Monster Energy Ultra Black

Black cherry with the sweetness dialled back, leaving a faintly bitter, almost stone-like note behind. That makes this the darkest can in the Ultra range. Next to Red, which sits on mixed berries, Black is narrower and drier. The cherry is dark and faintly smoky rather than fresh, which places this can on its own within the range: no other Ultra sits in that corner. Anyone who knows cherry only as a candy flavour is in for a surprise.

The black can with its matte finish varies between runs: some markets ship it glossy, others matte. For anyone collecting on design this is one of those cans where the difference between two examples barely shows in a photo and is obvious in the hand. It is also one of the few Ultra cans whose name changes completely per market, which makes tracing a specific run harder than for the rest.