SPECIAL EDITION RED BULLS

When I was in college, I pretty much dozed through my art history classes for the entire duration of my college career.  It wasn't because I wasn't interested in the subject, because I was. No really!  I promise!  The problem was that the classes were held on the top floor of the art building in a warm, cozy auditorium where the lights were always turned off so that we could more easily see the slides.  Also, it probably didn't help that the 3D Design classes and Print Shop were on lower floors of the building, and occasionally fumes from the spray tents would find their way to our floor and deplete oxygen levels.  It was torture. Hand to God, the only way I was able to stay awake through any of those classes was by the liberal use of caffeine pills.  Of course, those pills came along with the yuck-stomach and the fact that I never seemed to take them at the right time.

I've often thought that if I had made more use of the energy drinks and shots available to me at the time, it would have made a world of difference in my final grades!  It wasn't that I didn't know about energy drinks, Red Bull was a brand I liked, but at the time, my meager student bank account couldn't deal with buying the sheer amounts I would have needed to get me through these classes. Red Bull is expensive, yo.

I'm no longer a student and now I can buy all the Red Bull I want!  Of course, I don't need it as badly, but sometimes I will occasionally buy a can just to drink and not necessarily because I need the caffeine.  I actually kind of like the taste, even though it is never really going to taste "good."  Being a fan of the product, I was actually excited to see that they were coming out with some new flavor "Editions."  Since I generally like Red Bull, but always kind of hope the flavor could be improved upon, I was glad to try it!  I'm not sure where I first heard about them, but I finally came across the actual product at a gas station not far from my house.  I grabbed the cans and bought them, probably making the man behind the counter wonder why a woman my age needed so much energy.  There are three new flavors, Silver (Lime), Blue (Blueberry) and Red (Cranberry) and I'm gonna taste them all!

SILVER EDITION

The website describes this as "A truly distinctive addition: The Silver Edition of Red Bull offers a refreshing lime taste, while it vitalizes the body and mind like the Red Bull Energy drink."

My first sip certainly is very tart. It had a very sharp taste that reminded me more of lemon or sour orange than lime, but let's be honest here...citrus is citrus, especially when it's not real citrus, right? (OK, now the word 'citrus' has lost all meaning to me. Citrus.)  It wasn't so bad, but it wasn't very good either.  That probably sounds bad, but honestly, it wasn't terrible.  I didn't like the taste as much as I like the original Red Bull, but then again, maybe I was anticipating it tasting like the original.

* A Few Sips Later*

Nope. Nope, not at all fond of it.  I mean, it isn't gross.  I can drink it.  But the weird, fake lime taste kind of builds the longer you're drinking it.  It's sour, but sourness has never really bothered me.  It's also kind of bitter, like a really strong bottle of lemon-lime Gatorade with a touch of lemon Pledge mixed in.  To add insult to injury, this somehow didn't even light up my brain like the original Red Bull does, unless it went by so fast I missed it.  Can that happen?  My final verdict is:  Bleh.  Pass.

BLUE EDITION

The website states that "It completes the Red Bull Editions with its fruity, blueberry taste."  Oops, does this mean I drank them out of order?  Geez.

Anyways, the Blue Edition Red Bull punches you in the face before you can even take a sip.  When you first open the can, the smell of artificial blueberries is immediate and strong.  It's not a bad smell at all, but it really reminds me of some blueberry scratch-n-sniff stickers I had once!  The taste is much more authentically "blueberry-ish" although it still has that sour taste that I have begun to associate with all of the Red Bull flavors I've tried.  It's actually kind of nice!  It tastes a lot like the blueberries that you get in boxes of muffin mix, you know, the kind that come in a flat can with the vicious blue juice that stains everything it touches.

This is the flavor I was most hesitant to try, because A) A blueberry flavored soda?  B) A blueberry flavored energy drink? and C) Actually, I don't have a C, but it's not really a list if there are only two examples.  Shut up.  I actually really like this one.  It does taste like blueberries, and it sort of smells like blueberries, but the sour taste actually takes it kind of down the "blue raspberry" path, but not so much that you couldn't call it blueberry.  I don't think I've ever tried a soda like this, and it's very interesting.  Also, I love the can design.  Blue is my most favorite color, so I might be a bit biased.  Anyway, so far I think this is the first Red Bull I could describe as being tasty!  Awesome!  My final verdicts is: Thumbs up!  Try it!

RED EDITION

The website says that "The Red Edition has the same high quality ingredients as Red Bull Energy drink and has a sweet cranberry taste."  Hmmmm...that sounds like the copywriter might have run out of interesting things to say about these editions.  "Oh, it's made with good ingredients and tastes like cranberries!"  Maybe he had a dentist appointment to get to and had to finish the advertising really quick.  I don't know.

Actually, the copy is kind of apt.  It does taste like cranberries, although with the distinctive sourness that seems to be a major aspect of all of the Red Bull products I've tried.  I generally enjoy cranberry flavored things, and I liked this Edition just fine, but it didn't really blow my skirt over my head or anything.  I actually had to get another one just to be able to remember what the taste was like, so it's kind of unremarkable.  I hate to say that, because I thought it would be the one I liked the best, but it landed squarely in the MEH category of thinks I've tasted.  I'd probably get it again, though, but just to be polite and because I like the can.

WEBSITE- http://energydrink.redbull.com/

SERVING SIZE: One Can
CALORIES: 110  CARBS: 28
TASTE: Very "Three Little Bears"  Too Yuck (Silver), Too Plain( Red), and Juuuuust Right (Blue)!