Review for Red Bull--The Red Edition

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CAFFEINE CONTENT

80 mg

EASE IN ACQUISITION—5

For whatever reason, Red Bull has opted not to follow its previous distribution paradigm and retails their three Red Bull Editions 1) “only at select clubs and lounges in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Las Vegas, Austin & New Orleans” (directly from the website), or 2) “only at 7-Eleven” (directly from the sign outside of the 7-Eleven where I bought these).

APPEARANCE/PRESENTATION—9

As far as looks are concerned, The Red Edition has nothing to be ashamed of.  Easy to spot in the bright red can with the enlarged and rotated bull graphic, it’s eye-catching, but never overly ostentatious; to the point, but never blunt; and confident, but never cocky.  Bottom line is that it just looks nice, and adds a nice splash of variety to the line.  Only thing I found to be unusual is the whole “Red Bull, Red Edition” thing.  Whenever I say the name, it feels…redundant.  Kind of like saying “Monster Energy—The Monster Edition!”  See?  Doesn’t really work all that well.

TASTE—9

There are a lot of mixed feelings floating around on the original Red Bull.  Some people consider it the nectar of the gods, some absolutely loathe the stuff…as for me, I think it’s alright, but pretty outdated—companies have replicated it ad nauseum, and in the process far superior substitutes have been produced (Roaring Lion Sugar Free being my all-time favorite RBC), and as a result the original really no longer needs to exist.

That said, I think that this new line has a pretty good chance at breathing life back into the company in the eyes of bored, disillusioned consumers such as myself (believe me, there are plenty of them out there).  Red Bull—The Red Edition is excellent energy drink, and the thing that really wins me over is the flavor.

Upon first inspection (typically from afar) one expects cherry or fruit punch—but no.  Red Bull’s gone the cranberry route—which often happens in the juice world, but doesn’t seem to be so common among energy drinks.  You buy and pop open the can, and are greeted with a very pleasant cranberry aroma.  The first sip is a bit disillusioning—it doesn’t taste like real cranberries.  But you paid $2.48 for the thing, so you keep going, and you realize that even though it’s unconvincing, it’s not unpleasantly so—I mean, nobody liked grape soda when they were kids because it tasted like real grapes—they did it because they freaking liked it.

Red Bull—The Red Edition is kind of like grape soda for adults—doesn’t taste like the real thing, but nobody cares.  You don’t drink it because it’s the first thing you reach for when you have a UTI—you drink it because it’s freaking good.

KICK (INTENSITY)—6

Like every 8.4 oz. Red Bull, this isn’t a kick-you-in-the-seat-of-the-pants sort of energy drink—but it is spirited in its own right.  It’s not often I reach for an energy drink to give me a brisk pick-me-up over a huge boost—but seeing as it’s so infrequent, I’m all the more willing to fork out the $2.50 to get one of these.

KICK (DURATION)—6

I can get about two and a half hours out of one of these (mini-Red Bull product) before I start to feel things wearing off, but I never experience a crash.  Not the sort of thing for that 12-hour trip to bring the family to your parents for Christmas, but I can think of plenty of applications where a boost of this duration is appropriate.

THE DRINK OVERALL—7

…And with that, I’m once again a believer in the Red Bull line.  I’m actually really surprised by how much I liked this drink—I mean, it’s put out by a company that I’ve really ripped apart in times past (and rightly so), and it doesn’t kick all that much…but, I’m a fan.  I think they really nailed it with this Red Edition here, and if it were more readily available nearby, I wouldn’t have any issues making this a subject of regular consumption—again, notwithstanding the price.

A note to the company, if anybody from that energy drink behemoth ever happens to read this—I’d love to see this in the 20 oz. size.  Don’t even bother with the 12 oz. or 16 oz. sizes—because more often than not, I’m not wowed by them; they kind of float in sort of a no-man’s land when it comes to intensity.  They’re just not kicky enough to justify buying them over the smaller can, but I can tell you—it would be worth the price to me to be able to drink 20 ounces of this stuff.

But that’s just my two cents.

WEBSITE: redbullusa.com

KEYWORDS: Red Bull The Red Edition energy drink review, new Red Bull review, Red Bull Editions review, 8.4 oz. can, 8.4 ounces