Review – iX MiXer

iX MiXerHave you ever woken up after a night of drinking and simply felt like calling in dead for the day.  Your head aches, your stomach is a bit sideways, the stupid sun is way too bright, etc.  I think most of us can relate to the feeling.  Now, myself, being a consumer of only the finest spirits and only in moderation never experiences such mornings.  Or, better put, I don’t readily admit to it.  The good news is there are lots and lots of cures for hangovers.  Heck, I’ve even detailed the subject in a previous post.  Problem is, all of these remedies concern treating the aftereffects of a hangover.  Wouldn’t it be much simpler and less painful to stop the problem from happening in the first place?  And for those of you asking the question “Couldn’t you just not drink?”, the answer is no.  Sit back down.

The problem is, ethanol is a diuretic.  It decreases the porosity of the kidneys which causes you to expel water that would generally be absorbed back into the bloodstream.  Basically, alcohol makes you pee, which can make you dehydrated.  Can’t fight that.  However, four friends from my home state have come up with a simple solution, mix your drinks with an electrolyte enhanced mixer.  I’m not talking Gatorade here, either.  Enter iX MiXer.  iX is a sparkling mixer made from all natural ingredients and supplemented with vitamins and electrolytes to help your system fight the dehydrating effects of alcohol.

iX comes in two flavors Citrus and Berrie.  Both have 80 calories and are sweetened with sucrose (a nice touch).  The key to iX though is the vitamins and electrolytes.  Each can brings you 20% of your daily value of each: vitamin A, niacin (B3), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, pantothenic acid (B5) and zinc.  On top of that you get 60% of your daily value of chromium.  Sure, if you put away an entire bottle of hooch, there is no amount of vitamins that will stop you from feeling like crap.  But electrolytes and vitamins are going to help you feel less like crap.  It’s the small steps.

iX Citrus – Strong grapefruit aroma.  The flavor in this iX is light and combines the tastes of orange and grapefruit.  Reminds me a bit of Squirt…hmmm, perhaps it’s time for a Paloma.  Some iX Citrus, tequila and a squeeze of lime.  Why, yes.  I think I might just be on to something.

iX Berrie – The aroma in this iX is very reminiscent of raspberry sorbet.  Like the citrus the flavor here is light, combining flavors of a number of berries focusing mainly on raspberry.  I think this could work well in a berry Mojito.  You’d want to drop the sugar to compensate for the sweetness, but the flavors would blend well.

I decided the Paloma idea was simply too good to pass up and the results were rather tasty.  I added a bit of extra lime juice (~1/2 oz) to punch up the sourness since iX isn’t quite as sour as Squirt.  The resulting beverage was definitely on the level.  Just to verify my data, I had two.

Usually this is where I tell you that the product is only available in stores on the east or west coast and bemoan my inability to procure it locally.  That’s not the case this time.  Since iX is a Denver based company they’re starting there push for global domination in bars and retailers there.  So, I can grab some anytime I like.  However, if you’re not local and you’re interested in getting your hands on some right away, you can also order it off their website.  $12 for 12 cans or $23 for 24 cans.  With summer coming and parties on a lot of our horizons, you should give iX a try.  Your body might just thank you.


† The product reviewed here was provided to me as a free sample. If you’re wondering what that means check out my sample policy.

 


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One response to “Review – iX MiXer”

  1. Evan Avatar
    Evan

    As someone who does science for a living, I’m always amazed at the claims of marketing despite no empirical evidence. Hangover remdies are poorly studied in the scientific literature, but some things have been excluded. For instance, Vitamin B6 may slightly reduce effects if taken in doses hundreds of times the recommended daily intake, but this was a minor effect in a small study (~20 people) so it may not even be real. But the vitamin B6 doses in this certainly won’t significantly change things for you. As far as I know, there’s no reason to even suspect that vitamin A, zinc, or chromium are relevant. The water might help, but as this is a mixer, presumably you are mixing it in the same proportions that you would with another mixer, so that doesn’t change anything.

    I’m not a medical researcher or doctor, and I can’t completely exclude the possibility that one or more of the ingredients has a measurable effect, but it seems unlikely, especially in these quantities. I imagine that you’re better off with some food and water. I wouldn’t base the purchase of this product off of anything more than its taste.

    But, like I said, I’m not in the medical research, or even biological, field, so what do I know. What would be *really* cool is if someone from iX MiXer showed up and directed us to the literature that supports their claims.