I have a confession to make. I’m a computer geek. If there are two things that stereotypically appeal to computer geeks, those things are bacon and caffeine. Just browse thinkgeek.com for a bit and you’ll start to get it. While I’m terrified to try the bacon vodkas in anything other than a bloody mary, I was immediately drawn to caffeine vodka.

V2 vodka claims to be vodka plus caffeine and taurine. Does that sound like an energy drink label? It should. V2 doesn’t list the amounts of each ingredient, so there’s no way to make a direct comparison and I have no way of knowing the impact of this concoction on the human body. But, I’m honestly not sure how this vodka exists. The US has mostly banned a product, or at least a formulation of a product, called Four Loko. Four Loko is essentially a malt beverage energy drink and a lot of irresponsible people were consuming a dangerous amount of the terrible brew, making for quite a few sensationalist news articles decrying the caffeinated alcoholic beverage.

If you drink vodka, you’ve probably consumed your share of Vodka-Red-Bulls. Most people have been drinking caffeinated adult beveredges for ages. V2 Vodka is the first vodka I’ve seen that has the caffeine included. So, the real question is: how is it?

The Shot

The flavor of V2 Vodka sneaks up in a bad way. At first, there is no flavor to make note of, but the flavor quickly attacks while I swallow. It’s an assaulting bitter, perhaps in the same way as popular energy drinks like Monster or RockStar are painful to drink but somehow appealing. There is a burn as it I swallow, but it’s not overwhelming. In the end, I’m left with the bitter remnants of the vodka, and a chaser is the only way to make it go away.

The Mixer

My first thought was to try V2 with an energy drink, but I’ve had enough shaky mornings to know that a lot of alcohol with a lot of energy drink is a bad idea. Since I seem to have a plethora of cran-apple juice and not much else, I gave that a go. The mixture isn’t great. It’s bitter, and, despite not enjoying the vodka straight, I’d rather be drinking it straight.

I decided to mix up some Crystal Light since it was the only other sweet drink I had on hand. Oddly, V2 Vodka mixed with Crystal Light comes out very neutral. It’s almost like watered down Crystal Light. There is a tiny bit of bitter, but it’s hardly noticeable. If you’re going to mix this vodka, sweeter mixers seem better.

Final Thoughts

V2 Vodka is an interesting concept. I can’t tell if it works like an energy drink, so I can’t say if it helps with the process of drinking. Whatever the case, if you’re a caffeine junky or you’re just looking for a novel vodka, V2 Vodka is worth a try. It’s not my favorite, but it’s definitely unique.

Rated 3 out of 5.