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Gale Banks hooked up to an EKG monitor while taste testing energy drinks at the Banks Power engineering facility
Banks Insider, Banks Videos, Gale Banks

Gale Banks Taste Test: Energy Drinks for Science

Strolling through Banks’ North Engineering, South Engineering, Manufacturing, and CNC shops, you’ll notice 16-ounce cans of energy drinks perched near workstations while team members innovate at lightning-fast speed. Fueling their hands and minds is a wild concoction of nearly unpronounceable ingredients. So, it was only a matter of time until Gale asked, what are these drinks all about? Connected to an EKG for safety, the legend of forced induction set about rating more than a dozen popular flavors. His reactions are priceless. 

Full Video Transcript

00:00 Oh my god, my EKG came loose. Wait a minute, guys. I might be dead. Let me fix it. The guys in the shop are always sucking down Monster energy drinks, and I’ve always wondered, what’s the attraction? Do they taste good or is there more? So, here we go. The original. I’d say about 30% nitro in

00:21 this. I don’t know about the alcohol content or if this is nitro over gasoline, but you know what? I swallowed it. Oo, a little bit of a rush. On the Gale scale, I’m going to give the original a nine. Now, we’re moving into the sin zone here with Loca Mocha. Completely different nose. A little

00:45 toned down, great legs. I’d give that to a three-year-old. I don’t know how that’ll work out for the three-year-old, but eight. Swiss chocolate. Here it goes. Out and out sin. Swiss chocolate’s an eight for sure. Pacific Punch. Now we’re gonna go island here. If your urine sample

01:06 looks like that, there’s a problem. Seven. By the time this is done—just a little bit—I’m swallowing. I’m going to be wired by the time I get over there. Hints of toluene. I’m giving low carb six. Irish Blend must be the one. Smells like a potato. I like the Irish Blend. I’ve given

01:33 Irish Blend a 10. Now we’re moving to Assault. Anybody seen the movie 1917? Boy, I can’t quite place that. Mustard gas. I’m not really a fan. I’m going to give Assault a four. Dragon Tea—kind of neutral. Not real scary. Little bit of ethanol there. Green tea, I’m

01:53 going to go a seven. That was nice. So, we had Loca Mocha and now we have Mango Loco. That’s hard to describe. Formaldehyde. I’m giving Mango Loco an eight as well. It kind of looks like ammonia. I know you’re not supposed to drink ammonia, but this is sugar-free. So, uh, Zero. For I’m

02:16 going to give a six. So, who won here? The winner is Irish Blend. But any one of these is probably good enough to kick a rod out. Cheers. [Music] Uh-oh.

Learn more about Gale Banks and the legacy.

High Octane in the Shop: Behind the Scenes at Banks Engineering

At the Banks Power headquarters in Azusa, California, pushing the boundaries of automotive engineering requires non-stop energy. Between our North Engineering, South Engineering, dyno testing cells, and state-of-the-art CNC machining facilities, technicians and engineers innovate around the clock. Along the way, 16-ounce cans of high-caffeine energy drinks have become an unofficial fuel source keeping team members energized as they build record-setting powertrains and patented performance hardware.

True to form, Gale Banks couldn’t just casually sample a drink—he turned it into an instrumented experiment. Connected directly to an EKG heart monitor to track real-time cardiac response under the load of high-potency energy formulas, the legendary engine builder tested a dozen varieties. Rating each on the official “Gale scale,” he offered unfiltered, hilarious commentary, comparing sugar rushes and artificial flavorings to burning nitromethane and high-octane racing fuel.

While the taste test offers lighthearted entertainment, it reflects the genuine passion, humor, and tight-knit culture that defines the Banks team. Whether diagnosing complex airflow dynamics or having fun on the shop floor, Gale’s curiosity and infectious energy continue to inspire the next generation of gearheads.

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