Justine Sterling
Say what you will about the branding, I have to tip my hat to C4. The energy drink and supplement company managed to become successful while still having the same name as a type of explosive, which I imagine makes optimizing for search a difficult project. But they have prevailed! And they have proliferated! There are so many C4 flavors and there are new ones every day. (You can bet we’ll be updating this ranking of C4 energy drink flavors often.)
But what’s the best C4 flavor? While we all have our own preferences when it comes to a sugar-free cocktail of caffeine and performance-enhancing amino acids, I tasted 17 C4 flavors and ranked them from worst to best. Even if my number one pick for the best C4 flavor isn’t your ideal, I bet you’ll find a flavor near the top that will appeal.
How we sourced C4 flavors
Did we manage to get our hands on all the C4 flavors? We did not. Per the website, there are 28 C4 flavors in total, counting C4 Performance Energy, C4 Smart Energy, C4 Ultimate Energy, and C4 Non-Carbonated. We tracked down 17 of those flavors.
How we evaluated C4 flavors
We tasted all 17 C4 flavors over the course of two days because I’m pretty sure it’s medically inadvisable to taste more than ten C4 energy drinks in one go. We considered how well the flavor hit the artificial sweetener flavor (all C4 flavors are zero sugar, so that’s an important factor). And we considered drinkability—we felt like the best C4 flavor should be one that you would actually want to finish. There were some flavors that tasted good for a sip—but a whole can would be too much. And, as with all of our energy drink taste tests, I have to note that we ranked these on taste and taste alone. Physical and mental effects are not taken into account.
Here are 17 C4 flavors ranked from worst to best.
C4 Flavors, Ranked
- C4 Strawberry Blast Performance Energy
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It’s clearly supposed to taste like a pink Starburst. And does it? It does not. As you’ll find out later, C4 is actually quite capable of making energy drinks that taste shockingly like pre-existing candies. But this one is a failure. It’s strangely sour and just plain unpleasant to drink.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- C4 Mango Foxtrot Performance Energy
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While it’s certainly better than Strawberry Blast, Mango Foxtrot is still not good. It tastes like a smoker ate some mango-flavored candy and then kissed you—with a hint of dirt. You might notice that this C4 flavor is co-branded with the Wounded Warrior Project. The brand notes that C4 Energy is a subsidiary of Nutrabolt and that Nutrabolt would donate $500,00 to the Wounded Warrior Project. Thankfully, they add that they will donate that amount “regardless of sales.” So, I don’t have to feel guilty about saying there are better C4 energy drink flavors to try.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Cherry Berry Lime Smart Energy
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We’ve now moved into the not great but still palatable category of C4 energy drink flavors. This is a prime example of why people don’t like cherry-flavored things. It smells like medicine and it tastes like medicine, too. Perhaps if there was more lime it could have tempered that cough syrup flavor. But, as it stands, unless you’re jonesing to slurp on some carbonated Robitussin, you can skip this C4 flavor.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Berry Powerbomb Ultimate Energy
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This truly is a powerbomb….of sweetness. It’s so, so, so sweet. It really shows you how artificial sweeteners can be wildly sweeter than actual sugar. And that artificial sweetener aftertaste really lingers. However, before the extreme sweetness hits, there’s a decent generic berry flavor. There are much better berry C4 flavors on this list, though.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Arctic Snow Cone Ultimate Energy
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I couldn’t really place the flavor of this C4 flavor when I first tried it. To me, it tasted tangy and that was it. Then my colleague Gwynedd Stuart said it tasted exactly like a blue Otter Pop. And she isn’t wrong—though it tastes more like the hazy memory of a blue Otter Pop than the real deal.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Frost Bitten Citrus Ultimate Energy
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When I see “Frost Bitten Citrus,” I expect serious citrus flavor. I want zesty lemon sorbet flavor! Instead I maybe get some notes of sweet mandarin orange in this C4 flavor. It’s perfectly fine but not exciting.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Jolly Rancher Green Apple Performance Energy
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There are a couple of Jolly Rancher-inspired C4 energy drink flavors. And this is the lesser of the two. While it smells like green apple candy and tastes like syrupy green apple candy, it’s not really Jolly Rancher green apple candy. It’s far too sweet. It would be difficult for me to have more than one sip of this drink.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- C4 Peach Mango Smart Energy
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There’s not a ton of peach flavor in this C4 (though artificial peach and artificial mango often taste very similar), but I do get a lot of mango—especially in the aroma. The flavor itself is seriously sweet, though. But it’s not bad. And, since it’s part of C4’s Smart Energy line, it comes in a smaller can than the rest of the C4 flavors (for whatever reason you need less C4 if you’re trying to enhance your brain power). So you don’t have to drink that much of it. That said, you don’t actually have to drink any of it.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Popsicle Hawaiian Pineapple Performance Energy
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I expected this to be a real Hawaiian punch in the mouth but it’s actually much more subtle than you might think. For many, that’s gonna be a let down. For me, it was a bit of a relief. Personally, I don’t need a massive can of Hawaiian Punch-flavored energy drink. I’m a grown-up. There’s a faint pineapple popsicle flavor, but that’s really it. It’s possibly the most subtle of the C4 flavors.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Fruit Punch Ultimate Energy
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C4 Fruit Punch tastes like pretty much any fruit punch made from a powdered mix—it just happens to have 300ml of caffeine in it. It starts with a burst of cherry flavor, then the artificial sweetener flavor comes in and ruins the fun. That’s okay, just take another sip! The cherry-forward fruit punch flavor will wash that artificial aftertaste away. It’s only a problem when you reach the end of the can but by that time you’re so amped up you can’t feel your tongue anyway.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Frozen Bombsicle Performance Energy
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While this C4 flavor doesn’t taste exactly like a bomb pop—it’s missing the citrus and blue raspberry notes—it does taste like a melted cherry popsicle. It’s shockingly less sweet than many of the other C4 flavors I tried. It has a nice tang and doesn’t leave you with too much artificial sweetener flavor.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Cosmic Rainbow Performance Energy
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This C4 flavor smells exactly like Skittles. I had never really considered the aroma of Skittles before, but this energy drink nails it. And it tastes like Skittles, too! Not a specific Skittles flavor, but a handful of Skittles. It’s truly a feat of flavor science. I even detected a touch of that bitterness you get from the dye on the candies. If you want to drink Skittles, this is the best C4 flavor. Duh.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Ruthless Raspberry Ultimate Energy
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From here on, we’re talking about the best of the best C4 flavors. These are all genuinely good. This one tastes almost exactly like a raspberry Outshine popsicle (one of the best popsicles). It’s tangy and sweet and has actual raspberry flavor. Yum!
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Jolly Rancher Blue Raspberry Performance Energy
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This tastes very similar to Ruthless Raspberry—but tangier. And that’s what takes it from popsicle to Jolly Rancher. I like that tang, so that’s what gives this C4 flavor an edge over its red raspberry sibling.
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- C4 Popsicle Grape Performance Energy
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Do you like fake grape stuff? Then you are going to love this C4 flavor. It’s a super nostalgic flavor that really transports me back to childhood. And it manages to be grapey without tasting medicinal. If you’re a diehard grape soda or grape popsicle fiend and you need a jolt of caffeine, you aren’t going to do better than this C4.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Jolly Rancher Watermelon Performance Energy
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I am truly in awe of this flavor. It really is a fizzy, liquid Watermelon Jolly Rancher. There’s no arguing with that. If you like that hard candy, you’ll freaking love this C4 flavor. It’s not too sweet. It’s tangy and tart. There is a bit of that artificial sweetener flavor on the finish, which is the only reason it’s not number one of our list of C4 energy drink flavors.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
- C4 Orange Slice Performance Energy
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This is the C4 flavor that made me a C4 fan. It tastes pretty much exactly like Diet Crush Orange soda. It just happens to be an energy drink. I could easily chug down a can. If you don’t do citrus, there are alternative C4 flavors on this list that you should try. But if you like an orange soda, then this is for sure the best C4 flavor to try—and a great entry point for newbies.
Credit: Merc / Amazon
Strawberry Blast
Mango Foxtrot
Cherry Berry Lime
Berry Powerbomb
Arctic Snow Cone
Frost Bitten Citrus
Jolly Rancher Green Apple
Peach Mango
Popsicle Hawaiian Pineapple
Fruit Punch
Frozen Bombsicle
Cosmic Rainbow
Ruthless Raspberry
Jolly Rancher Blue Raspberry
Popsicle Grape
Jolly Rancher Watermelon
Orange Slice
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