Summary: The answer is no. Jolt Energy has been discontinued and is currently unavailable in the market.
Jolt Energy drink or Jolt cola is one of the first energy drinks created in 1985 by The Jolt Company. It was targeted at students and professionals as a stimulant to keep them awake and energetic due to its high caffeine amounts.
Jolt Energy drink quickly became an underground hit for containing twice the amount of caffeine compared to regular colas. The founders at Jolt Energy knew they could not compete with the popularity of Pepsi and Coke so they came up with a formula that was “all the sugar and twice the caffeine” and made it their slogan.
Jolt had a cult following among youth, students, and athletes all over the country although it soon lost its popularity in the sea of emerging beverages and energy drinks. Jolt Energy drink had a rocky path in staying in business over the years.
Jolt energy drink is currently unavailable in the market. The brand has been discontinued twice now and made a brief comeback in 2017 via the Dollar General store, but Jolt is no longer being produced or distributed. However, the company has yet to release an official statement.
Continue reading to learn more about the rise and fall of Jolt energy drinks and everything in between.
Jolt Energy Drink Nutrition Facts
Jolt Energy drink was famous for its high amounts of sugar and caffeine. Let’s find out all the other nutritional values found in one can of Jolt Energy drink:
| Nutritional Value | Jolt Cola |
| Calories | 190 |
| Fat | 0g |
| Sodium | 5g |
| Carbohydrate | 50g |
| Sugar | 50g |
| Added Sugar | 50g |
| Protein | 0g |
| Caffeine | 160mg |
Calories in Jolt Energy Drink
Jolt Energy Drink contains 190 calories per 16 fl. oz in a can.
Jolt Energy Drink was one of the first carbonated energy drinks. Their main marketing strategy was to make this drink as unhealthy as possible for the ‘bad boys’ and they delivered the promise.
The calories in the Jolt Energy drink are quite high especially compared to the low-calorie and zero-calorie options available on the market.
The FDA recommends not taking more than 2500 calories for men and 2000 calories for women in a single day. Compared to this, the calories added to the high sugar levels of the Jolt Energy drink were quite unhealthy, to say the least.
Let’s not forget the side effects caused by overconsumption of calories. The side effects include:
- excessive weight gain
- coronary diseases
- high blood pressure
- breathing problems
Limit your daily consumption to the recommended value to avoid side effects.
Jolt Energy Drink Ingredients
The ingredients of a can of Jolt energy drink are given below:
- Carbonated Water
- Sugar
- Caramel Color
- Phosphoric Acid
- Caffeine
- Citric Acid
- Natural Flavor
Caffeine in Jolt Cola
Jolt Cola and energy drinks were known for their high caffeine. One can of Jolt energy drink contains 160 mg of caffeine.
Jolt Energy drinks were one of the first of their kind. Its popularity soon skyrocketed as it advertised speed and performance due to caffeine, which is much like today’s Red Bull.
Although there are many energy drinks with higher caffeine content these days, Jolt was the original energy boost provider of the 80s and 90s era.
To put into context, an average cup of coffee contains between 80-95mg of caffeine. The FDA-approved daily caffeine intake should not exceed 400mg. The 160mg caffeine content is still pretty high for daily consumption.
Despite this, Jolt was a well-known brand and the most popular kind of energy drink throughout the day. However, the corporation eventually developed diet versions of its products, which included less sugar and caffeine than the originals.
Sugar in Jolt Energy Drink
Jolt Energy drink has 50g of sugar in one serving. It also has 50g of added sugar along with the other ingredients.
Rather than being viewed as a health threat, Jolt Cola openly advertised its sugar and caffeine content, which became a public attraction. The sweetness of Jolt was one of the reasons for its appeal. It turns out that people aren’t as health-conscious as you might think, and that the 50mg of sugar in a can of cola is rather enjoyable.
For reference, the AHA recommends not consuming more than 36g of sugar for men and 25g of sugar for women daily. The sugar in the Jolt energy drink was almost twice that amount.
There are still many energy drinks and caffeinated beverages with a high sugar content but luckily, we also have healthier alternatives to get our daily energy boost without all the sugar and calories.
Consuming too much sugar for a long period can have a number of health consequences such as:
- diabetes
- obesity
- increased blood pressure
- heart diseases
- tooth decay
Health-wise, energy drinks that have zero sugar could be a safer option for you. I suggest you check out my recommendations on sugar-free energy drinks in this article.
History Of Jolt Energy Drink
Jolt Cola was originally made by The Jolt Company Inc. in Rochester, New York. From the very beginning, the company focused on marketing the product based on its sugar and caffeine content.
However, in 1987, the company came out with a new low-calorie version called Jolt 25 that came with a few additional flavors.
In 2003, the name was sold to a company that made caffeinated gums. They later came out with caffeinated gum and mints bearing the Jolt name. The gums came in two flavors called- Spearmint and Icymint.
In 2006 the company faced a total revamp and a lot of major changes were made including the ‘Jolt battery bottles’ which were first introduced with whole new packaging.
The flavors of Jolt were also changed. A bunch of new flavors were introduced and even an Ultra diet version that contained Splenda as its artificial sweetener along with taurine, ginseng, and guarana extract.
In 2008, the founder of the Jolt Company sold the controlling interest of the company to Emigrant Capital. In 2009, the company filed for bankruptcy, and the production and distribution of America’s first energy drink were halted.
The Comeback For Jolt Cola
After being discontinued for about a year, Jolt Energy drinks made their comeback in September 2017. It received quite a buzz from its fans and was soon picked up from the shelves.
Jolt Energy drink was relaunched in 2017 with the original flavor. It was available exclusively at Dollar General store, Casey’s General Store, and Amazon. They had updated their official website and social media outlets and let out press releases and the fans of Jolt were very excited to experience their nostalgic energy drink of choice.
Each can of Jolt Energy drink contained 16 fl. oz and retailed for $1 per can.
Do They Still Make Jolt Energy Drink?
Jolt energy drinks are no longer available for distribution and are believed to have been discontinued.
After its comeback in 2017, Jolt energy drinks failed to make their mark on the market like in the 80s. With a plethora of carbonated beverages and energy drinks available today, Jolt was only good as a blast from the past.
However, if you visit the Amazon Jolt page, it says that the drink is ‘currently unavailable’ like it has been for a while.
The official social media pages have also been inactive since 2019. Jolt is no longer available in Dollar General or Casey’s General Store. According to Wikipedia, Dollar General stores stopped selling Jolt energy drinks shortly after March 2019.
Jolt’s official website is still up and running. Although it doesn’t give any clarification about the production of the Jolt energy drink it is believed that the production and distribution of this 90s favorite energy drink have been discontinued once again.
REIZE Energy Drink (10 out of 10)
If you can’t get your hands on a can of Jolt, how about something more refined for modern tastes?
REIZE is a powdered energy drink that comes in convenient light 4g sachets that you can carry everywhere and add to almost all kinds of beverages.
REIZE contains a sensible 50mg of caffeine and just 10 calories. It is also completely sugar-free and also has a delicious blend of beneficial ingredients like taurine, ginseng seed extracts, and B vitamins.
Best of all, REIZE ships directly to your door for just around $1. making it an incredibly affordable choice.
So give REIZE a try today, and you might find it preferable to all the other modern brands out there.