I Tried And Ranked 13 Alani Nu Energy Drink Flavors. This Was The Best

As of 2026, the fastest growing energy drink company was Celsius Holdings, responsible for both its namesake Celsius brand and — after acquiring it in February 2025 — Alani Nu. What sets Celsius and Alani Nu apart from competitors like Monster or Red Bull is their explicit focus on healthfulness. All Alani Nu flavors, notably, are sugar free by default, with no full-sugar alternatives available. Key to Alani Nu's explosion in popularity and eventual acquisition was its reputation among younger generations, particularly young women. As a Gen Z-focused company, it's hardly surprising Alani Nu branched out into making protein bars, which rank among protein bars that are definitely worth your money.

Whereas most Celsius flavors are straightforward and fruit-focused, most Alani Nu flavors are explicitly candy-like, with some even bearing fancy names that evoke ideas more than anything edible. I picked up the 13 kinds of Alani Nu available to me at the grocery stores closest to my home and tried them all, before landing on the following ranking. For what it's worth, the majority of Alani Nus I tried were solid, so most of this list proceeds from good to excellent. With that in mind, ahead are 13 Alani Nu flavors in order from worst to best, including my pick for the number-one Alani Nu flavor of them all.

While I legitimately enjoyed almost every Alani Nu I tried, Strawberry Sunrise was the biggest exception to that general trend. It was decent to the extent that I could have finished the full can if necessary, but otherwise unpleasant enough that I would prefer not to ever drink this flavor again.

Whereas a combination of strawberry and orange seems to be the idea behind Strawberry Sunrise based on the design of its can, I felt that it evoked, rather, the sort of indistinct, artificial, almost powdery sweetness of a fruit-flavored vitamin. A prominent sourness was present, but that was accompanied by neither strawberry nor orange, just generic fruit. In the wider world of energy drinks, there are plenty of outright gross flavors — Zero-Sugar Ultra Fiesta Mango Monster, for example, which ranked last among 40 popular Monster Energy flavors — and Strawberry Sunrise is quite a bit better than gross. Nevertheless, I prefer my energy drinks to aim higher than the merely decent flavor of a Flintstones vitamin.

Other than Strawberry Sunrise, Cherry Twist was the only Alani Nu flavor I tried that I thought outright failed to deliver on its premise. Its can depicts cherry and lime, and I only tasted cherry. That cherry component was strong and syrupy, but in a way that reminded me more of a flavored medicine than something I would drink for fun.

For what it's worth, anyone who finds the idea of a syrupy cherry flavor appealing may well enjoy Alani Nu's Cherry Twist — it just wasn't for me. Whatever the case may be, I found that the flavor entirely lacked the lime it promised, so in that regard it fell short in a comparatively more objective manner. I could and quite possibly would drink a whole can of Cherry Twist if offered one, because the flavor of cherry medicine isn't necessarily unpleasant. But, selecting an Alani Nu flavor for myself, I would go for almost any other option instead.

The idea of a watermelon-flavored energy drink particularly appealed to me before trying my Watermelon Wave Alani Nu. While it wasn't bad by any means, a significant reason for its lower ranking is that it didn't live up to how good I imagine a watermelon energy drink could be.

To my palate, Watermelon Wave tasted not like the sweetest part of a watermelon, but the part of the fruit closest to the rind. In other words, it was identifiably watermelon, albeit with a bit of a vegetal note. The reason watermelon candy doesn't taste like real watermelon is that flavor chemistry is complex, and replicating the real thing is logistically difficult. Alani Nu got commendably close to the real deal with Watermelon Wave, then, but its respectable simulacrum also happens to taste a little funky. Because watermelon is a fun flavor, I ranked Watermelon Wave above the two worst options. Otherwise, it falls short of Alani Nu's standard level of quality.

Pink Slush is hardly an evocative name, bringing to mind the image of a pink-colored 7-Eleven Slurpee rather than a specific flavor. I've personally never had a pink Slurpee, so that image didn't have much of a taste associated with it going in. Its can depicts strawberries on slushie cups, so "pink" is presumably supposed to be strawberry, perhaps given an alternate name to invoke the Starbucks Pink Drink, which is widely known to be popular among younger Starbucks customers.

I wasn't quite able to perceive strawberry on my own, finding the sweet component of its flavor just generally fruity. I did, however, find that a sort of acid-y, sour flavor successfully mimicked a real slushie. As much as it possibly could, then, Pink Slush delivered on the premise of its vague name. Because it's lacking in strawberry and tastes more generically sweet, however, it lacks some personality compared to the average Alani Nu.

Even more than Pink Slush, the name Breezeberry evokes nothing substantive — sure, it's possible to imagine what a Breezeberry might taste like, but one person's imagined flavor would likely differ quite a bit from the next person's. Scrutinizing its can's design reveals that Breezeberry's intended flavor is blue raspberry.

Rather than a straight-up blue raspberry, I found that Breezeberry tasted distinctly like raspberry lemonade. Sour lemon was subtle in its initial flavor, before becoming pretty dominant in its aftertaste. All in all, I found the experience of a raspberry lemonade Alani Nu relatively solid. However, the fact that it was a little difficult to get a grasp on just what was going on legitimately detracted from my enjoyment. For what it's worth, my girlfriend didn't taste lemon at all, so the indistinctness of the Breezeberry name ended up being a bit of a detriment to a flavor that was, in any case, middling compared to most other Alani Nus.

Every flavor ranked below Orange Kiss included an element or elements that fell short of expectations. Orange Kiss is the first flavor on this list that did exactly what it was supposed to. That said, it was driven by a pretty straightforward orange, lacking the excitement of the flavors that rank above it.

Alani Nu, notably, uses a pretty tasty orange formula in this and other flavors of which orange is a component. Rather than resembling, say, a sugary candy, Alani Nu's orange tastes sour and citrusy while maintaining just enough sweetness to mimic real orange juice. Perhaps because of its fizziness, I was also reminded of an Airborne Vitamin C drink, which is something I happen to enjoy. Especially for a zero-sugar flavor, I was impressed that Orange Kiss balanced both complexity and indulgence. Nevertheless, that deft balance was merely in service of straight-up orange, whereas a number of superior alternatives boasted similarly commendable approaches but to more interesting flavors overall.

To me, Alani Nu's Pink Slush evoked a slushie, whereas Cherry Slush reminded me more of a snow cone. In other words, both were kind of acidic, mimicking the syrupy flavoring used in each kind of dessert, but Cherry Slush tasted more like a big ol' unfiltered dose of syrup than a blended drink. On the Mashed list of the 25 best snow cone flavors ranked, cherry landed second, so the snow cone comparison is certainly not a bad thing.

What sets the bold, syrupy flavor of Cherry Slush apart from Cherry Twist — which I ranked second from the bottom — is acidity. Instead of becoming cloying, Cherry Slush balances its sweetness with a pronounced tang. Not only did that slightly sour element help deliver on the promise of a slushie or snow cone, then, but it made Alani Nu's cherry flavor quite a bit more palatable. I don't think cherry is necessarily the finest flavor in Alani Nu's catalogue, but Cherry Slush is, nevertheless, its single best cherry-flavored product.

I saved my Hawaiian Shaved Ice Alani Nu for last, because it was the flavor that intrigued me most. Of course, "Hawaiian" in this context is effectively a synonym for "tropical," which is a category of fruit that covers options ranging from pineapple to passion fruit, most of which I think are pretty great. The Hawaiian Shaved Ice Alani Nu's can reveals that its flavor is intended to be a blend of coconut and strawberry.

Coconut was certainly the dominant flavor in my Hawaiian Shaved Ice, but I found its accent more of a general citrus than strawberry in particular. Altogether, I loved the coconut, which hit just the right tropical notes, whereas the citrus-y component was just fine. So, on one hand, I appreciated that Hawaiian Shaved Ice was the only coconut-flavored Alani Nu. On the other hand, it fell a little short of just how good I felt a coconut Alani Nu could potentially be. As a result, it earned a spot on this list's upper half, but close to that half's tail end.

Juicy Peach is a rarity in the Alani Nu flavor lineup, replicating not a blend of fruits or a fruit-flavored dessert but the simple flavor of a single fruit. As intended, my can of Juicy Peach Alani Nu tasted strongly of peach and little else.

Peach is one of my favorite fruit flavors — in other words, I agree with Diet Peach Snapple Tea's number-one spot on the Mashed list of popular Snapple flavors ranked — so it's not a huge surprise Juicy Peach ended up ranking among my top five Alani Nus. Its peach flavor is indeed juicy, and for the most part, closer to real fruit than candy. That said, there was something a little artificial about it that kept me from straight-up loving it with no qualifications. As someone who covets peach drinks, this satisfied enough to warrant getting again if the few alternatives I preferred weren't available, but a perceptible artificiality kept Juicy Peach out of my list's top few spots.

More than any other Alani Nu, Cosmic Stardust has a name that evokes nothing substantial, lacking the barest hint at a flavor. The design of its can even depicts planets as opposed to anything edible, so the mystery seems to be intentional.

At first, I identified the flavor of Cosmic Stardust to be a general sort of fruit punch — a pretty solid fruit punch, for what it's worth. After another sip or two, I found pineapple at its forefront. Finally, inspired by its purple color, I noticed the presence of grape candy too. Overall, I'd describe Cosmic Stardust as a tropical fruit punch, a little busy, but ultimately landing somewhere greater than the sum of its parts. Cosmic Stardust is unique and pleasant, only earning this list's number-four spot because there were three Alani Nus that impressed me even more than Cosmic Stardust's complex and compelling fruit punch flavor.

In 2024, during the height of orange creamsicle's spot as one of the trendiest flavors in the world of sweet treats, I ranked seven different grocery store orange creamsicle bars. Against all odds, rather than an aversion to the flavor, I developed a fondness for orange creamsicle through that experience. Tasting Alani Nu flavors in 2026, orange creamsicle is by no means trendy anymore, but it can still be pretty delicious.

Alani Nu's formula for Dream Float foregrounds its orange component, accenting it with just a bit of vanilla — a winning ratio that tastes more interesting than a sweeter, simpler approach. As was the case with Orange Kiss, Alani Nu's orange came pretty close to real orange juice, and the addition of creamy vanilla made that already solid orange flavor even better. It's a good thing, then, that Alani Nu kept Dream Float around even after the crest of the orange creamsicle trend, because it ranks as one of the energy drink brand's very best offerings.

According to the design on its can, Alani Nu's Sherbet Swirl blends orange, raspberry, and lime. Those three flavors are seemingly common together in rainbow sherbets, but as someone who doesn't really ever buy sherbet on my own, the combination was new to me.

Maybe I do need to start seeking out rainbow sherbet with some regularity, because at least in Alani Nu energy drink form, it tasted delightful. Since all three fruit flavors are tart in their own way, my Sherbet Swirl was distinctly sour, but balanced with enough sweetness that it never became excessive. Plus, despite some overlap in personality between the three fruits, I could identify each one distinctly. Overall, each fruit shined on its own, while simultaneously contributing to a somewhat sour, just-sweet-enough mélange of flavor. Capturing sherbet in drink form, let alone three different sherbets, is undoubtedly an accomplishment in flavor technology, the result of which is Alani Nu's second best flavor.

I can't say I'm a big fan of cotton candy, and I'd imagine that rings true for plenty of others who see it as a relic of childhood, defined more by style than substance. But, Cotton Candy Alani Nu? That turned out to be the absolute best of the 13 flavors I tried for this ranking.

Actual cotton candy is inseparable from its spun sugar form, which I would consider sort of sticky and logistically unpleasant to eat. Alani Nu's Cotton Candy, however, is as easy to consume as sipping from a can, and it delivers a bright, bubblegum-y flavor that tastes equally specific and indulgent. A significant pillar of the Alani Nu brand is its unconventional ideas, and Cotton Candy fits that bill. Aside from a Faygo version, cotton candy just isn't a drink flavor available with any regularity. Rather than underwhelm or overcomplicate such a unique idea, Alani Nu's Cotton Candy is a pretty dang perfect execution of what a cotton candy flavored drink should taste like. Cotton Candy ended up my single favorite Alani Nu because it overachieved, taking an idea that was uninteresting — but still unique — on its surface, and executing a particular brand of deliciousness that's hard to find elsewhere.

I bought 12 of the featured Alani Nu cans at a Smith's grocery store near my home in the suburbs of Las Vegas, and found one additional flavor — Strawberry Sunrise — at a nearby Albertson's. They were all stored cold, so I tried them all the same afternoon I bought them.

While each photo includes some of each can poured into a glass, I only ever tasted them straight from the can, using the glass solely for visual purposes. I imagine most Alani Nu drinkers will sip straight from the can, plus I didn't want to worry about flavor contamination in the glass. My tastings are based on about five or six sips of each flavor, since I thought it was important to compare them all in one go, and I didn't want to consume excessive caffeine. Nevertheless, I did go back and re-try flavors throughout the process to solidify their spots in my ranking. My assessments are based entirely on this experience, and not any past thoughts I may have had on the featured Alani Nu flavors.