Soft Drink Guide
Bawls Guarana
History and Culture
Bawls is in many ways the perfect example of what an energy drink should be. It gets kick from guarana and has a high amount of caffeine, as well as a sleek bottle design (complete with little grips so that you can hang on to it better no matter what you're doing) and an edgy name. It was quite ahead of the curve, being introduced in the 90's before energy drinks really took hold in the US. There's a lot of variety, and the named don't keep you guessing as to what kind of flavor you'll get (unlike Monster).
Marketing is geared toward participants in "extreme" and non-traditional athletics as well as young adults in urban areas.
Variations
The Cherry flavor is the most common and easiest to find. There's a sweeter version called Bawls EXXTRA that seems to be the only version of the drink that some stores carry (the caffeine content is similar to other energy drinks). A root beer version was available at one point but I've never found it nor tried it.
If you look around enough you'll find Bawls Mints, which I have to say are not very good at all. To each his own though.
In some paintball complexes there's a bottle variation called "PaintBAWLS."
Going out of Business?
Rumors abound about Bawls going out of business, spurred on by the lack of product in stores and the huge clearance sales on Bawls merchandise. At this point all we're certain about is yes. Bawls was in trouble and there's been a significant change in management and ownership. Accoding to buzz online, they've got quite a few unpaid bills out there ... but like many fans have said, the company had better make a recovery because they "just can't live without their bawls."
Taste Test
