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.
- Red Bull Summer Edition
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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
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Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!