Friends, that headline isn’t hyperbole. In the days ahead, I’m set to begin a new prescription that could dramatically limit my ability to tolerate caffeine. Believe it or not, the medication has nothing to do with the wild flavors and beverages I review for you. I won’t go into all the medical particulars, but there’s a slim chance I may soon be required to quit energy drinks indefinitely on a doctor’s orders.
Since Red Bull was kind enough to send over that Advent Calendar, I’ve decided to mark a possible retirement from this gig by revisiting a flavor that existed long before my career began. I never tried Red Bull Winter Edition 2020 during its first run, and fan sentiment about that flavor is mixed enough that I’m genuinely unsure what I’ll think this time around. Let’s find out if Red Bull was right to keep Arctic Berry tucked away in the vault until now.
- Red Bull Festive Edition 2026: Arctic Berry Review
A Classic Red Bull Flavor
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Pros: Arctic Berry Red Bull leans into a pronounced raspberry-forward profile, paired with a cooling, menthol-like note. In effect, this tastes like winter itself—more of a mood than a specific winter confection. Rather than a candy-like blue raspberry, this drink carries a genuine red raspberry flavor (even though the can reads blue), and I definitely prefer it to the blue-raspberry iterations that most competitors push.
Cons: While the authentic raspberry character is appealing, its intensity together with the cooling sensation can come off as sipping liquid Altoids. As someone who dislikes mint, I still recognize that this combination may have helped push Red Bull’s winter lineup forward… Winter Edition 2024: Iced Vanilla Berry. To borrow a line from a friend, “This walked so Iced Vanilla Berry could run.” (Indeed, both are berry-forward Red Bull flavors with a cooling twist in light-blue cans; Iced Vanilla Berry is Arctic Berry 2.0, and we should be grateful for the upgrade.)
