Bing Cherry

Appearance

The can as a whole has an old-timey feel to it, which I believe was intended. It vaguely reminds me of old cans of beer back when they looked like skinny soup cans. I kind of like the can size, it's slightly larger than a Red Bull. I have professed my love for black and red color schemes in the past, but I wasn't obsessed with the shade of red on the can. Color scheme aside, the brand did a good job of marketing its healthy attributes with the text on the side of the nutrition facts label. An odd element is the "Petey's" text above the logo on the label. I guess Bing really wanted to remind you that this flavor is Petey's famous original flavor.

Taste

Shout out to Petey because his original flavor is delicious. If you like cherry flavored drinks, this is perfect for you. It tastes like Cheerwine without being as sweet or as carbonated, essentially putting reduced emphasis on the qualities of soda. The second listed ingredient is actually cherry juice from concentrate, if that gives you any indication of the accuracy of the cherry flavor. I really enjoyed the taste of the beverage and found it to be a refreshing departure from the syrupy flavors common in energy drinks.

Kick

Bing Cherry has 120mg of caffeine, which doesn't sound like much compared to all the 300mg drinks out there. Bear in mind that the can of Bing isn't very big and 120mg is a decent amount for the volume. The taste and carbonation don't significantly contribute to the kick of the drink.

Overall

I had low expectations and Bing Cherry blew them out of the water. The packaging and name of the drink caught me by surprise initially, but after a couple sips I was hooked. The cherry flavor is very real without being overly sweet like a soda. In addition, the drink has no high fructose corn syrup, is gluten free, and uses actual cherry juice resulting in only 9mg of sugar. I am thoroughly impressed and would recommend to those who dislike traditional energy drinks but still want a bold flavor.