Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein Powder, Double Rich Chocolate, 5 Pound (Packaging May Vary)

First off, I've purchased a bunch of different flavors of ON Gold Standard Whey. All of them have close to the same nutritional value, but they vary greatly in taste. Both my wife and I drink these protein shakes as part of our daily diet, and as a product, Optimum Nutrition is great. I've mixed with both milk and water, and all of the shakes mix well and don't seem to clump. I've tried other manufactures whey, and I keep finding myself going back to ON for the price, nutritional value, and above all the taste.So the flavor question. As I mentioned, each flavor has a different characteristic from the others. Some are bland, some taste sweet, some taste overly fake. We loved some, and we hated some. Below is a list based on what we like so far and why. Bear in mind that I hate diet drinks for their bad aftertaste. The drinks don't have to be sweet for me to like them, but I can't stand the garbage aftertaste of fake sweeteners.The best flavors:Rocky Road - By far the single best tasting flavor. The downside is that it does taste a little sweet. The nutritional value is right on with the other flavors, but it is a bit sweet. I could drink this all day. If you only buy one flavor, this is it. There is no real aftertaste, and the flavor is great.Extreme Milk Chocolate - Another good flavor with almost no aftertaste. This one tastes like chocolate, and doesn't have a fake taste to it. If you are looking at the chocolate flavors, this one is perfect.Natural Vanilla - This is a slightly different product, and it comes in a tub with yellow labeling instead of the red. It's on Amazon for the same price, and it has the same nutritional values. They claim it has less artificial sweeteners in it, hence the natural label. In any case, this is the best vanilla out there. There is no aftertaste, and it tastes like vanilla milk. It is not as sweet as the others, but it the single best vanilla flavor I've found.The middle of the road flavors:Cookies and Cream - This one is both good and bad. If you like the creamy vanilla taste, you will like the flavor. It doesn't have a bad aftertaste, but it is sort bland. It is sweet, but bland. Also, the cookie chunks in it don't dissolve. This is the only flavor so far that has bits of stuff that you are swallowing when you drink it. It's odd. That said, I have reordered it in the past.Chocolate Malt - It's just OK. The flavor is a little odd because of the malt. Given the choice, just order the Extreme Milk Chocolate.Caramel Toffee Fudge - Again, just OK. They tried too hit to many flavors with this one, and it just turned out odd. Not a bad flavor, but don't start out here. I got bored so I tried it. I doubt I'll order it again.And the bad:Double Rich Chocolate - This flavor sucks. It tastes like fake chocolate. Not good fake chocolate, but generic fake chocolate. It has that bad aftertaste of fake sweetener, and is all around not good.Vanilla Ice Cream - Another swing and a miss. This flavor tastes like bad fake powdered milk. It has that bad aftertaste, and is probably the single worst flavor they have. If you are looking for vanilla, avoid this at all costs and get the Natural Vanilla.Tropical Punch - Another fake tasting flavor. When I got this, I could barely get through the first few shakes. Eventually it grew on me a little bit, and I was able to drink it without hating it. It tastes like strawberry milk with a bunch of fake sweetener. It's just wrong, and is not something you want to drink after a workout.I know that taste varies from person to person, so take this with a grain of salt. I hate the taste of fake sweetener, so this list draws from that. I've taken to buying the 2lb tubs to try out a flavor, and then going with the 5lb tubs if I like it. It costs a bit more that way, but it means there is only 2lbs to choke down if you get a flavor that you hate.Enjoy!

This was my first time trying protein powder, and it's amazing! I've only been using it for about three weeks, and I feel like I've seen an improvement in my body already (from getting my full protein in for the day, along with meeting my macros). I would not be able to meet my protein goals without it, so I'm very thankful that it tastes good.I like to have it in a shake with milk and/or yogurt, banana, peanut butter, oats, and a bit of maple syrup. It's already sweetened with stevia, but I have a sweet tooth so I like to add a bit more sweet to my shake. Also, I love that it's naturally sweetened and flavored... It doesn't have all the chemicals and fake sweeteners that the brand's other flavors do.I will say that the flavor is pretty strong if you don't add enough ingredients to your shake, but I don't really taste it too much the way I make the shake....maybe a slight vanilla flavor which I love. I did try it with just peaches, milk and honey once, and the flavor was too strong for me...not a bad flavor, but just very strong.I've also tried it in protein pancakes, and they were actually really good! I was skeptical that they would taste too strong like the powder, but they were delicious. So, all that to say, I highly recommend this if you are looking to maximize your muscle gains and improve your nutrition!

I was a little concerned about buying this due to the "Double Rich Chocolate" flavor as although I like chocolate I thought it might be too rich. I was very pleased to discover it's not as strong as the name might infer.I also purchased this specific flavor because after research I found flavors like the Vanilla Ice Cream etc contain ingredients like :Cellulose GumXantham GumSaltSucraloseetc.This specific Double Rich Chocolate DOES NOT!!! May not seem a big deal for some but I wanted to steer away from those specific added ingredients, albeit they are in very low quantities. So if you are choosing this brand (which is rated #1 amongst athletes etc) be aware that different flavors contain different added ingredients.BTW, this brand DOES contain "Whey Protein Isolate" which is by far the most recommended protein type. Again, another big deal for me in choosing this specific brand.I use fat free milk for my base fluid although water works just as good. Rather than whisk or stir it up I use a high speed mixer which creams up the solution nicely. No powdery taste etc when mixed thoroughly (as the label instructs).I can't make any statements about how well it works, how great the protein is etc, at this time as I've only just started using it. I will update my review in a month or so with an update. Overall this is the best quality whey (especially this specific flavor) so from all my research I'd definitely recommend it. Also, you don't have to workout regularly to benefit from having an additional protein intake. Talk to your doctor, even if your retired...