Josh have you tried buying gatorade in the powder form and mixing it to the strength you can tolerate? When I first started riding I bought gatorade premixed and found that is too sugary for my tastes also. Someone turned me on the powder and it works great for me.
As far as other sports drinks I have heard that Accelerade and Endurox are good but have not tried them.
I've used GU2O, Accelerade, Gatorade and Heed. Gatorade just doesn't cut it anymore. Either it changed or I did. Either way it is off my list. GU2O is okay, but it doesn't mix well with cold water. Accelerade was a pretty good option, but I still had to carry one bottle of water to drink when I shot a GU. They have the whole carb to protein ratio thing going on. Heed seems to be the best I've tried. The guys down at MOAB recommeded it. It mixes well, does not have a strong sweet taste, and you can drink it with a GU. The Heed also seems to go down easier on a hot day and does not upset my stomach. I carry extra in plastic bags and grab water at rest stops and markets. It's kind of a hassle to carry your own mix, but it's better than grabbing the mystery flavor of Gatorade at a rest stop. (I try not to drink anything that is blue)
I would just try the different mixes and stick with whatever works. Just don't drink anything blue or purple.
HEED seems to be the way to go, as far as research online goes. I will stop by MOAB this week and see what they have. I havent experimented with gels yet, but I have a feeling it will come sooner that later.
I have had good experiences with the OS Cycling products, such as pre-load, re-load, and Endurance. I use it as my main drink for 12 hour / 24 hour races and long road rides.
I use the OS Sprint for cyclocross races.
Moab stocks it and it comes in individual packets so you can just get a couple to mix up some bottles to try for pretty cheap.
Never seen the drinks like Accelerade or otherwise do much but empty my wallet. The OS stuff is interesting, but personally I've had a harder time handling those during a ride than overly sugared Gatorade.
I'd try mixing the cheap but superbly effective Gatorade to a tolerance you can handle, as mentioned above.
The OS has been my favorite. It isn't too sweet. It sticks with you. Tons of calories in just the right form. To top it all off, it was created by some local boys.
Well looks like I will be making a trip to MOAB tomorrow, I was three miles into my ride today and the back tire went down. My luck is that I dont have anything at home to fix it. So I will be picking up some OS and some of the smaller packs of drink mixes.
