What's the best flavor of Jelly Belly? Juicy Pear. What's the best flavor of Bloom Sparkling Energy? Well, that stillmight be Crisp Apple, but Pear Scare is giving it a run for its money.
The new seasonal flavor from Bloom Nutrition is familiar to grocery stores but underutilized in energy drinks. I'm not sure I'd ever had a pear caffeine blast before my press mailer arrived last month. It's not just the underrated runner-up to the mighty apple, however. This pear is spiced, with cinnamon and sugar added to the mix to create a minor pie vibe.
I've already spoiled the plot a bit, but that's fine. This was another strong addition to a lineup that features some of my favorite energy drinks. Let's go into a bit more detail.
Bloom Energy Pear Scare: A
It pours clear, with the
standard energy drink effervescence. The smell off the top is muted by the ice, but has recognizable Jelly Belly influences. It's tapered off a bit by some soft cinnamon, which mutes the snappiness of the tart/sweet pear and the acidic base of the drink.
The first sip starts soft, building to a crisp finish. The pear flavor comes on throughout each gulp and actually reaches its crescendo after it clears your throat. The cinnamon is modest but significant, bringing an extra layer of complexity and keeping this from feeling like a generic energy drink. Instead, it's a bit more like a bespoke soda -- something Jones could have come up with in the 1990s.
It's really nice and unique, a proper follow-up to last year's apple offering that brought similarly sumptuous flavors to the world of caffeine. Those 180 milligrams hit as expected -- no new ground broken there -- which is pretty much what you want. Putting down two is no problem for me, but my tolerance is fairly high these days (and probably only getting higher with NFL season rounding into form).
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Bloom Nutrition's Pear Scare energy drink over a cold can of Hamm’s?
Yes. It's a really nice energy drink, hitting all the staples of the genre and adding a pleasant Jelly Belly twist without being overly sweet.
This is part of FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Bloom Energy Pear Scare review: Jelly Belly flavors, but better?
