Thursday, January 28, 2016

Flaming Moe Novelty Energy Drink - Five Below (TBT)

Flaming Moe Novelty Energy Drink - Five Below
"Call Mr. Plow, that's my name, that name again is Mr. Plow!" Wrong episode, I know, but with all the snow we've been getting that little jingle has been stuck in my head all week! What better time to get that reference out of my head than when I'm reviewing a Simpsons-themed novelty drink?

I used to be a HUGE fan of the Simpsons, especially the Treehouse of Horror episodes, and even though I think the show writers have lost their way, and that the show isn't as great as it used to be, I couldn't help myself when I saw a can of Flaming Moe for sale at Five Below.

This is very obviously a novelty product for fans, but it looks like the design team put in quite a bit of effort for the can's art. You have the yellow-skinned miserable bar tender, Moe, handing you a glass that's been lit on fire, and all the fonts and color choices match the overall Simpson's aesthetic. It's fun, playful, and it fills me with nostalgia. Which is just what the company that produced this wanted. They wanted me to get suckered in with happy memories of the golden age of The Simpsons. (Which completely worked.)

When I opened the can I immediately smelled that familiar wintergreen-ish bubble gum aroma that always reminds me of amoxicillin (a common children's medicine). Now, if any of you watched The Simpsons back when it was good, you'll know that a Flaming Homer Moe was a drink that Homer originally came up with using children's cough medicine. After mixing the ingredients he would light the liquid fire and blow it out before drinking, hence the "flaming" part of the drink's name and the fiery beverage you see on this can. After sharing this concoction with Moe the bartender, Moe ended up stealing the idea and selling it like hotcakes at his bar squeezing Homer out of the deal.
Since the fictional beverage was made with children's cough medicine, part of me is impressed that this beverage tastes so much like the cough syrups and antibiotics I took as a child. Then again, I might be giving this too much credit. I feel like the medicine-like taste wasn't intentional, and it's definitely not appealing. This stuff tastes like ramune with a splash of Redbull, and bubblegum flavored fluoride. For a bubblegum hater like me, this is a liquid nightmare.

As far as the energy drink aspect is concerned, I very rarely drink these things, so they tend to effect me strongly. I drank 3/4ths of this can last night, when I was very tired from work and running errands, and it kept me from needing a nap. I feel like I could have gotten the same boost from a cup of coffee, so it wasn't overwhelming, and I didn't make me feel the intense sugar-high like rush that I've gotten from other energy products.
Chock this under things I regret ingesting. I knew this was a novelty product and that the odds of it tasting good were slim, but the Nintendo ones I reviewed from Five Below a few years ago were better than they had any right to be! I figured, this had to be a similar product with a different label, right? Wrong. If you or someone you know are huge Simpsons fans, this can is a neat collectible, but this is a novelty product at best. I can't see anyone buying this just to drink it, and I can't say I'd recommend it.  
(For the record, even though I knew it wouldn't work, I did attempt to light this on fire for sh*ts and giggles, and it was a no-go. Fire definitely did not make it better.)
© Maria Smith http://poison-and-antidote.net
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