Red Bull Simply Cola

You couldn't walk anywhere here in Las Vegas without running into one of these new Red Bull Products. As you can see, I'm on vacation and I'm taking advantage of that by finding energy drinks I need, like the much talked about Red Bull Simply Cola. I knew I had to grab a few cans for me and Jeff, and one for now to review. I'm so hyped up to crack this 12 ounce can open and taste the new Red Bull flavor. It seems like forever since Red Bull has released any flavor at all, the newest one being the regular Red Bull and the Red Bull Sugar Free, and I'm pretty sure they need the revenue by releasing this cola. Colas have been a fail for the most part in the energy drink section, so I really hope Red Bull can make a good cola drink to put in the book of good colas. Red Bull doesn't stick with their old can design, but instead created a classy new one looking partly like it came out of the '60s or '70s. The top blue slant and the larger bottom red slant squish a vertical strip of chrome-colored metal reading the words "Red Bull" in large red letters. "Simply" is printed nicely in cursive under "Red Bull" in a minute font and running into the word "Cola" in all capital and silver letters. Let's get this drink cracked open and determine if it's a pass or a mighty fail.

Red Bull Simply Cola opens up to reveal a sharp acetone-cola aroma, with just a bit of original Red Bull mixed in with it. The color of this cola is a basic brown color, due to the caramel color, with a foamy head. The flavor of Red Bull cola is much different than any cola I've tried. It's not a basic cola but an extreme top-notch cola with an insane amount of lime, cinnamon, licorice, orange, and vanilla flavor. Wow. This is seriously one amazing cola flavor, being 25 times better than Pepsi, and 45 times better than the Monster Assault, Howling Monkey, and the Jolt Cola (+Power Cola). Most consumers would think that this is the cola served in fancy restaurants and to celebrities, but hey, it's like two dollars at your local grocery store or market. As for waiting a good few years to release a new flavor, Red Bull sure took a lot of time working and perfecting this drink to serve to eager energy drink consumers. It has a usual Red Bull/Monster carbonation that's not bad in the drink and doesn't get in the way. This Red Bull also isn't gummy at all, most likely because it's sweetened with sugar, or sucrose. Overall, this energy cola was a complete pass, having a beastly combination of fruits and extracts and also making the Best Taste List, hands down.

This Red Bull has a massive ingredients list. It goes as following: water, sugar, carbon dioxide, natural flavors from plant extract (Galangal, vanilla, mustard seed, lime, kola nut, cacao, licorice, cinnamon, ginger, coca leaf, orange, corn mint, pine, cardamom, mace clove), lemon juice concentrate, and caffeine from coffee beans. The ingredients in paranthesis are ingredients in basic colas like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Monster Assault, etc. I, myself, just found out what kind of ingredients went into cola sodas and cola energy drinks. I like how this is natural for the most part because of the caffeine from the coffee beans and lack of phosphoric acid as well as artificial flavors. Per 12 ounces, you get 130 calories, and 31g of sugar. That's not bad at all considering this is a 12 ounce can, not 8 ounces. So, if you do the math, you get roughly 175 calories and 41g of sugar, incredible! It's sweet, but you don't get all hat sugar that's usually added into energy drinks of that high amount. Some other cool info about Red Bull: it's made in Switzerland, it's pasteurized, and their website address is http://www.redbullusa.com/ (Unless you're not in the U.S.!) After everything, Red Bull Simply Cola was extremely satisfying, refreshing, tasty, natural, and just right. I guarantee you will like this drink, if not love it.

Taste: 9.5 - A unique cola flavor really made this drink something special
Kick: 9 - The kick is great, especially with the natural caffeine in this energy drink, allowing some great focus
Overall: 9.4 - I'd have to say this is the best cola energy drink here on Canned Reviews so far

Reviewed by: Chan

Red Bull: Sugar Free

I got a Sugar Free Red Bull today, and I can not wait to try it, but first I have to go through all this explaining and whatnot. I looked at the can and saw it was very similar to a regular Red Bull can, except the darker blue on the regular is replaced by a lighter, sky color on the tab and the sections of the rectangle on front. It says it big red letters, "Red Bull", and underneath, "Sugar Free", which is to be expected considering the drink is, after all, sugar free. It features the yellow circle and and bulls butting heads. The can design is nice and pretty much the exact same as the regular, except for the color. The can isn't very eye catching however. And unless you've been living under a rock for a while with connection whatsoever to the outside world, you'll know that the Red bull is the leader in the energy drink market, and I like the slogan, "Red Bull gives you wings!" Now I shall begin my dramatic can opening ritual.

I experience a green apple smell similar to a normal Red Bull, also with a slight hint of a blue raspberry scent. I noticed there was no real sweetened just more of a bitter smell. It poured out as a beer color. There was a lot of fizz as it landed in the glass. Like in the smell, no sweetness present as it hits your mouth. There is gumminess even though there is absolutely no sugar present and I'm really not sure why. This tastes like if you take out the blue raspberry taste in the original Red Bull and just leave the apple. Taken in large sips it's almost unbearable, with the strong carbonation and incredible bitterness. In small sips it's okay, but I attempted a chug just out of interest and I was overpowered by fizz and bitterness. Drink Responsibly. By that I mean: Don't chug it, or you'll definitely regret it.

I thought the ingredients were impressive. I saw taurine at number 3 and caffeine at number 5, which is higher than in the regular Red Bull. There's a lot of vitamin B and niacin, and although the amounts weren't listed, I'm assuming a lot considering the very high price. There's a little bit of protein which is very common in energy drinks. Unless you didn't see the title or the many times I said it, there's no sugars. There's glucuronolactone, which is used to speed up metabolism.

Just as a reminder, there's a high price tag on all Red Bulls, costing about twice as much as other energy drinks.

Overall, Red Bull is satisfying and I can easily see why it's at the head of the market.

Taste: 7.5 - Very bitter, but much better in small sips
Kick: 8 - I felt a strong kick and I'm focused
Overall: 7 - A very good drink, but the price tag brought it down

Reviewed by: Chris

Red Bull

Hurray, it looks like we almost have all the basics done. As I am browsing at the store, after much hesitation, I purchased the Red Bull and hurried home to start reviewing this beast. If you have ever seen the Red Bull, you know that the can consists of a diagonally-cut box of gray and blue. In front of that, you also notice the words "Red Bull Energy Drink" in a red font and two red bulls ramming into each other highlighted by a yellow circle. I can't help but notice the phrase at the bottom saying "Vitalizes body and mind." This drink is different than many others because it comes in not just an 8 ounce can, but a 12 and 16.8 ounce can. So, I'm ready to tear into this drink.

As I open this can, I immediately smell acetone, an ingredient in nail polish remover. Other than that, this drink smells a bit similar to Monster. This drink surprisingly, comes out like a beer color, you know, with a lot of fizzing as well. In other words, this drink is a dark yellow in color. This is a tough one to describe...I can say that this drink is bitter as it hits your mouth then goes away after about 3 seconds, then leaves you with a semi-sweet aftertaste. Alright, I think I've got the taste; it has a green apple-like taste with a hint of blue raspberry. The carbonation, is powerful, which holds you back from chugging this drink. The bitterness almost exactly resembles that of a green apple and the sweetness is similar to that of a blue raspberry. Another thing that holds you back from consuming large sips is the amount of major gumminess. Overall, if you are looking for a drink that relieves stress or improves performance such as playing an instrument or riding a dirt bike/atv, head over to the energy drink aisle and purchase this drink.

Now for the ingredients: This drink contains sucrose and glucose, an added alternative to HFCS. If it does not contain HFCS, then why is it so gummy? Because it contains 39g of sugar, now that's a lot. Taurine then comes in at number 5, just about average for an energy drink. I next notice caffeine coming in at number 7, thats pretty incredible as well. Per can, you get 160 calories of this goodness, similar to a regular soda. One disadvantage this drink has is its price. For a typical 8 ounce can, you're going to pay about $2.00. For a 12 ounce can, you're going to pay around $3.00. And finally, for a 16 ounce can, your gonna pay around $3.50. Lastly, I would like to applaud the makers of Red Bull for their job in creating such a powerful, tasteful, drink.

Taste: 7 - Not too sweet and not too bitter, just right
Kick: 8 - Nearly perfect kick, much energy is given
Overall: 7.5 - I was pretty happy with Red Bull, next comes the Red Bull Cola!

Reviewed by: Chan