Erik Novoa's Platinum Party (www.SwingShoes.net) is a great place to find dedicated West Coast Swing dancers. We convened a panel of five Westies with discerning taste (in fashion, music, dance partners, quality flooring …) to try Guru (www.GuruEnergy.com), a new energy drink. Each flavor of Guru is a combination of juices (much of which is organic). Guru does contain sugar and caffeine, but these are from natural sources, not from High Fructose Corn Syrup. We let our panel choose from several flavors of Guru, shaken and served cold. We asked our panel for honest, unbiased feedback. Here is what they had to say.

The panel was asked, "What score would you give the drink overall?", where Extremely Good was a 3 and Extremely Bad was a -3. The average score was 1.6, about half way between Good and Very Good.

The panel was asked, "How likely are you to try the drink again if you were looking to buy a beverage at a store or event?" where Extremely Likely was a 3 and Extremely Unlikely was a -3. The average score was a 1.2, slightly better than Likely.

The panel was asked "Do you feel that the drink would help sustain you during a night of dancing? 'I feel Guru would be…'" where Extremely Helpful was a 3 and Extremely Unhelpful was a -3. The average score was 1.25, a little better than Helpful.

What does Guru taste like? The panel felt that Guru was:
Praise

"Smooth with a little tang. Definitely has a fruity feel, not a carbonated artificial taste."

"Actual lemons… Wow. After taste even lemon."

Criticism

"Arizona Iced Tea, but more bitter. The bitter aftertaste is problematic."

"A little too much tea, could use a little more lemon flavor"

"Lite was very sugary, bubble gum, cotton candy"

The panel had this to say about how Guru relates to dancing:
Praise

"Definitely could help a night of dancing. All the benefits of a fruit drink in a can. Could help energize and rehydrate."

"Good for marathon in a different flavor"

"It's great as most dancers don't drink alcohol"

Criticism

"Not too much salt please."

"Would be better at 3 am at a dance event"

A survey of five dancers does not provide enough data to predict conclusively whether dancers will like Guru, but the results are strong enough to suggest that if you are looking for an energy drink, Guru is worth a try. Guru comes in six flavors, so try a few. If you are similar to our panel, you will probably like some flavors and dislike other flavors. As our panelists also pointed out, you should choose an appropriate time to drink an energy drink like Guru, such as late at night when you need a little fruit/sugar/caffeine boost to get you through another few hours of sugar pushes and spin whips.

No matter what you were drinking, the Platinum Party was a blast, with great music spun by DJ Wes Carrajat. The room full of people had braved a tornado warning to get to Club 412. They took advantage of the warm camaraderie that is always available at Club 412 and Erik's parties.

(Photos taken using the Casio EX-Z1080 digital camera.)

DJ Wes Carrajat and several cans of Guru, a new energy drink Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams

West Coast Swing at the Platinum Party Photo © & courtesy of Robert Abrams