Red Bull Silver Edition + Red Bull Blue Edition

I'm not crazy for Red Bull, but I am crazy for limited editions of existing products--so when I saw that Red Bull had released three new flavors I was all about it. Well, all about two of them, at least. They were regularly sized Red Bull cans, and I think were about the same price as the classic flavor.

Red Bull Silver Edition is described as having the taste of the lime, with the effect of Red Bull, while the Red Bull Blue Edition has the taste of blueberry. There is a third one, Red Bull Red Edition, that is cranberry...but I'm not that into cranberry and I've had a few energy drinks with that flavor, so I assumed I'd know exactly what I was getting. Lime and blueberry, on the other hand, are not so common in the soft drink world.

Turns out there might be a good reason why they aren't common drink flavors.

Straight out of the gate, neither of these have any sort of Red Bull taste; that classic syrup-y, mixed berryish, 'energy drink' taste. This may or may not be a good thing, depending on your taste for tart bitterness.

The lime flavor is not at all refreshing, nor is it particularly tasty--it tastes exactly like those plastic limes filled with juice concentrate. If you want to try Red Bull Silver Edition without all that caffeine, just crack open one of those and pour a bit of sparkling water into it. Can't find the plastic lime? Try the lemon, then. It is just tangy, bitter, and unpleasant.

The blueberry flavor is definitely better, but I'd still rather drink a plain Red Bull. Again, wouldn't have guessed that this had anything to do with Red Bull unless it said so on the can, and it tastes like carbonated blueberry juice drink, the boxed stuff you get that tastes like candy. I'm not turning my nose up at this, I'm actually pretty into those juice drinks when I'm offered one--I even like to put a bit of lemonade in them to give it some fizz. This is basically just that, something fizzy added to a blueberry juice blend--but with caffeine. If you love that combination, and you need the kind of energy that these drinks offer, I'd give the Blue Edition a whirl.

The Silver Edition I don't think I'd suggest to anyone, even the most die-hard citrus & energy drink fans.

Although, I don't think I'm going to be having another Red Bull any time soon, diffusion line or no, because I've been tense and irritable all day. At least the cans are kind of nice, reflective and uh...classy for an energy drink.