When I am tired, at times, I consume an energy drink. The one I like the most is Kickstart by Mountain Dew. Although this beverage is pushed as a morning refreshment, it really is another type of energy drink. Also, since Kickstart has been on the market, the makers have been offering 'free' or '99 cent' deals.
Those 99 cent deals are actually pretty good. As for preferences, I usually drink rockstar as the taste is decent and they are usually for sale at a price of $3 for 2. I have tried the dollar store drinks and they do not taste good at all. I would advise against buying those. Stick to the well-known brands.
I have tried those Kickstart energy drinks before but I didn't like them at all, I felt like they had a terrible after taste. The one that I like the most is Full Throttle as they taste really good and they are a lot cheaper than Red Bull.
Just an idea, as long as you didn't mind the taste - you could make your own "energy" drink (high caffeine drink) pretty cheaply. Just brew your own iced tea, but brew it incredibly strong. It's less than $1.50 for a box of large tea bags, which can make about 6 gallons of iced tea. I started brewing mine extra strong, because I love using a lot of ice and the tea was becoming diluted as the ice melted. But if you don't use a ton of ice, a glass or two of that will have you pretty perked up. I actually have to chill out drinking it in the evenings because it will keep me up all night.
