Blue Edition?

I know Red Bull is supposed to give you wings, but I think Red Bull Japan was a different kind of high when it named this energy drink. You see, this Red Bull Ocean Blast is lychee flavored, and nothing about the fruit brings blue to mind.

If you’re unfamiliar with it, it looks like a strawberry covered with outies, and under that red skin is a white, sweet, and slightly floral flesh that I will rip off with abandon because it’s delicious. Under the flesh is a dark brown seed that annoys me when they’re too big because that almost always means less of that succulent fruit flesh.

Note that of all the colors I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I didn’t mention blue. So it’s a bit confusing that this is the Blue Edition. Look, I get it. The blue relates to the Ocean Blast name. But Red Bull has a long history of pairing whatever Edition color with a fruit that’s actually that color. Here in the US, Watermelon is the Red Edition, Tropical is the Yellow Edition, and Blueberry is the Blue Edition. In Japan, the Purple Edition is grape, the Ruby Edition is mangosteen, and the White Edition is white peach.

Well, at least the color of the beverage itself reminds me of what’s under a lychee’s skin.

Odd naming aside, this Red Bull has flown up to the top of my favorite Red Bull flavor list. Although, I might be a bit bias because lychee is my favorite fruit in the whole wide world. Opening the can brought out an aroma that’s similar to what rises from a freshly peeled lychee. Its flavor wavers between a sweet lychee and a slightly tart overripe one. I guess it’s hard to fully hide the flavors of the underlying Red Bull. The aftertaste that lingers in my mouth is like what flavors remain in my mouth after eating lychee. From beginning to end, it’s a wonderful experience, if you’re into the fruit as much as I am.

While I love this flavor, it might be awhile before I’m able to drink it again since it’s only available in Japan at the moment. If you happen to see it at a Japanese grocer in the US, I’d definitely recommend picking it up. If you want to buy it from one of the many online Japanese snack shops based in Japan, expect to pay a lot for quick shipping or to wait a lot if you decide to get it shipped via the cheapest option (I waited two months for mine, and I’m closer to Japan than 99 percent of y’all).

But I want more people to try this and I want to drink it regularly. So this is my plea to the powers that be to bring a lychee-flavored Red Bull to the States. I don’t care what color or season Edition it becomes. Even if it’s the Brown Edition, just make it happen.

Purchased Price: $5.99 (plus shipping)
Size: 250 ml can
Purchased at: NapaJapan
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (100 ml) 45 kcal, 0 grams of fat, 0.14 grams of sodium, 10.7 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, and 32 milligrams of caffeine.