With waking up for school early, many students find themselves reaching for an energy drink to get them through the day. One of the most popular energy drinks is Alani Nu, which is driven by their drinks’ zero sugar, low calorie count, and high (compared to Monster and Redbull) caffeine content.

Alani Nu is also driven by their variety of flavors. There are sixteen different flavors, not including limited flavors, ranging from the fruity Orange Kiss to the candy-inspired Cotton Candy. Going into 2026, Alani Nu is adding to their flavor variety with Cherry Bomb.

Many Alani Nu drinkers were skeptical, since Alani Nu already has a cherry flavored drink in Cherry Slush. However, Cherry Slush tastes like badly flavored cherry medicine, so I was happy to have another cherry-flavored drink option.

Cherry Bomb has been marketed as having cherry, vanilla, and cola flavors, so as an avid Cherry Coke d

rinker, I was excited. I even sat in class, computer open, to make sure I would be able to order a case on release day. Less than a week later, I was sitting with 12 Cherry Bomb Alanis.

At first, Cherry Bomb tastes almost exactly like a Cherry Coke Zero, with strong cola and vanilla flavors and a more muted cherry flavor. I was a little shocked, and disappointed that a drink called Cherry Bomb had such a muted cherry flavor.

The more I drank, the more the flavor grew on me. Sure, it was more tart and muted than I expected, but the issue with Cherry Slush is that it tastes too artificial and too sweet, so I am glad that Cherry Bomb went the other way.

Overall, I would give Cherry Bomb a 9/10. The drink has just enough cola, but maybe a little too much vanilla and needs just a hint more of cherry.