, "going down as smoothly as a firecracker exploding in your throat". Both Moltov Explosive Energy and Blenheim are great for clearing out your sinuses during this season of the sniffles.

For "normal" people who don't put hot sauce on their fruit, and agree Hermione should have wound up with Harry Potter, try to think of Molotov like spiced apple cider, and the scene when Harry and Hermione are making out like unsupervised teenagers on green M&Ms.

Ultimately, I love hot foods. If I'm not sweating after dinner from either processing 2 lbs. of under-chewed meat, or the habanero puree I apply to almost everything, there's a little part of me that dies inside, like when Harry is snogging with that non-Hermione hussy Ginny Weasley.

That being said, Molotov Explosive Energy lives up to my heat expectations for something bearing the Tapatio name, or as my friend Shannon calls it, "Steve Buscemi Sauce". Molotov tastes good, but I wouldn't at all describe it as refreshing.

Molotov Explosive Energy is also plenty energizing, and that warm sensation you get from the Tapatio may be just what you need to get out of bed and face those frigid holiday afternoons.

Energy Junkie's Molotov Explosive Energy! Mango con Tapatio Review

Firstly, kids (quite possibly kids that drink energy drinks) like being angry and wreaking havoc. Nothing says angry like a flaming glass bottle filled with flammable fluids. While Nor-Cal Beverage Co. sees the hispanic community as the target market, I think it's worth noting that the angry symbolism could draw interest from teenagers who wear Che Guevara shirt (meanwhile, having purchased the shirt from the capitalist institution) or enjoy games and movies about war, revolution, terrorism, etc.

While the taste isn't pleasant and overtly sweet like many popular brands (Monster and Rockstar come to mind), teenagers also love doing inane things, like chugging hot sauce. Being a connoisseur of hot peppers, I can attest that this drink is spicy enough to motivate some of the more asinine teenagers to demonstrate their manhood (and complete lack of intelligence) by chugging Molotov.

Concerning the actual target market, many flavors that are enjoyed by the majority of the Hispanic community, I don't find palatable. For instance, I think tamarind is less enjoyable than being flogged. Molotov Mango con Tapatio, while completely different from anything else in the energy drink market, is surprisingly enjoyable. Everyone I know who has tasted it has had followed this pattern:

  1. Look at the can apprehensively
  2. Smell the drink and is either unaffected, or surprised by how spicy it smells
  3. Take a sip
  4. Look bewildered and do the thing where you concentrate on the taste by open mouth chewing and making that disgusting dry mouth sound with your tongue
  5. Amazed at the enjoyable flavor, take a bigger sip
  6. Realize that the spicy just got turned up a notch
  7. Strangely doesn't want to part with the drink, having not been immediately keen on the idea only seconds before


Functionally, Molotov performs well, and is an above average energy drink. The price point is equally acceptable, available online with free shipping for $1.91 per 16oz. can.
A couple of additional notes about Molotov: I don't know why only some of the flavors have hot sauce in them, I think the non-Tapatio versions work too much to straddle the fence, like in a boardroom somewhere people were like, "We should have something for people who don't like hotsauce", as if every product needs to appeal to 100% of the general populous to be successful. I like the way the can is laid out, not a lot of space wasted on some stupid motivational paragraph that no one reads, I mean, let's accept it, reading takes too long and pictures of flaming bottles speaks volumes.