7 Monster Original Flavors, Ranked

Energy drinks have come a long way. The modern healthy energy drink promises consumers more than just caffeine; brands offer everything from from lion's mane mushrooms to metabolism-boosting additives. And so many of them seem to promise some kind of pro-, pre-, or post-biotic effect.

But back in the early 2000s, when energy drinks truly exploded on the beverage scene, things were simpler. There weren't endless Celsius flavors or energy-boosting pre-gym mocktails. Wellness wasn't exactly part of the equation.  Energy drinks were meant to get you, well, energized. They were meant to get you amped on Taurine, caffeine, and sugar. They were cool, even x-treme. No energy drink brand epitomized that ethos more than Monster Energy, and it is still going strong.

Of course, over the years, Monster has evolved. Now it has all kinds of offerings, like Java Monster and Juice Monster. But those classics — the super sweet and tart cans of amped-up, carbonated goodness — are still around. Have the flavors stood the test of time? I tried seven different Monster Original flavors to find out. I wanted to know which tasted good during and after every sip. If the label promised a certain flavor, I wanted to know if that flavor came through. It turns out, some of them are definitely tasty enough to fuel your next late night (or early morning).

This was my most-anticipated option because strawberry-flavored anything is reliably my favorite. Starburst, Fanta, Nerds, those weird foil-covered strawberry candies, you name it, I want the strawberry flavor.

Is a strawberry-flavored Monster good? I wouldn't know, because it didn't taste like strawberries at all. Maybe a slight, fake strawberry-like aroma when smelled closely. The company describes the product as "sweet and salty with a hint of strawberry." So, okay, maybe it's not meant to be an in-your-face strawberry flavor (not that the term "Strawberry Shot" suggests subtlety). But one should not have to search for the advertised flavor of a drink when they taste it. In a blind taste test, I would have never guessed strawberry. 

I'm not sure what I would have guessed, truthfully; it tasted like a slightly smoother version of the Original Green, perhaps closest to the Zero Sugar. So you'd be better off just getting that, since it tastes so similar and has 210 fewer calories.

Monster Zero Sugar is meant to be the same flavor as Monster Original Green, just, well, without the sugar. So, in order to describe the flavor of Monster Zero Sugar, I have to get a little ahead of myself and briefly describe the flavor of Monster Original Green. It's a very tart, sweet, apple-y flavor, and it's replicated pretty closely in the Zero Sugar version. It's actually a little smoother; the sugar-free version is less acidic tasting and leaves a less sharp flavor on the tongue.

Zero Sugar delivers on its target profile better than the Strawberry Shot, and would even be on track to rank above the OG flavor. Unfortunately, it also has a strange aftertaste. And not the one I was expecting; sugar substitutes have a distinct aftertaste, and I was anticipating that here. But this flavor was something else that I can only describe as musty, almost like a slightly gone-off cider. That unpleasant mustiness lingers. It's not undrinkable, but since there are better low-calorie Monster options, the lack of sugar isn't worth the tradeoff.

Okay, back to that Monster Original Green that I was talking about. Also referred to as "OG," this is the classic black can and green logo that we all imagine when we think of Monster. Of course, green is not a flavor (if it were, it definitely wouldn't taste like an energy drink). The brand describes the flavor in simple, if largely unhelpful, terms: salty and sweet.

It is both of those things, sure, though the saltiness is subtle. The sweetness, on the other hand, is in-your-face powerful with every sip. Beyond that, the flavor profile is very fruity, closest to an apple or a pear. It is certainly sweeter than both of those things, though — it should come as no surprise that the "OG" does not skimp on that front. It's very acidic and way too strong to come across as citrus-like. Think sour candy. This is an improvement over the Zero Sugar variety because there is no strange aftertaste, but I found the acidity overpowering, which makes this a tough energy drink to finish. 

The Lo-Carb has a slightly mellowed flavor from the no sugar, but doesn't have the weird aftertaste. Of all the Original Green derivatives, this was my favorite, and it's not because it's low-carb (though coming in at 30 calories instead of a 230 is nothing to sneeze at). Like the Zero Sugar version, this drink takes some of the edge off that intense acidity and sweetness in the Monster Original. It rounds it out, resulting in a more sippable drink. But rest assured, it's still plenty intense; this is Monster, after all. It's just a little "lighter"; the comparison that comes to mind is the difference between SweeTARTS and Smarties.

None of the Original Green varietals were top-tier, because ultimately, I find their flavor just a bit too candy-like overall. The sweet-and-salty taste even leans slightly medicinal to me. Still, this was mellower than the OG and tasted better than the Zero Sugar. I could see this version hitting the spot at times, and while these Monsters aren't my favorite, the flavor profile has clearly stood the test of time.

The Electric Blue Monster, according to Monster, has a flavor profile of "shockingly smooth blue raspberry popsicle." Upon tasting it, I definitely see where Monster is coming from with the "smooth" thing. It has a lighter carbonation than the other Monster Originals, lending a softer, rounder mouthfeel. And it nails the made-up, yet somehow distinct and very real, blue raspberry flavor. The mild carbonation in conjunction with the blue raspberry does indeed result in a slightly lighter, more refreshing flavor that calls treats like Popsicles to mind — as opposed to sour and tart candy, which is the direction many of the Monster Originals lean towards. 

I don't think I would have named this flavor as being specifically Popsicle-like before knowing Monster's intentions. But it is a good way to describe the drink's balance and lack of over-intensity that one does not expect with blue raspberry, and was missing from the OG varieties. I enjoyed the sippable mouthfeel of this one compared to the previous Monsters. Even though it was much more drinkable than I would expect for the flavor profile, it's still too candy-like for me to want more than once in a blue (raspberry) moon.

Who is Lando Norris? The side of the can answered that one. He is a British Formula One race car driver. How he got his own Monster Original flavor is less clear, though Monster certainly has a long history of partnering up with extreme sports athletes. The most important question — what it tastes like — was up to me to answer, because it was nowhere on the can.

The aroma and flavor were very melon-forward and reminded me of honeydew. I was pleasantly surprised to find it well balanced between sweet and refreshing; some melon-flavored drinks or candies can be overly sweet or even astringent. But there was also a tartness that I couldn't attribute to melon, though I did enjoy it. Upon researching the Lando Norris flavor further, I learned it was actually melon and yuzu, the latter being that tart flavor I was picking up on.

Would I have clocked it as yuzu specifically? Probably not, but this Monster delivers what the OG does not: a pleasant citrus flavor that contributes balanced acidity without overwhelming. It's tart and sweet, but not too candy-forward like Electric Blue. No disrespect to Lando Norris, but Monster should feature the flavor profile here more prominently than the name attached. It's a genuinely interesting and refreshing combo, and I would be way more likely to pick this off the shelf if I knew a little more about it.

The Orange Dreamsicle Monster was originally part of the Monster Reserve line. The Monster Reserve series is described by the company as a premium, fruit-forward flavor experience with the same Monster kick and low price. At some point, Orange Dreamsicle was removed from the Reserve lineup and has now joined the ranks of Monster Original.

Reserve or not, this was the tastiest of the bunch. Inspired by the summertime juggernaut that is the Creamsicle, the Orange Dreamsicle Monster gets it dead on. It truly tastes like a liquid Creamsicle: a combination of vanilla and orange perfectly blended with a rich and creamy base. Like the Electric Blue Monster, this drink felt more lightly carbonated than the others in the lineup. The mild bubbliness works to build an almost creamy texture and mouthfeel. It's got the citrus-and-vanilla flavor profile of a cream soda, but the texture takes it into a league all its own. While both this and the Lando Norris Monster are incredibly drinkable, this was a perfect treat in a can. I already want another one of these, even though my hands are already getting jittery.

Each flavor of Monster Original was evaluated based on taste. I paid attention to flavor notes and searched for any aftertaste, as well as whether the intended flavor came through in the final product. While the intended flavor of some options was evident in the name, as with Strawberry Shot and Orange Dreamsicle, others were not indicated by the product label, as with Electric Blue and Lando Norris. In those cases, I did not research the intended flavor notes before tasting in order to form a truly unbiased impression. I also noted the aroma of each drink, as that can affect taste.

Each drink was tasted immediately after opening to maintain the intended carbonation levels, though they were each tried multiple times over the course of my tasting. All drinks were cold at the time of consumption, as recommended by the brand. In most cases, I sipped water after tasting each drink to cleanse the palate. However, in the case of the Lo-Carb and Zero Sugar varieties, I also tried them directly before the Original Green. This was to get as immediate a comparison as possible, since they are meant to replicate the flavor of Original Green.