The new year brings new energy drinks and another reason for a best-of list.
The Caffeine Shark editorial staff is back with our second-ever Top 5, which we’re renaming “Best Energy Drinks” (don’t worry, it’s still five). Compare with our inaugural 2021 list to see which drinks moved up, which dropped, and which didn’t make the cut at all.
New here? Welcome! Read more about who we are and how the Shark Score is calculated. Ties are broken by the Sharks’ average taste rating.
Don’t like these rankings? Open any drink below and leave a review. It counts toward the Shark Score.
Note: The ranking reflects Shark Scores in February 2022. The scores on the cards below are live and update as the Sharks and readers add reviews; the current leaderboard is always in the rankings.
#1: C4 Black Cherry
Jared: C4 has the best first sips, I swear. I took a ten-minute break after the first couple of sips to see if the allure would wear off. Nope, still great.
I’m a sucker for true black cherry, and C4 nailed it. (Midnight Cherry was the more traditional cherry flavor.) It reminds me most of cherries jubilee or black cherry ice cream. With 200 mg of caffeine and C4’s energy and focus blend, it got me wired almost immediately.
#2: Red Bull Winter Edition Arctic Berry
Jared: Wow, just wow. At this point in my energy drink “career” I’m rarely blown away by taste, but consider me blown away. I expected the bitterness that’s in pretty much every Red Bull, but Arctic Berry is strictly sweet and incredibly smooth. Light and refreshing; I could see myself drinking it between snowboarding runs. The raspberry flavor has just the right amount of sweetness. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but I don’t know what would make it better.
#3: Adrenaline Shoc Acai Berry
Matt: Acai Berry is the best Adrenaline Shoc I’ve had, and it’s not close. Forget Adrenaline Shoc; it’s one of the best energy drinks, period. The berry sweetness combines with the brand’s usual tartness for a smooth flavor. I’d love to see Adrenaline Shoc tone down the tartness in its other flavors to match; Acai Berry should be the template. Congratulations to the Adrenaline Shoc team.
#4: Bucked Up Blood Raz
Cam: A great chaser and party drink. It also lacks the bitter aftertaste a lot of 300 mg drinks have, and if you’re trying to wake up, the kick is extremely high and will do the job. With a few small improvements, Blood Raz could easily be a 10. Great caffeine content, great flavor, the right amount of sweetener: one of the most underrated drinks in the business.
#5: Uptime Original Citrus Sugar Free
Matt: Uptime Original Citrus Sugar Free tastes like soda from a fountain that just got reloaded with syrup. It’s that good, and similar to Sprite, which is a compliment. The one condition: drink it cold. Like beer, it hits differently cold, and the colder the better. I also notice a distinct energy spike and an indescribable feeling with this drink, which is unusual for me. Uptime is unlike anything else I’ve had.
Want the full leaderboard? Browse the Elite tier, or see what each Shark keeps in the fridge on The Sharks page.
