The Silver Edition, lime-flavored Red Bull. (Anne Wermiel/NY Post)
The Blue Edition, blueberry-flavored Red Bull. (Anne Wermiel/NY Post)
The Red Edition, cranberry-flavored Red Bull. (Anne Wermiel/NY Post)
From the heights of a world record setting skydiver to the lows of Meatpacking District partiers wanting an energized alcohol buzz, Red Bull has found its way into every corner of our society. However, as the energy drink company built an empire that sells 4.6 billions cans per year, competitors sprung up offering both bigger and cheaper beverages (Monster Energy) and smaller, more concentrated, boosts (5 Hour Energy). All the while, Red Bull barely made any changes to their signature red, white and blue 8.4 oz cans — which pack the caffeine equivalent to a cup of coffee — until now. Starting today, you’ll be able to find three new Red Bull flavors — lime, blueberry, and cranberry — in a store near you.
Called the “Red Bull Editions,” the new flavors mark the first time in Red Bull’s 15-year history in the US that they have offered up a change to their signature drink. In the past, the farthest the company was willing to deviate from its tried and true formula was to offer up Sugar Free and Ultimate Zero variants, which are basically the Diet Coke and Coke Zero versions of Red Bull.
Now, Red Bull is ringing in the changes because after a six-week trial that took place in 7-Eleven stores during the 2012 holiday season, the new flavors are being unleashed upon the nation. Here is our review:
The Silver Edition, Lime flavored:
With a distinctly sweet and mild smell, the pale yellow liquid that poured out of the silver can tasted like your typical lemon-lime soda, except that it only had a single flavor note. Which makes sense because it is only supposed to be lime flavored, and it’s a very sweet lime flavor at that. With almost none of the bite one might associate with a raw lime, or the chemical tang that is often associated with energy drinks, this new Red Bull ended up tasting almost nothing like an energy drink, with one taster summing it up as simply, “tasting like a soda.”
Comparing the new drink to a citrus soda like 7 Up or Sprite, the biggest sticking point became the taster’s judgement of the drink’s balance between sweet and sour. On the negative side one taster said, “it’s sort of like flat Mountain Dew,” while another more savage judge said it “it tastes like a Bud Light Lime that has sat out for too long.” Countering these negative views were those who found the drink to be like the best possible version of sweet and sour citrus candies, but in carbonated beverage form. “I could drink this everyday” one enthusiastic fan said. “It’s like Red Bull for non-Red Bull drinkers,” said another. Overall, this was the most divisive of the three flavor options, but there was no denying the simple appeal of an energy drink that was reminiscent of a too sweet citrus soda.
Overall score: 7/10 — If you like 7 Up or Sprite you’re going to love this; but if the idea of washing down a pulverized green skittle with soda water turns you off then stay away.
Best time to drink: whenever you’d drink a soda.
The Blue Edition, Blueberry flavored:
Cracking open the blue can at arm’s length, a smell of candied blueberry wafted towards our reviewer’s nose in a not unpleasant way. Like a blueberry muffin without the muffin, the aroma raised expectations for the purplish blue liquid as our taster’s gulped it down. Unfortunately, the taste of the blueberry Red Bull could not live up to the smell.
“It smells like Dimetapp and tastes like Children’s Motrin,” one taster said while crinkling her nose. “It’s like that super fake blueberry pancake syrup,” said another, highlighting how far from natural the taste of the drink was. Although not a fair comparison —- this is an energy drink after all — the beverage’s cloyingly sweet and hard to place taste were its ultimate downfall. Easily the least favorite of the three new Red Bulls, the blueberry energy drink had very little our tasters found redeeming.
Overall score: 2/10 — The only reason this got any points at all was because of the delicious smell it produced. Unfortunately, blueberry Red Bull is a drink and not an air freshener.
Best time to drink: never.
The Red Edition, Cranberry flavored:
Easily the most anticipated of the new Red Bulls, cranberry had a lot to live up to even before the can was cracked open. But cracked open it was and right away it was clear that the pink drink wasn’t what our tasters were expecting. Smelling of sugary strawberry jam, it tasted more like carbonated Ocean Spray cranberry juice than the tangy and sour raw cranberry juice that is so popular with health food enthusiasts. The strawberry smell and sweetened cranberry taste mixed together to create a “generic sweet berry flavor,” as one taster put it.
Like both the lime and blueberry Red Bulls, the cranberry variety was very sweet and had none of the tang that the original Red Bull flavor is known for. That wasn’t a bad thing for many of our tasters who immediately associated the drink with cocktails. “It’s like I’m drinking a mixer” one taster said approvingly, “this would be perfect with vodka because it would cut the sweetness” another added enthusiastically. Easily the most popular of the three new flavors, the cranberry was either the favorite or close second place of everyone who tasted it.
Overall score: 9/10 — Would be incredible in a vodka cranberry Red Bull cocktail, this drink is hard not to like, and almost impossible to hate.
When to drink: when you’re ready for a peppy cocktail.
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