Noms Review: Red Bull Limited Edition Flavors
Before I get into the review, I feel I must confess my love of Red Bull. It’s the kind of bias I feel I should disclose. It gives me the best effect (alert but no jitters) and I like when I go to their website they feature athletes instead of bikini girls. It’s also iconic, and has a singular flavor. Let Monster and Rockstar concoct a wide range of flavors, Red Bull is classic. Which is why I was surprised when I saw the new Red Bull Limited Edition cans at the grocery store. I initially assumed it was some new packaging for some kind of event, but no they were new flavors. So naturally, I picked up one of each.
I brought the new flavors to D&D night for a taste test to get a wide variety of opinions. We also mixed the new flavors with different types of vodka, because let’s face it, if we didn’t it’d be like reviewing peanut butter without thinking about jelly. Plus, with the kind of semester Claire has been having at school, and the quarter I’ve been having at work; we needed it (which is also why we used the adult Sippy Cups from the theatre where we saw Intergalactic Nemesis).
Meet the Geeks
Nicole – Shardmind. Won’t put her damn phone down.
Claire – Blood Mage. Frequently balances dice on her nose.
Erik – Our DM and Claire’s Fiance. Prefers his drinks out of a skull glass.
Gage – Dragonborn. Physics grad student, enjoys lots of hoppy IPAs.
Hunter – Dwarf. Biomechanical engineering student. Desperately tries to keep us focused on the game.
Noelle – Shifter. May need an intervention for her book addiction.
The Flavors
Red
Red was supposed to be cranberry, which had me really excited. Cranberry vodka is one of my go-to cocktails. So is Red Bull vodka. Alas, it was not really that cranberry like. I didn’t really like it at all. To me it tasted artificial, like cheap juice. Here’s what the rest of the panel thought:
Claire: It doesn’t taste like Red Bull, but it doesn’t taste like cranberry either.
Erik: Meh. Not bad.
Gage: I like it a lot. It’s very tart.
Hunter: It tastes like red cream soda without the cream.
Noelle: It tastes the least Red Bull of them all. Reminds me of Raspberry Crystal Light.
Mixed
We mixed it with Citron Vodka, because that’s what I like when I make a cranberry vodka. I think we should have had some Triple Sec too, to sweeten it up because most of us (except Gage) thought it was a bit too sour.
Silver
Silver is lime flavored, and I wish they had just gone all the way and made it lemon lime. It’s odd having one without the other, and it comes off as knockoff Sprite. Similar, but not quite there. Here’s what the rest of the panel thought.
Claire: It doesn’t have the weird Red Bull aftertaste.
Erik: It’s kind of like Sprite with caffeine.
Gage: It’s good, but definitely has that Red Bull aftertaste.
Noelle: Really don’t like the aftertaste.
Mixed
I mixed this with Dude vodka from Three Olives. It’s their vodka that tastes like Mountain Dew. I found that mixing the Silver Red Bull in made it taste a bit more Mountain Dew like, probably from the carbonation. Claire mixed with Pinnacle Whipped vodka, and said it tasted like Key Lime Pie.
Blue
Blue is blueberry, and our favorite by far. Unlike the Red, I didn’t find it to have an unpleasant fake taste. Don’t get me wrong, it still tastes artificial it’s just not unpleasant. It’s more of like blueberry candy, which is always my favorite. Here’s what the rest of the panel thought:
Claire: It tastes like the girl from Willy Wonka.
Erik: Can’t really taste the Red Bull.
Gage: It’s like Red Bull with a subtle hint of blueberry.
Noelle: It’s like a blueberry smartie.
Mixed
We mixed this with Pinnacle Whipped vodka. It was amazing. It tasted like blueberries and cream. Or blueberry pie. It’s dangerously delicious.
Verdict
Overall, we all prefered the Blue Edition Red Bull over the Silver, and were not really into Red at all. I really hope Blue becomes a regular Red Bull flavor.
The cans are the same price as regular Red Bull. You can find them in grocery stores.