🔌Review - Monster Energy - Ultra Wild Passion

Monster Energy - Ultra Wild Passion can on a mat in front of a wood round and plants

Ultra Wild Passion was introduced in early 2024 as Monster Energy’s tangy take on the tropical passionfruit profile. It focuses on a tart, zesty experience with the same "crackle" as the rest of the portfolio, avoiding the syrup and nectar texture of the Juice Monster line. The embossed can art features a lush jungle-scape with corresponding animals (jaguar, snake, elephant, chameleon). Is passionfruit really the fruit of unbridled desire? Let's find out.

🛒Price: $2.99 - Home Depot

✨Calories: 10, 16oz. can

🍵Caffeine: 150mg, slightly less than a cup of coffee

👅Flavor: I'm actually a bit reminded of Monster's Blue Hawaiian. This has the same very citrus forward mouth that fights a bit with the passionfruit flavor. I didn't get much of the passionfruit until the transition into the finish and it seems a little odd as a flavor combination overall. Mouthfeel is bright and tingly like the rest of the Ultra line.

🧪Ingredients: Wild Passion sticks pretty close to the standard Ultra formula with minor deviations in electrolyte concentration and coloring agents to accommodate its theming and flavor profile. The only reach change it noted is a slightly higher sodium content compared to the baseline Ultra White (380mg vs 400mg, fairly minor). While some ultra flavors use natural pigments, we find the classic yellow 5/6 dyes in this one.

Sweeteners: Erythritol & Sucralose (Standard Ultra blend).
Energy Blend: Taurine, L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, Caffeine (150mg), Panax Ginseng, and Inositol.
B-Vitamins: B3 (250% DV), B5 (400% DV), B6 (240% DV), and B12 (490% DV).

🏆Rating: 2.5 - Fine - It's hard to go truly wrong with Monster's Ultra lineup, by Ultra Wild Passion underperforms other offerings on the roster. The passionfruit is largely overshadowed by other flavors and does not have the benefit from the creaminess or texture normally accompanying its use in other beverages and the fruit itself. I think as passionfruit targeted offering would have been a better fit for the Juice Monster lineup. That being said, if you handed me one I would drink it again no questions asked.

⚖️Scale:

1 | Bad | Don't Drink it | I Wouldn't Drink it

2 | Poor | I would drink it if there was nothing else or it was free

3 | Good | Serviceable | Buy it on sale

4 | Great | A Cut Above | White Monster | Buy at full price

5 | Excellent | Standout in the Category | Pay venue prices

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