Red Bull's Spring Edition looks fancy and is extremely Red Bull

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

The taste of Red Bull is to "energy drink" as Kleenex is to "tissue." If you're thinking of a carbonated, slim-can coffee substitute, you're probably picturing the crushed Smarties, sweet and slightly acidic tang that, for decades now, has beaten the idea of sprouting wings from 8.4 ounces of caffeine into our brains.

Red Bull could probably stop there and still have plenty of money to fund various bonkers extreme sporting ventures (this is not a criticism. More companies should spend their cash making the world more interesting instead of simply worse). But the Austrian brand continues to branch out with its special editions. With warm weather on the way, that means a little bit of citrus and some floral notes.

Red Bull's Spring Edition promises "grapefruit & blossom" right on the can. Not a specific kind of blossom, mind you, but just... "blossom." The sugar free version assures me this is a combination of artificial flavors.

We've got a new seasonal Red Bull to try, along with last month's special Pink Edition. Let's see how each turned out.

Red Bull The Spring Edition: B+

Despite the purple can and promise of grapefruit, the pour is a gentle, pleasing light teal. The smell off the top is tart citrus with a minor floral flourish. It's nice, but honestly not what I'm looking for in my energy drink -- this feels more like it's tailor made to be an easy topper for a lazy gin or vodka cocktail.

It exceeds those expectations. True to Red Bull form, there's a current of sweetness that works in contrast to the acidic sharpness of the drink and the effervescence of the bubbles. While most grapefruit drinks are dry, slow sippers this has a soft, artificial sugar flavor that lingers after it clears your lips. The result is a very energy drink take on what you'd expect to see in a craft cocktail place that charges $16 for something that takes an apron-wearing bartender four minutes to make.

To that end, I'm not getting much from the "blossom" side of things, but I'm not sure I wanted to. Red Bull understands its place as a caffeine delivery vessel. It's created another new extension that's crushable, getting a little wake up into your body with quickness and, based on the name of the flavor alone, a little class.

It's not complex or especially interesting. It's sweet, tangy grapefruit, bubbles and a modest dose of caffeine. Which is to say, it's Red Bull, and it is good.

Bonus! Red Bull The Pink Edition: B

It pours closer to a rich magenta than a pink, which makes sense considering there aren't many pink berries out there aside from yogurt shops popular in the early 2010s. It smells like tart raspberry, which backs up the color.

That tartness shines through the first sip. It's not overpowering, but it's markedly different than the sweeter flavor you generally get from Red Bull's color cans. While there's a current of sugar-free candy that lingers underneath, this feels a bit juicier and truer to its fruit than most energy drinks.

It's a bit of an anomaly in that regard, leaving the impression this is grown-up Red Bull. It doesn't feel like the drink that gives you wings. That's a nice departure, even if the flavor isn't my favorite. More energy drinks should take chances like this.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?

This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Red Bull's Spring or Pink Editions over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Yeah, each hits a certain satisfying midway point between sweet and sour with a hefty dose of bubbles to keep you from lingering on that balance too long. I liked the Spring Edition more than the Pink, but I'd eagerly reach for either before driving my daughter to an 8 a.m. Saturday morning gymnastics practice.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Red Bull Spring Edition review: How it tastes