2024 Red Bull Summer Edition: Our Honest Review

Red Bull Summer Edition has been a seasonal tradition since it first launched in 2014 with a tropical flavor that eventually became the permanent Yellow Red Bull flavor. Other summer flavors have included Kiwi Twist, Coconut Berry, Dragon Fruit, and Juneberry (last year’s Summer Red Bull). This year’s Summer Edition Red Bull is even more exotic than usual, flavored with elderflower and curuba, aka banana passion fruit. If you’re not from Colombia, curuba’s native land, then chances are you have never had curuba. What does it taste like? I’m not sure. But what does Red Bull think it tastes like? That I can help with. I cracked open a can of summer Red Bull to find out. Here’s the review.

New Summer Red Bull!

Red Bull Summer Edition

Amazon

I’ll be honest, it’d been a while since I’d had a Red Bull before this taste test. But from what I can recall, the flavor of Red Bull classic is sweet and a little bit medicinal—with a hint of battery acid. Obviously, I’m not a diehard Red Bull fan. So, I was a little nervous about trying this new Red Bull summer flavor. But I was equally curious about trying something designed to taste like curuba, a fruit I’d never heard of before. According to the internet, curuba tastes like tomato and passion fruit and peach. Fascinating! And with elderflower? I love it when brands take big swings.

Pros: This Summer Red Bull doesn’t taste anything like classic Red Bull, in my opinion. There’s no bitter tang. No battery acid. It’s very tropical and fruit punch-y, but it’s not too sweet. There’s a good balance of acidity in the mix (perhaps that’s the curuba?) that kept me coming back sip after sip. It doesn’t taste like an energy drink, it tastes like a fruity soda. Having never had curuba before, I can’t say whether this is a good reproduction of the flavor. (Let me know in the comments what you think if you have tasted this fruit.) But the flavor is good, whatever it is.

Cons: I can’t say there’s a lot of actual elderflower flavor in the mix. Elderflower is an extremely delicate flavor, so I didn’t expect to be able to taste a lot of it. But if you’re going to put it on the label, I’d like some floral flavor. And if you’re buying this Red Bull Summer Edition because you love the taste of classic Red Bull, this won’t scratch that itch. But if you’re a Red Bull completionist (I know you’re out there—lots of you), then you need to pick up a couple cans of the Red Bull Summer 2024 (one to taste, one to put on your mantle). Your collection would be incomplete without it.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

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About the Author

Hi! I’m the editor-in-chief of Sporked. I will never turn down a fresh-shucked oyster but I’ll also leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and I love a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients. Why you should trust me: I have been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and am an avid at-home cook and snacker. I began my career writing about fine dining and recipes, moved into cocktails and spirits, and now I talk about groceries. If you can eat it or drink it, I’ve probably written about it. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s dried okra. Appleton Farms prosciutto from Aldi. Some sort of Trader Joe’s cheese (I’m into the aged gouda at the moment). Frozen waffles (usually the Eggo Cinnamon Toast Minis). Spindrift water (loving the Cosmopolitan right now). Favorite ranking: Smoked salmon. Imagine me as Scrooge McDuck but instead of coins I’m diving into a vault of slippery smoked salmon slices. Pure joy. I also found some real steals in that taste test! Least favorite ranking: Canned oysters. I had such high hopes for this but it quickly became a chore. The kitchen smelled like an uncleaned aquarium.