Summer Monsters

I see a lot of energy drinks at work.  And these two cans caught my eye.

I featured an Ultra Peachy Keen in a previous post, but this is a variation of the other can.  Notice the Zero Sugar at the top of the can.  The other post had a red stripe around the top of the can, this one doesn't.

And this is my first Ultra Paradise can.  I love the muted green color of it.  Monster Energy certainly has some of the best looking cans out there.

If the green can is Frankstein's monster, what monster would the pink can be?

Bubbl'R

Yeah, weird name.

Earlier this summer I went to swim at my sister's house.  She had a pack of this all-natural, sparkling water energy drink.  I told her to save one of the cans for me.  She told me to just take one.  So I did.

It was just a week or two ago that I finally drank it.  I felt I needed a little extra energy, not to mention antioxidant and a little balance restoration.  And it was surprisingly good.  It wasn't the bland no-taste sparkling water, but had a surprising dash of wild cherry flavor.

Even with the weird name and a can that looks like it was designed in a kindergarten classroom, I highly recommend it.  After all, who couldn't use a little restoration to their balance?

Star Wars Collection

Someone sent an article to me a month ago or so.  It was an ad showing a new 30-can Star Wars set coming from Coca-Cola, each featuring a different character.

Pepsi did this in 1999 when The Phantom Menace came out.  You can read about my adventure with that here in this post.

There have been other Star Wars tie-ins also.  But these cans look really good, especially being red and black.

My first can is Kylo Ren.  I would love to have the whole collection, but I just don't have the time or patience for that kind of collecting now.  And I don't drink soda, so I can't just go out and buy a bunch of packs.

So I'll sit back and use the Force to will some more of them to come to me.  I wonder what a midi-chlorian flavored soda would taste like.

Ice Cream Sundae

I was surprised to see this can when my son brought it home one evening.

It's the first Ice Cream Sundae flavored soda in my collection.  I think.  And I love how the top of the can looks like it's dripping with chocolate.  I asked if it was good, he said it's ok.  Maybe not as good as a root beer float.

Definitely a neat idea.  And a neat can.

Newest Ski

Ski doesn't change their can design very often, so it's always exciting when I see a new one.

And that's what happened this week when I saw this can at someone's house.  I asked if I could have the can when they were done, received the usual confused looked from them, and then my collection was one can bigger.

It may be a while, but I'll be watching for their next design.

Coca-Cola Summer Cans

The Coca-Cola summer cans with phrases on them started showing up at work last week.

My first two are "Friend" and "Sis".  

I'm not sure how many there are, but I'll keep my eyes open and grab any I don't already have.

Mountain Dew

I've been collecting cans with the new Mountain Dew logo recently, but there was one I still didn't have...

Just the regular, plain old Mountain Dew.

And now I have it.

Another Rescue

Lately I've been collecting Mountain Dew cans with their new logo.  Last week in the top of a trash can at work I saw the new logo on a Diet Mountain Dew can, which I didn't have yet.  But the problem was whoever drank it was a "squeezer", one who feels the need to squeeze the can before throwing it away.

But many years ago I did post about a tool I have that can pop the cans back into shape from the inside.  I haven't used the tool for a while, but I got it out and was able to get this can back into decent shape.

It's not perfect, there are still a couple small dents and creases, but until I find a can in better shape for my collection this one will definitely dew, I mean definitely do.

Yes, I thoroughly cleaned the can before touching it with my hands.  There is some etiquette to can collecting.

Happy 6th of July!!!

Ok, so this is a couple days late.

A couple weeks ago someone texted a pic of this can to me and asked if I had it.  Nope!  So they bought it, drank it, and gave it to me.

It's a 16oz Cherry-flavored Coca-Cola can.  But what makes the design so neat is the American flag they were able to represent on the shapes of Coca-Cola bottles.  There's the blue/white star field in the upper left and the white/red stripes on the rest of the bottles.

This was a good can to release during the 4th of July season.  What's next for big red?

Summer Freeze Makes Me Feel Fine

New Mountain Dew cans are coming out in force.  This week I received two new ones.

The first is the newest Code Red design.  I've featured Code Red on my blog a few times before: 2014, 2020, and 2023.

Now it's back with its newest logo.  I also received a limited edition summer flavor cherry lemon raspberry called Summer Freeze.  Sounds like it would make a good slush!

I know there are more flavors out there, so I'll keep looking...

Cherry Twist

With the recent influx of Alani Nu cans to my collection, I looked at Walmart to see how many designs they currently carry.  I had all of them except Cherry Twist.

The next day at work I mentioned to someone I had them all except one from Walmart.  She went out for lunch that day and when she returned she was drinking a Cherry Twist.  She said it was the random drink she grabbed from her fridge when she went home for lunch.  Lucky me!!

I'm sure there are many more designs out there.  In fact, Walmart may even have different ones now from the day I checked.  The summer flavors are out.  Let's keep looking...

Alani Two

Last week at work I saw this sitting on a shelf...

It can be embarrassing the first time I ask someone new for the can when they're done, but it has to be done.  So I asked her, she said I could have it (with a confused look), then I explained my collection.

Alani Nu cans have great designs.  And I didn't have a Pink Slush yet.  But now I do.

Later in the week I got home from work and saw a can by the curb in front of my house.  It turned out to be this Alani Nu Cotton Candy.  What are the odds I'd find two Alani Nu cans in one week?

A double-can victory.  And now it's Father's Day.  Will more cans be coming my way?  

Party Favor

Yesterday I went to a graduation party and what did I see sitting on a window ledge?

A Starbucks energy drink.

Someone had brought it to the party and when done they set it on the window ledge to give to me later.  It's Watermelon Twist and they said it was really good.  I guess a little energy boost at a party never hurts.

I wasn't expecting to get a gift at the party for recent graduates, but I'll take it!  And I did.

DiGiorno

My collection didn't have a 7.5 oz mini Diet Pepsi can yet.  But now it does...

Walmart had a coupon if you buy two DiGiorno pizzas you get a free 6-pack of mini Pepsi.  I chose the pizza flavors and my kids chose the Pepsi flavor.

One of the more tasty ways I've added a new can to my collection...

Chill

Earlier this year I got this cool can.

It's a Sprite Chill.  The flavor is cherry lime.  The person who drank it said it was really good, and different for a Sprite flavor.

As this Memorial Day weekend is a little chillier than some, I thought it'd be appropriate to feature this can.  Have a good Memorial Day!

Do I Collect Dinosaurs?

Last week a guy at work asked if I collect themed cans.  Yes.  He said, "What about dinosaur-themed?"  YES!

That's when I found out yet another Jurassic World movie is coming out.  And as usual, there's a series of cans based on the new movie.

This one is labeled #3 Quetzalcoatlus.  Neat can design.  

I gave up trying to collect entire series years ago, but if some of the cans fall in my lap I'll gladly take them.  I haven't watched the trailer yet for this newest movie, but I might.  I'm more interested in just collecting the cans though.

Graduation Gift

My daughter graduated from college yesterday.  And on the trip I got a new can.

This is another Alani Nu energy drink can, Orange Kiss.  The cans are so artful.  This can came from my daughter's friend.  She saved it for me in case I didn't have it yet.  And I didn't.

My daughter may have received a diploma from a great college yesterday, but I got a new can for my collection.

A Peachy Day for Golf

Well, today we tried to go golfing at a different course than the one from two weeks ago, but the course was closed.  We've had a lot of rain recently and the ground was too wet.  As a consolation gift, the lady at the club house said we could putt around on the practice green and do some chipping for free.  So we spent about 1-1.5 hours getting better by practicing in the chilly breeze with gray clouds overhead threatening to make the ground even wetter.

And then my golf buddy broke out his Red Bull Summer Edition White Peach.

So the day wasn't a total loss.  We got some much-needed practice and I got a much-needed can for my collection.

He Likes Coffee

A guy at work likes coffee.

He's saved a cans for me before, but this week I got two.  One is a Monster Killer Brew Triple Shot called Loca Moca.  Wow.  I felt a little surge of energy just typing the name of that one!

The other is Vanilla Bomb, a Black Rifle Company Espesso 300 triple shot.  A real man's drink.

We'll see what energetic beverage can he saves for me next time...

Red Bull Variant

WAY back in 2018, I posted about Red Bull Summer Editions and the newest can I had, Coconut Berry.

Last week I went golfing.  I noticed around hole 3 what my cart buddy was drinking... a Red Bull Coconut Berry.  This is my new can from that golf outing. 

When you have thousands of cans at home, it's hard to remember what you've already collected.  But this can looked awesome with its white and "chrome" look.  And the flavor sounded pretty funky.  So I took the can when he was done with it.

It was later I checked my blog and realized I already had this flavor... from years ago.  But upon closer examination, I noticed the sizes (both mL and OZ) were printed in reversed order.  This is the can from seven years ago.

It's fun collecting different brands and different flavors, but at my level of collecting I'm also looking for variants.  And this can, even with just the different order in which they listed the can size, is considered a different can.

So if you're a deep collector, always look carefully at the can.  At first glance it may look like a can you already have, but even the smallest change can make it a "new can" for your collection.