Review: We Chugged The Turbo Rush Energy Drink, And It's As Smooth As A-Train Himself
Call it pure marketing genius or excessive product placement. But, either way, the Amazon Prime hit "The Boys" sure knows how to drum up a sale in real life. Three seasons in, the Jeff Bezos platformed series has mastered the art of fiction-to-reality marketing, destroying streaming's fourth wall, and landing products that appear on the show ... right in your hand. So, what's real? What's fake? Is Alexa reading this over your shoulder right now and adding things to your Amazon cart? (The answer is "yes." She already knows too much.)
With "The Boys" Season 4 on the way, its spinoff series "Gen V" has already hit the ground running, featuring the same mind-melting universe as its big brother. And to celebrate all things superhero, we got a gift straight from "The Boys" character A-Train himself. It's the actual energy drink from his Season 3 commercial: Turbo Rush. He's also on the front of the can, just like in the show.
Full disclosure: We're sitting here trying to type, while Turbo Rush is pumping through our veins. After all, A-Train's thing is, indeed, superhuman speed, which also seems to be exactly what we drank. Well, no going back! Here's the juice on Turbo Rush.
What in the Turbo Rush is going on here?
If you're thinking "Huh?" we got you. The imagined Turbo Rush energy drink first appeared on "The Boys" Season 3, Episode 4 (It's an hour long, but we'll wait for you to watch it ... aaand ... done), where the character A-Train (played by Jessie T. Usher) films an ad for the brand within the show. It's super "Inception"-y, but stay with us.
Pop culture monsters will recognize the fictional commercial set-up as a shot-for-shot commentary on Kendall Jenner's infamous 2017 Pepsi ad for which she was relentlessly mocked. Just like Jenner's ad, A-Train stops a photoshoot mid-touch-up, and joins a nearby street protest, only to remedy the impending clash between the cops and the mob with a crisp, refreshing sip of Turbo Rush. Ahhh. Social justice is solved.
Real Turbo Rush isn't a soda. Instead, it's a carbonated energy drink that still gives you that "kwiss" sound when you pop the tab. With a professional throuple formed between Amazon, the Juvee energy drink brand, and the Gopuff grocery delivery company, Turbo Rush came to life off-screen.
Turbo Rush while you can
This is no time to sit on your tuchus, just watching TV and wondering how you can get your hands on a can of Turbo Rush. Wait, check that, this is the time to sit on your tuchus. Turbo Rush is available for a limited time, only on Gopuff. So get clickin'.
Now, through the run of "Gen V" Season 1 — or as long as supplies last — you can get your very own can of Turbo Rush free when you grab something from the "Gen V" collection on Gopuff. Pick a school from the show — "Crime Fighting," "Dramatic Arts," or "Undeclared" — and stock up on a whole bunch of hero-worthy snacks. Of course, we went with candy and popcorn because there are no greater foods in the IRL universe.
Turbo Rush offered to send us a can and our order arrived in roughly 30 minutes. So, next time you need to get your superhero on, just, y'know, plan that sudden burst of energy with a little advance notice.
Not that kind of energy drink
At first blush, this might look like yet another energy drink to land in a very saturated — and overly excited and jittery — market. But in reality, Turbo Rush isn't competing in the same lane as gym bros like Red Bull, Mountain Dew, Rockstar, Reign, Ghost, or Monster.
Instead, Turbo Rush appears to be a light and refreshing marketing ploy, designed to garner buzz for Amazon shows rather than dominate the shelves. It's like a T-shirt, made out of aluminum, and shaped like a soda can. Nothing to see here, Gatorade!
But, speaking of crushing the competition, if somehow they were able to bottle some of that actual A-Train superhuman speed, we'd buy this stuff by the case in order to eliminate the commute to just about everywhere. Miami Beach? Be right back. Swiss Alps? Just a sec. Sadly, no matter what, there's no drink to make the line at the post office go any faster.
A looksie at the label
Let's be honest about what's really fizzing up inside of a can of Turbo Rush energy drink. First of all, if you pour it out, you'll see that it's green. Ectoplasm green. Like Slimer from the original "Ghostbusters." And while we can imagine that the color magically appeared from the supernatural forces that created this drink ... it's probably from the food coloring listed in the ingredients.
One 12 ounce can will cost you just 5 calories, with 45 milligrams of sodium, and 1 gram of carbs. It's also sweetened with sucralose. While this sweetener doesn't technically count as sugar due to its processing (hence the "zero sugar" printed front and center on the label), you should still Turbo Rush responsibly.
The buzzy crush of energy you'll feel tingling all over your body comes from the combination of B vitamins, taurine, caffeine, L-Theanine, Panax Ginseng (an adaptogen that relieves stress), and vitamin C. While we appreciate the use of ancient plants and herbs to improve our well-being, we still point to taurine and the 127.5 milligrams of caffeine (roughly 1.3 cups of coffee) as being the real muscle behind the brand. (Still love you though, Vitamin C!)
The Turbo Rush taste
They say you eat with your eyes first. But when it comes to Turbo Rush energy drink, once you crack the tab, you'll be drinking first with your nose. And our first thought was: Pineapple! Except that's not what the flavor is supposed to be. Labeled as "Extreme Flavor," it appears that in this case, Extreme means kiwi-strawberry. Ugh, fine. After letting it chill out for a second, we're team kiwi-strawberry. With a hint of pineapple. (Sorry, not letting it go.)
It's bubbly, but in a refreshing way. Don't worry, you won't be burping the alphabet after a few chugs. Happily, the flavor isn't as extreme as the label suggests, and is instead totally drinkable. We downed the whole can. Clearly we didn't hate it.
If you're familiar with the flavor and syrupy texture that seems to always accompany taurine-based energy drinks, you'll recognize that signature combo right off the bat. Back in the '90s when Red Bull mania hit the United States, its exciting new ingredient — taurine — was described by idiot teenagers as something from a bull's bikini area. (For the record, that was totally wrong.) This version of taurine is likely a synthetically-produced additive that helps our body process acids, and power our cell function. Don't know about you guys, but we gotta get another Turbo Rush before this one wears off.