Bang: 5 Best & 3 Weird Flavors + Alternatives

Diana Barkley (Senior Editor)

Bang is one of the most popular energy drinks in the US, and it’s easy to see why. Their energy drinks are unique in being, at least somewhat, backed by science. In this article we’ll delve deeper into what makes Bang so popular, the best flavor varieties to try, and tasty alternatives.

Bang drinks taste delicious and are available in nine yummy flavors. As of 2023, Bang is part of the Monster Beverage group — another energy drinks giant who knows how to produce quality beverages.

What to Know about Bang Flavors

What to Know about Bang Flavors

Bang Energy drinks are made without any added sugars and contain a mix of B vitamins, taurine, and caffeine, as well as added flavors and other ingredients.

It’s the third-most popular energy drink in the US, behind Red Bull and Monster.

As mentioned before, Bang was acquired by the Monster Beverage group in 2023. The main difference between the Monster line of drinks and Bang’s lineup is that Bang is sugar-free.

The two drinks brands also offer unique flavors, and Bang is described as providing ‘cleaner energy’. The latter is possibly because of their creation of a Bang drink without caffeine, carbs, calories, and artificial colors.

Bang created a drink without caffeine featuring beta-alanine instead. Beta-alanine is known to be a non-essential amino acid, which your body produces naturally. It’s known for preventing fatigue and helping with the regulation of acid in your muscles — perfect for workouts.

A lot of Bang’s ingredients are unhealthy and, in fact, highly-processed. Others are reasonably good for you. For the most part the extremely high doses of caffeine, artificial sweeteners, and added preservatives in Bang aren’t particularly great for your health.

You may wish to try some of the alternatives we’ve listed below instead.

The ingredients which are good for you are indeed backed by science. The added amino acids do theoretically work as a source of energy for your body. The questionable side is whether an energy drink like Bang contains anywhere near enough to be beneficial.

Origin of Bang Energy Drink

Origin of Bang Energy Drink

The origins of Bang make it somewhat unique in the energy drinks industry. It is backed by science (sort of) and contains ingredients that can boost your energy levels.

While some of Bang’s ingredients certainly have health benefits, it’s still not a healthy drink, however.

With that said, it’s marketed as a ‘healthier’ option than other energy drinks. More on this in the ingredients section of this article

Who Invented Bang

Who Invented Bang

Bang was invented by Jack Owoc, who owned parent company VPX. In 2012, he created Bang, which was marketed as a fizzy energy drink with a low sugar content.

Its unique selling point was that Bang drinks would be backed by science and high quality.

In 2017 the company also created a caffeine-free variety which replaced caffeine with beta-alanine, which is known for preventing fatigue.

Ingredients of Typical Bang Drinks

Ingredients of Typical Bang Drinks

A typical can of Bang contains the following ingredients:

• carbonated water
• malic acid
• a mix of artificial and natural flavoring
• caffeine
• sodium benzoate (a preservative)
• potassium citrate monohydrate
• sucralose (to sweeten it)
• vitamins
• minerals and essential amino acids including phenylalanine
• CoQ10
• Super Creatine

Some people have an intolerance to phenylalanine and can’t metabolize it, which is why it’s frequently highlighted separately on ingredients lists.

Fun fact: the patented ‘Super Creatine’ in Bang is actually a dipeptide (a peptide made up of the residues of two amino-acids) of L-leucine and creatine. This creation remains stable in liquid for extended periods of time, unlike other forms of the compound creatine.

Interestingly, it’s not actually a bio-available form of the compound creatine, and hasn’t been shown to provide any benefits for muscle growth, muscle mass, or overall health.

Some of the added health ingredients, such as the amino acids, are theoretically beneficial for your health. The amounts in Bang are considered ‘unlikely’ to have any major effect, though. Nevertheless, this

is perhaps what makes Bang a potentially ‘healthier’ alternative to other energy drinks. Do take that statement with a grain of salt, however.

How Much Caffeine Is In Bang?

How Much Caffeine Is In Bang?

A single 16 fl oz can of Bang contains a whopping 300 mg of caffeine. For comparison, the same size of Red Bull would have 147.6 mg of caffeine, while a 16 fl oz grande Starbucks coffee contains around 310 mg of caffeine.

Healthy adults are advised by the FDA to not have more than 400 mg of caffeine per day. With that said, some are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others, so it depends on each individual whether they can tolerate that much.

It’s certainly not a recommended beverage for young people or children, as high levels of caffeine may cause a variety of unwanted side effects.

The upper recommended limit for a teenager under 17 is around 100 mg or less. This is because younger bodies are more sensitive to caffeine.

The Best Bang Flavors You Need to Try

The Best Bang Flavors You Need to Try

Since their acquisition by Monster in 2023, Bang have radically cut back how many flavors they produce.

Some of the most popular ones are still available, however. Below are the all-time fan favorites we’ve seen praised time and time again.

If you like plenty of caffeine and fun (if fairly artificial) flavors, these are for you.

Radical Skadattle

Radical Skadattle

This flavor is hugely popular, though its description is noticeably vague.

Some compare it to sugary pineapples, others liken it to watermelon candy or tropical Skittles. Regardless, it’s a tasty one, if quite sweet.

Top tip: pour this one over ice and enjoy it super cold.

Sour Heads

Sour Heads

Sour Heads has a lovely sour flavor, which some find quite strong without making it undrinkable.

It’s a popular flavor. We found this unsurprising, since there aren’t that many other sour flavor options around in the world of energy drinks.

It’s a bit different and appears to have been around for quite a while.

Purple Haze

Purple Haze is made of grapes

This flavor is all grape, and gets plenty of rave reviews on the internet. It’s close to other grape soda flavors rather than ‘real’ grape juice, but that makes it quite a satisfying drink.

Grape drinks do tend to be on the sweet side, so enjoy this over ice.

Consider adding a slice of fresh lemon for a bit of added tartness.

Rainbow Unicorn

Rainbow Unicorn

Rainbow Unicorn Bang has been likened to a mix of Starburst candies.

It tastes a little like pineapple, but also kind of like bubblegum and watermelon.

This makes it so unusual that you’ll probably either absolutely love it or loathe it.

Enjoy it with ice on a hot day.

Cotton Candy

Cotton Candy

This flavor has been described as simply ‘delicious’. It does taste like cotton candy but really isn’t aimed at kids, unlike the real life sweet treat.

Cotton Candy is probably more of a Fall flavor than a Summer one, but enjoy it in any season regardless.

The Weirdest Bang Flavors

The Weirdest Bang Flavors

It’s worth noting that none of the bad Bang flavors are still available. They were all discontinued. With that said, you may still find the odd stray can in a supermarket or online. In that case, it’s up to you whether you try any of the below variations.

Miami Cola

Miami Cola

Miami Cola Bang has been likened to flat Coca Cola. Worse yet, it’s been compared to flat Diet Coca Cola, which is really not very nice.

You couldn’t even improve this flavor by pouring it over ice, it’s just bad.

It also appears to be one of those internet rarities that comes with absolutely no positive reviews whatsoever. No wonder Bang discontinued it.

Strawberry Blast

Strawberry Blast

This very odd flavor was also discontinued. It was a mixture of strawberry flavoring and a strange herbal, mint taste. The herbal aftertaste apparently really lingered, making this extra weird, and really not very good for an energy drink. In short, this one just didn’t work.

Pina Colada

Pina Colada

Bang Pina Colada has been described as tasting like Mexican tap water mixed with chemicals.

Essentially, it tastes incredibly artificial and slightly overbearing. It may have been okay with plenty of ice, and it did have some fans online.

However, it was again, very likely, discontinued for a good reason.

The Original Bang Flavors

The Original Bang Flavors

Apparently there was only one major original flavor of Bang when it was first introduced. With that said, it’s worth noting that Bang did have a lot of previous product lines, all of which have been discontinued at time of writing.

These include the following:

• Vooz Hydration Sensation (a sports re-hydration beverage)
• Bang MIXX Hard Seltzer (an un-caffeinated alcoholic drink)
• Bang ThermIQ (some kind of fat burning liquid capsule)
• Bang Sweet Tea
• Bang Pre-Workout
• Bang Shots
• Bang Keto Coffee (a coffee beverage with lots of protein in it)
• Natural Bang

The latter was marketed as an alternative to regular Bang with all-natural ingredients.

We’re not entirely sure what the original Bang was supposed to taste like. It was called ‘Lemon Drop’ and was said to be a ‘great tasting industry first’.

Needless to say, Bang Lemon Drop didn’t stick around particularly long and isn’t mentioned as a beverage that’s being missed by any die-hard fans. If it was at all tangy, Sour Heads may be a good, somewhat comparable shout.

Tasty Alternatives to Bang

Tasty Alternatives to Bang

Bang is a popular energy drink and of course it’s pretty much unparalleled when it comes to caffeine content. With that said, not everyone wants to consume that much caffeine in one sitting.

Below are some alternatives worth considering if you like the taste and idea of energy drinks, but with less caffeine. We’ve even included some natural alternatives, and a DIY ‘energy drink’ option to make at home.

Rockstar Energy

Rockstar Energy

Around 21 percent of US consumers of energy drinks enjoy the Rockstar range.

Rockstar are made by PepsiCo, and there are more than 20 flavors available. These include Recovery Lemonade, Whipped Strawberry, Marshmallow, Guava, Blue Raspberry, and more.

A 16 fl oz can of Rockstar Original flavor contains 160 mg of caffeine, so almost half of a can of Bang. This makes Rockstar a useful alternative if you’re more sensitive to the side effects of caffeine.

Green Tea or Matcha

Green Tea or Matcha

A regular 8 fl oz cup of green tea contains between 30-50 mg of caffeine. Matcha contains around 60 to 70 mg of caffeine for the same sized cup.

Of course this caffeine content is largely why matcha green tea and regular green teas can improve alertness.

However, green tea also contains beneficial amino acids such as L-theanine, which has been linked to cognition and mental alertness.

The combination of caffeine with L-theanine can help boost your body’s energy levels while also relaxing your mind at the same time. If you’re prone to some anxiety when enjoying energy drinks of coffee, green tea or matcha may be a good alternative.

Bonus Recipe Hack: Homemade ‘Energy’ Drink with Coconut Water

Bonus Recipe Hack: Homemade ‘Energy’ Drink with Coconut Water

Arguably, you will not get the same amount of caffeine and added ‘energizing’ ingredients from a DIY drink as you would from Bang.

That is, unless you just make yourself a giant, extra-strong coffee, which probably wouldn’t taste very nice.

Instead of doing that, mix a combination of freshly-brewed, cooled green tea with cherry juice, seltzer, coconut water, lemon juice, and a bit of honey. Stir and serve over ice and garnished with extra lemon slices.

Why is it good for you? Cherry juice is said to provide your body with important nutrients that help generate energy. Coconut water contains electrolytes, minerals, and antioxidants which help boost your energy levels.

And green tea, as mentioned before, contains a good helping of caffeine. All of these combined make for a tasty ‘energy’ drink you can make at home, minus any added nasties.

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