Red Bull Summer Edition (2022) – Apricot and Strawberry

I know, it’s winter by the time this review is being posted, but that’s not my fault. I didn’t find it in the shops until a few weeks ago! There’s a definite Red Bull feel to the flavour, it’s smooth and fruity. The apricot is unusual for an energy drink and is quite nice, but I couldn’t really taste the strawberry coming through at all. There was a general fruity mix to the flavour along with the apricot. Overall, this is quite summery tasting and not as odd as you might think!

Hell Gamer Edition: Coco Split

Coconut. Definitely coconut. The description on the can says that there’s also dragon fruit and tutti-frutti flavouring in there too, and I guess there is a fruity twang to it, but mostly it’s coconut. I don’t find coconut drinks very refreshing personally, but it’s not an offensive flavour! As with the other flavour I tried (Cherry Beam), it’s mostly about the branding on the can, and this particular one is calling itself a PvP flavour. I’m not sure of the relevance of that but, hey, it is what it is!

Hell Gamer Edition: Cherry Beam

Let’s face it, these cans are designed to stand out with their gaming themed labels and branding. Honestly though, the references are lost on me… I’m not sure if Nova is a character in a game I’ve never heard of, or something else. Give me 1990s’ Doom and a bit of Tomb Raider and I’ll know what I’m doing, but all I can tell you about this drink is that underneath the pretty labels it’s a fizzy synthetic cherry flavoured drink. Not bad, but not special really.

Mango Go!

The can says that it’s Sunshine with Bubbles. Well, I guess it is quite summer-y tasting but it’s only 2% mango juice, the rest is apple and lime. That’s not much mango for a mango drink!

Hell Red Grape

Basically a grape soda! Really nice but certainly not refreshing. Very different to the majority of other energy drinks just like the regular Hell energy drink is.

Emerge: Tangy Tropical

“Hey Bob, how are we going to sell more tropical flavoured energy drinks?”

“Just stick the word ‘tangy’ on the beginning of the name, Dave.”

And thus was born ‘Tangy Tropical’.

Nothing more to say really, it’s a 49p can of sugary tropical flavoured energy drink, disappointingly the same as I remember the non-tangy version of Emerge tasting!

Boost Juic’d Pineapple & Guava Punch

Slightly better than the watermelon and lime flavour, but it’s still just a fancy looking tropical drink in modern packaging. Very sweet, and the labelled fruits (pineapple and guava) kind of mulch up into one lump of tropical tasting drink with none of them really standing out on their own.

Sparkling Ice + Caffeine: Apple Raspberry

Another excellent variety from the Sparkling Ice+Caffeine range (three-for-a-pound don’t you know!). Refreshing, not too strong in flavour but certainly not watery. I’d say the raspberry is the dominant flavour here rather than the apple.

Sparkling Ice + Caffeine: Citrus Twist

Brilliantly refreshing and just the right balance of flavour and sweetness. I could drink loads of this, and even though it’s not that caffeinated I’m going to give it top marks for taste and originality.