Gwynedd Stuart
Ariana Losch
The best energy drinks are flavorful and give you a needed boost of vitality. Energy drinks shouldn’t taste metallic or artificial, and they should provide a relatively instant jolt to your mood and senses. Of course, when you’re taste testing a bunch of energy drinks back to back, it can be hard to determine their individual effects—after a while, euphoria sets in and then you eventually crash—so this ranking of the best energy drinks is based largely on how they taste. Basically, if you’re looking for the best tasting energy drinks, you’ve come to the right place.
We’re sure you’ve noticed, but there are a lot of energy drink brands on the market nowadays. Many of them sound like the names of roller coasters that were shut down after they killed people. Have we tried every single energy drink flavor made by every single energy drink brand? Nay. We would probably be deceased by now. But over the last few years, as we set out to find the best non-carbonated energy drinks, the best sugar free energy drinks, and the best flavors from Monster, Ghost, Celsius, and more, we’ve tried a lot of what’s out there.
What we looked for in the best tasting energy drinks:
- Flavor you actually crave: Energy drinks shouldn’t taste metallic, medicinal, or like they’re constantly trying to mask the flavor of taurine and sucralose. We want bevvies that are bold, balanced, and fun to sip.
- Options for everyone: Inclusivity is important. We wanted to find the best zero sugar, sucralose-free, extra carbonated, non-carbonated, and even tea-based energy drinks for all you freaks (non-derogatory) to enjoy.
- Creativity: There are a few standouts on this ranking that actually made us want to shake the hands of the flavor scientists who created them. Originality is huge! Huge.
Love it or leave it, this is our ranking of the best tasting energy drinks. Please don’t yell at us in the comments while you’re all hopped up on caffeine!
The following article contains affiliate links that may generate a small commission to us when you make a purchase through the link. Learn more about how we work with affiliates here.
- Fast Twitch Glacier Freeze
-
Gatorade’s Fast Twitch energy drink line doesn’t carry a ton of flavors, and honestly, it feels like they were only launched to capitalize on the sports drink craze. My problem with Fast Twitch is the pure sweetness level—for many flavors, it’s too much. But Glacier Freeze has just enough tang to balance out the sucralose and actually taste refreshing, so it’s worth a shout out. Plus, this isn’t carbonated, which some people actively seek out. If you prefer fairly sweet, non-carbonated bevvies, this might be one of the best energy drinks to check out. —Ariana Losch
Read our full ranking of the best Gatorade flavors
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Bang Energy Original Sweet Ice Tea
-
If you gravitate toward non carbonated energy drinks, Bang Sweet Ice Tea is a good option and one of the best energy drinks we tried in our taste test of energy drinks without fizz. It’s sweet and a little bitter, almost like sun tea that was left to steep too long on the porch. And it has more caffeine than two cups of coffee. Basically, if you’ve ever wished a big ol’ can of Arizona would make you feel like you could punch god, this is the best energy drink for you. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Zevia Peach Passionfruit Energy Drink
-
Ranking all the Zevia flavors was not a fun time for us, honestly. I’m sorry to the Zevia fans out there, but stevia is an acquired taste, and we had no time to warm up to it before trying more than 20 different flavors on camera in under an hour. That included their short line of energy drinks, which, honestly, aren’t that bad. Peach Passionfruit was our favorite. Somehow, against all odds, this is one of the best energy drinks you can buy if you can’t stand the taste of sucralose. The stevia sweetness really isn’t that bad in an energy drink context (in a soda context, we were throwing hands), and the tangy-sweet flavor is super smooth, tropical, and mellow. Good job, Zevia. (And know I don’t say that lightly.) —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Ghost Bubblicious Cotton Candy
-
When I set out to find the best Ghost energy drink flavor, I did not expect to like this as much as I did. An energy drink that tastes like cotton candy flavored gum? Get out of here. But, really, it’s surprisingly good, and it’s one of the best energy drinks because it really nails the flavor that inspired it. To my recollection, this tastes exactly like cotton candy Bubblicious (which I can no longer chew because it would rip out all of my dental work). If Ghost is your energy drink of choice and you’re feeling nostalgic for cotton candy saliva, this is the best tasting energy drink. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Ghost Tropical Mango
-
This is the best tasting Ghost energy drink we tried, and it’s one of the best tasting energy drinks, period. Honestly, it smells more like mango than it tastes like mango, but it’s the best energy drink if you think a bright, light, fizzy fruit punch sounds good. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Monster Hydro Killer Kiwi
-
Monster’s Hydro line is perfect for people who love caffeine but get the burps from too much carbonation. They’re bottled like sports drinks and they’re just as refreshing. The best tasting energy drink from the Hydro line is Killer Kiwi. It’s fruity, a little tangy, and not salty like other hydration drinks. It may not be the best Monster energy drink of them all (oh, we’ll get to that), but it’s a chugger, for sure. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Celsius Oasis Vibe
-
Celsius is known for being a “healthy” energy drink and it’s also known for releasing drinks that are inspired by ~ vibes ~ rather than actual flavors. If you want to give a vibe a go, this is the best energy drink to grab. It’s prickly pear-lime flavored and tastes like a canned Margarita with a little extra tang. It’s refreshing. It’s different. It really is a vibe! —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Alani Nu Breezeberry
-
Alani’s “slush” flavors are definitely the most iconic of the bunch—they taste exactly like melted movie theater slurpees—but we found them a touch too sweet to enjoy regularly. Breezeberry, on the other hand, is the kind of flavor you want to keep stocked. It’s a tart, sour-sweet blend of blue raspberry and grape, and its biggest crime is that, yeah, maybe it’s a little bit boring. But who cares when this goes down so easy and breezy? See? It’s in the name! —Ariana Losch
Read our full ranking of the best Alani flavors
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Celsius Sparkling Wild Berry
-
We ranked all 27 Celsius flavors (on camera), because what else are we going to do with our time, and we determined that Sparkling Wild Berry is the best Celsius flavor of the bunch. Please, everyone, put down your pitchforks. If you love another Celsius flavor way more than this one, we get it, but can we all at least acknowledge that Sparkling Wild Berry is objectively the most refreshing? It has a clean, crisp finish and (amazingly) no lingering aftertaste. The flavor layers different shades of berry with a hint of green tea to keep every sip interesting and zingy. Plus, some people consider Celsius beverages to be the best healthy energy drinks out there, since they’re loaded with vitamin C, vitamin B, calcium, biotin, and other vitamins to a pretty significant degree. —Ariana Losch
Read our full ranking of the best Celsius flavors
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Zero Sugar Monster Energy Ultra Paradise
-
If energy drinks were intended to be consumed by kids, this would be the best energy drink for kids. It tastes like carbonated apple juice or a nice sparkling cider with some pear thrown in the mix for fun. Plus, it’s sugar free, so you can slam a whole can and not worry about all those calories (remember when you were a kid and you didn’t worry about calories??). It’s the best zero sugar Monster flavor and it’s one of the best tasting energy drinks we’ve tried in our many, many taste tests. (Truly, it’s a miracle my heart hasn’t exploded yet.) —Gwynedd Stuart
Read our full ranking of the best Monster flavors
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- C4 Orange Slice Performance Energy
-
C4 Orange Slice tastes almost exactly like Diet Crush Orange soda—and that’s a big endorsement from us, considering regular Crush is our favorite orange soda of all time. We’ve been accused of favoring citrus-flavored beverages in the past, and obviously this isn’t helping our case, but this time we really mean it. This is delicious, and that zingy orange will help you lock in almost as much as the caffeine. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- Juice Monster Mango Loco
-
Monster Mango Loco doesn’t taste like an energy drink. This is mango soda, and you can’t convince us otherwise. (Which, by the way—why aren’t there more mango sodas? Do brands not want to make buckets of money or what?) Juice Monsters have real sugar in them, and damn if you can’t taste the difference. The mango tastes ripe, bright, and juicy. Plus, the carbonation is extra staticky in Monster. This giant can is our best tasting energy drink to date, and we’re not shy about saying it! —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
Best from Gatorade
Best Tea Flavored
Best Sucralose-Free
Best Weird Ghost
Best Ghost
Best Non-Carbonated
Best Vibe
Best Alani
Best Celsius
Best Zero Sugar Monster
Best Zero Sugar
Justine Sterling
Will Morgan
