Reviewing Sobar Bars, The Bars for "Smart Drinking"

 

We recently learned of an all new protein bar on the market, this one is super niche. Sobar bills themselves as not just another protein bar and advertises themselves as being a game changer for smart drinking. The idea that we'll become less drunk and less likely to get sick of we eat prior to drinking as opposed to drinking on an empty stomach isn't necessarily a new one. The stomach leads to as low absorption of liquor where as the lower intestines absorb alcohol really quickly, so on paper it makes sense, and that's where Sobar Bars come in.

Sobar states that these bars are specifically formulated to slow and reduce alcohol absorption. Sobar Bars are available in three flavor options including White Chocolate Almond, Honey Peanut, and Caramel Macchiato, along with a fourth option which is a variety box. 

Taking a look at the supplement facts panel and the macros we have a fairly lean 130 calories which is nice in that we're already consuming a lot of calories when we drink, so being able to keep the calories down in the bar we eat pre-drinking is nice. Beyond that it contains 4 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs which amounts to 8% of your daily carb intake, a respectable 12 grams of protein, and 6 grams of sugar. Looking at the actual ingredients, the main ingredient is milk protein hydrolysate, allulose syrup, and protein crisps, so it doesn't look all that different from your run of the mill protein bar. 

While we wanted to like these bars, unfortunately we were a bit disappointed and it seems like your run of the mill protein bar with a lot of marketing hype behind it. We tried all three flavors and while admittedly those aren't necessarily flavors that would really appeal to me, the bars were dense, chalky, and not all that great tasting with a heavy protein aftertaste, despite not having a huge protein content. 

Here's the long and short of it, while these bars were created by a medical doctor, the box itself states these bars 1.) cannot prevent intoxidation and 2.) will not sober you up, which is kind of the opposite of what these bars are actually marketed to do. Here's the long and short of it, eating any food prior to drinking will slow the absorption of alcohol and make it less likely you get sick. So if you have any number of choices of food you can eat, as well as any other protein bar, why spend $23.95 for a 9 box when most protein bar boxes come in 12, and why eat a bar with an odd texture and a subpar taste.

While we wanted to like these bars, we wound up fairly disappointed. If you're going out drinking and want to avoid overindulging or falling ill, try something like a Chaser or a Charcoal Hangover Pill, or even better, drink a glass of water between alcohol drinks.