Last year MAN Sports blew us away with not just one or two, but all four of their incredibly well flavored ISO-Aminos. The one that stood out above the rest, even though the rest were in no way inferior, was the first real candy recipe sour batch kids. The Sour Patch Kids inspired flavor showed just how good the brand were at making BCAAs taste amazing, as well as how close they could come to making something taste like the real thing. Our first question to MAN after reviewing ISO-Amino was about whether or not more candy options were on the way, since it really seemed like a thing the brand should capitalize on. It turned out MAN had already put four more into the works, two of which we have to review for you today, the Nerds inspired dorks and Skittles inspired skiddles, or what the brand now call fruittles.
In order of how much we think MAN nailed it, up first is fruittles. Being quite similar to Sour Patch Kids in terms of having a fruity variety we figured the brand would be able to get pretty close to the real deal on this one. MAN have indeed done their job well offering quite the splash of flavors in fruittles, carrying over the signature sweetness that made the other four ISO-Aminos so special. The initial hit of the concoction leaves nothing but the thought of Skittles in your mind, with the same thing to be said for the after taste the supplement leaves once it goes down. In the middle things do get a little bit bitter, almost taking away the idea of fruittles being related to Skittles, although before you know it you’re on to your next sip or finishing your last and you’re back to enjoying the candy like experience. In terms of dilution you will want to play around with the amount of water and powder you use for this one, as we didn’t find the taste to be as strong as some of the originals. The best balance for us was about two thirds or three quarters the usual amount of water, leaving enough room for the fruity sensation to shine through and keep the bitterness at a mostly unnoticeable level.
Next we have the Nerds inspired dorks, which for us is the better one of the two. The reason we feel dorks ISO-Amino is so much more on point is purely because that hint of bitterness that kept fruittles from being 100% like Skittles, is what makes dorks basically identical to Nerds. Whether or not MAN played up the sometimes off putting bitter taste for this one, it is what makes the flavor and what will easily put a smile on Nerds fans faces. In combination with that hit of bitterness the ISO-Amino also includes a fair amount of sweetness or sourness that we can only best describe as sour batch kids like. The merging of the two unique tastes bitter and sour results in the closest thing you’ll get to Nerds without taking in any calories. We did wonder if MAN had included any kind of fruity flavoring to match their colors and the original Nerds with a bit of strawberry and grape, however we are a little unsure on that one. Despite numerous tastes we couldn’t really make out any flavors, maybe a touch of fruit as a bit of direction, although mostly that combination of bitter and sour. The intensity could very well be what’s hiding the variety of dorks, either way you will know it’s Nerds right from the first sip. One last thing, like fruittles you will want to play around with dilution on this one not to bring out the taste more, but to manage its level of sour. For those that like it as sour and bitter as can be, simply don’t use much water. For those that prefer the tang to be on the lighter side, use a little more than usual as you will still get the dorks experience even with a shake at one and a half times the normal amount.
Overall we are once again more than impressed. A few months ago MAN pretty much gave a new meaning to aminos, raising the bar on flavoring for BCAAs and showing just how well it can be done. Mighty melon, tiger’s blood, blue bombsicle and sour batch kids all proved that there is still room for innovation even in the oldest of areas. In 2015 the brand have made an even stronger case introducing two tastes that have increased ISO-Amino’s reach going after fans interested in the fruity sweetness of Skittles and bitter sour combination of Nerds. While fruittles is a bit off at some points when compared to Skittles you can’t relate it to anything else. Dorks on the other hand is probably as close as you can get to Nerds if not identical, nailing that point of intensity overpowering flavor. From here we can’t help but look forward to whatever MAN have lined up next for their ISO-Amino Candy Series, which as much as we would like to put forward some suggestions, the brand have more than proven they know exactly what they’re doing.
