We Tried the New Red Bull Winter Edition for 2024

The 2024 Red Bull Winter Edition might be the most inconsistently-named energy drink released in recent memory. Depending on your country of residence, this new Red Bull flavor will be labeled “Iced Vanilla Berry,” “Iced Cotton Candy,” or “Iced Gummy Bear.” The color scheme remains the same, but the exact ingredients may vary since every country has their own laws about what is and isn’t permitted for human consumption. So, does this year’s Winter Red Bull successfully deliver an Iced-Vanilla-Cotton-Candy-Gummy-Bear experience? There’s only one way to find out.

Here’s my official review of the new Red Bull Winter Edition 2024, for both the full-sugar and sugar-free versions. Why trust me? I’ve been on the seasonal Red Bull beat for a long time. So, I’m glad to finally have these in hand to review for you good people.

Red Bull Winter Edition 2024

New Winter Red Bull!

Red Bull Winter Edition 2024

Pros: The press release says the flavor of Red Bull Winter Edition 2024 is “the taste of blueberry and vanilla.” But the actual truth is that this new Winter Edition Red Bull tastes like the best blue gummy I’ve ever had—and I don’t say that lightly. Follow me on this one: Do you remember the old Scooby-Doo gummies? And do you remember how the opaque blue Scooby-shaped one was the best one by a country mile? (The new “Scoob!” branded ones are not the same, sorry if you missed this formative fruit snack experience.) Anyway, this year’s Red Bull Winter Edition is a perfect blue-gummy-flavored Red Bull and I think I’m in love.

Cons: My biggest complaint about this drink is that the name doesn’t accurately describe how good it is. Here in the States, we’ve somehow got the least-accurate name: Iced Vanilla Berry. I guess I taste vanilla in this? I do think “Iced Gummy Bear” or “Iced Cotton Candy” would have been a better shorthand for this flavor. (We’re going to skip over how I don’t understand what the word “Iced” is doing here, we just don’t have the time.)

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Red Bull Winter Edition Zero Sugar 2024

New Winter Red Bull!

Red Bull Winter Edition Zero Sugar 2024

Pros: Rejoice, sugar avoiders! For the first time (domestically), Red Bull has launched a sugar free version of one of their seasonal flavors. Red Bull has quietly beefed up their zero sugar line over the past year, so I’m not surprised the seasonal variants will be available in that format moving forward. The blueberry flavor stands out a little more without the full sugar punchiness behind it.

Cons: Unlike your exclusively-zero-sugar Alani Nus and Ghosts, this Winter Red Bull has a full-sugar variant to compare it to. Every sip of the zero-sugar version reminds me that there’s a better version sitting right next to it. This is sweetened with Sucralose, so if you respond negatively to that sweetener, maybe skip this one—or drink the full-sugar version in moderation.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Where can I find these?

Per Red Bull, both versions of Red Bull Winter Edition 2024 will be available nationwide starting October 21st—that’s today! You should be able to find these anywhere Red Bull is sold through April, 2025. Your best shot at finding them ASAP will be Walmart, since they’ve already had these on shelves for a few weeks now. (Funny story, Red Bull sent over their early sample kit a couple weeks after I bought both Winter Edition Red Bull flavors in-store at Walmart.) Based on the new six-month availability periods for their Winter and Summer Editions, Red Bull is just planning ahead for when global warming has reduced our weather options to “way too hot” and “way too cold.”


About the Author

Griffin Parker

Griffin Parker is a writer, award-winning charity auctioneer, and "influencer in the beverage space" according to a few PR agencies. Please do not ask him about the cotton candy business he started right out of high school. When he's not contributing to Sporked or running the @SodaSeekers news pages, you can find Griffin espousing the virtues of Dayton-style pizza, Cincinnati-style chili, and Dolly Parton's Fabulously Fudgy Brownie Mix.