Unwell Hydration with Protein: We Tasted & Reviewed All 3 New Flavors

Unwell, the hydration drink line started by Call Her Daddy’s Alex Cooper, is getting swole. Yes, this plucky 11-month-old brand is swinging for the fences and is beating Gatorade to the punch in the trendy protein-added field. Each of these new protein drinks includes 10g of whey protein along with electrolytes, B vitamins, and the nine essential amino acids—all with just 2g of sugar.

Unwell was nice enough to send over all three of their new “enhanced hydration” drinks, let’s see whether these new Unwell drinks can put up a fight. (While you’re hunting these down at Target, keep an eye out for Unwell’s first-ever energy drink; check out my mini-review.)

Raspberry Melon

Raspberry Melon Unwell Hydration with Protein

Target

Pros: Raspberry and melon is a unique flavor combo; I can’t pick out exactly what type of melon they’re going for, but it’s certainly different from your standard raspberry lemonade. If rasp- is your berry of choice, this is the Unwell for you.

Cons: There’s definitely a difference in mouthfeel between these protein-enhanced Unwell drinks and the original Unwell Hydration drinks. It’s not thick per se, but it’s thicker than your average sports drink. That’s consistent throughout the entire trio of flavors, no doubt a side effect of the whey protein isolate.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

6/10

Sporks

Watermelon Strawberry

Watermelon Strawberry Unwell Hydration with Protein

Target

Pros: I’m pleasantly surprised at the watermelon being first in both name and flavor. Strawberry usually stands out (for better or for worse) in drinks that include it, so this distinctly supporting role is a breath of fresh air. While the protein mouthfeel turned me off initially, my brain did a good job blocking it out after a few sips so it could pretend these were standard sports drinks.

Cons: Wait, didn’t we just try this? Unwell really launched two different berry-melon drinks in the same line at the same time. The flavors are different, but I have a feeling these will get muddled in consumers’ minds—reading is hard, y’all.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Peach Tangerine

Peach Tangerine Unwell Hydration with Protein

Target

Pros: If you were wondering which of the new Unwell drinks is my favorite, it’s this one. My first sip felt on par with the other two flavors, but the authentic peach flavor had me coming back for more. It gets points for quality, uniqueness, and the key chug-ability. Take this one to the gym, folks.

Cons: Despite the bright orange bottle, this is peach forward. I wish the tangerine was more pronounced; that citrus would really brighten up this mellow drink.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks