Review: The newest version of V8 Energy has zero sugar. But a ton of caffeine.

As someone who didn’t start drinking coffee in the morning until he was 38 — it turns out it was just hot coffee that I don’t enjoy — I’ve spent years, decades even, drinking energy drinks.

I’ve had Red Bulls, Monsters and Amps. My go-to for a long, long time was Mountain Dew Kickstart. I even had a few cases delivered to our house every month so I didn’t have to hunt down my favorite Fruit Punch and Orange Citrus flavors in stores.

Since switching to either iced coffee or cold brew in the morning, I’ve been drinking a lot fewer energy drinks. I finished off my stash of Kickstarts, but I’ll occasionally pick either one of those or a Starbucks Ice Energy up at a convenience store.

One reason why Starbucks Ice Energy has become a favorite of mine is that they have just 5 calories per can. (When it comes to my daytime beverages, I don’t drink my calories.) This is exactly why I was intrigued when I saw V8 Energy Zero Sugar hit the market.

Each of the three flavors boasts a minuscule 5 calories. And, honestly, walking around with a V8 in the morning makes me seem like a Bill who makes better health decisions than Kickstart Bill ...

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The cost

All three flavors of V8 Energy Zero Sugar — Blueberry Raspberry, Strawberry Lemonade and Cherry Lime — come in 6-packs and are available on Amazon for between $5 and $6.

The pics

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The thoughts

Flavor-wise, V8 Energy Zero Sugar is a very solid energy drink. Strawberry Lemonade was my favorite of the three flavors, but I’d happily drink Blueberry Raspberry and Cherry Lime too.

This energy drink comes in 8 oz. cans, so I had to do the math on how it compares to my other favorite ways to inject caffeine into my system. V8 Energy Zero Sugar’s 80 mg of caffeine is sourced from black and green tea. The package notes that’s a comparable level of caffeine to a cup of coffee. Scaling that up to the 16 oz. cans that my beloved Kickstart come in, and V8 Energy Zero Sugar would have a 160 mg of caffeine versus 92 mg of caffeine advantage. (Wow.) It’s also right in line with the 160 mg of caffeine packed in a can of Starbucks Iced Energy.

It also helps that drinking a V8 makes me feel like I’m a real adult.