You have two, maybe three, choices. Sprite Zero, Diet 7-Up, and Sierra Mist Free. Which you choose will be a matter of preference, but I always reach for Sierra Mist Free. To me, Sprite Zero has too much carbonation, and doesn't have quite as sweet of a profile as I like. Same thing with Diet 7-Up.

Sierra Mist Free uses the aspartame/Ace-K sweetener blend, and it works very well. This sits right up at the top with Coke Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper when it comes to tasting like 'the real thing,' and not a diet beverage. I drink both the sugar sweetened and diet version (you wont find Free in many restaurants), and I really can't tell the difference in flavor. Texture maybe; the no calorie version doesn't have the corn syrup stickiness.

You have some flavor varieties as well; there is Cranberry Splash (if you can find it), and a new orange variety is rolling out shortly. I've also seen a 'Free' version of Sierra Mist 'Squeeze.' Pepsi has never been a company that was afraid to experiment, so I'd look for more branches to shoot off the tree in the future.

These can be found almost everywhere Pepsi products are sold, in every popular size. If you're just getting into low calorie beverages, Sierra Mist Free wouldn't be a bad place to start, especially if you're a fan of this genre of sodas.

–Jeremy Hobbs 

The name is Rockstar Roasted ‘Light Vanilla.’ I appreciate the simpler names; Java Monsters (Monster’s brand of coffees)  ‘Loca Moca,’ ‘Mean Bean,’and ‘Big Black’ all had names that made me want to laugh out loud, not take them seriously. All of those were great products though; just loaded with calories. How does Rockstar Roasted Light Vanilla compare?

‘Light Vanilla’ is a half calorie, half fat beverage. Without the fat, it does not have the rich creamy texture that I’ve come to associate with these coffee/energy hybrids. Certainly more than a few of you would consider that a good thing, but I’m a little bit indifferent. It really did taste good, but I just felt like it was missing something, and that ’something’ was probably the other half of the fat and calories. Too bad they can’t produce artificial ‘cream’ like they do artificial sweeteners.

The flavor leans heavily on the shoulder of coffee, and very light on the vanilla. I didn’t notice any ‘energy drink’ aftertaste at all, the coffee masked it fairly well. It’s not bitter (from either the coffee, or sweeteners), and probably tastes way too sweet for the majority of coffee drinkers, but should taste pretty good to the average consumer.

You get 2 serving in each can. Each can contains 100 calories, 3 grams of fat, 200% DRV of vitamins B3-B6-B5-B12, and the usual assortment of energy enhancers that work fairly well. This is a well rounded product that many will enjoy.

I’ll recommend this to folks who are missing their super fattening, high calorie coffee drinks, and are looking for something that is a little lighter. Rockstar Roasted Light Vanilla certainly fills a void. It wont be a product that I’ll be picking up all that often, but it was good enough that I’m really hoping that Rockstar decides to produce some more ‘Light’ flavors.

–Jeremy Hobbs 

Jolt’s (only?) entry into this ultra competitive market can be described as nothing but a complete failure. To say that Jolt Ultra’s flavor is ‘medicinal’ would be one of the most heinous understatements that I’ve ever put into words; the stuff tastes exactly like the Lemon Lime version of AirBorne. Now, to be honest, AirBorne isn’t all that terrible; for a cold medicine/vitamin supplement! But it is certainly not something that I would ever consider consuming for the pure enjoyment of it.

Jolt Ultra’s flavor, as I briefly mentioned, falls in the area of lemon lime citrus, kind of like a rudely violated version Sprite Zero or Sierra Mist Free. What (terrible) flavor that is there is very weak as well. I found that fact to be quite odd, as most of the other Jolt products I’ve sampled have had distinct, robust profiles. Jolt Ultra is just all around bad.

You have far better diet energy drink options available to you, at better prices, and at more locations (Jolt’s availability is a bit spotty). I have to recommend that you avoid this product, assuming you’re looking for something tasty to drink. Maybe if they go back to the ‘drawing board’ and reformulate, then come back to the market with a better, stronger flavor, Jolt Ultra will be able to compete. Right now, it’s dead in the water, and it’s nostalgic brand name is the only reason it’s staying afloat. Thumbs way down.

–Jeremy Hobbs

Unless the formula for original Diet Pepsi has changed from aspartame only (which I seriously doubt, but I’ll certainly be checking the label on my next shopping trip), Wild Cherry sits on top of a modified version of the original diet cola. The sweetener blend is the increasingly popular (and super tasting!) blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (Ace-k). That is an amazing blend, as I’ve already explained. Removes a lot (just about all) of that ‘diet’ after taste that is so often complained about.

The Cherry adds a little bit of sweetness, and is a nice change of pace from the standard cola fair. It’s not ‘natural’ tasting by any means, but it pulls off the cherry ’syrup’ profile really well. Closest competition would be Coke Zero Cherry, but I think I prefer the Pepsi. Just goes down a little smoother; I do not think it has quite as much carbonation at Coke Zero. And Diet Coke Cherry isn’t even in the same ballpark, that soda didn’t even make it to the tailgate party!

Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi is readily available; I can even grab a 20 ounce in my poorly stocked neighborhood convenience store anytime I wish. I’ve seen it in larger stores in multiple types of packaging, so you should be able to acquire it in your container of choice. No calories, tastes great, it’s a nice treat. Enjoy yourself!

–Jeremy Hobbs 

When I first located this, it was kind of exciting because I had heard a lot of great things about BAWLS. To hear others tell it, it supposedly was some type of ‘elite’ energy drink. The soda / energy drink does have a very loyal, hardcore fan base. And if any of that said fan base happens to be reading this right now, I’m about to really piss them off really good. I do humbly apologize in advance, but this stuff is garbage. When the first thing you want to do upon taking a sip of any given beverage is to spit it across the room, something is wrong. I have no idea how they managed to completely screw up the usually amazing blend of artificial sweeteners; sucralose (Splenda) and ace-k, but they did. BAWLS must buy into the ‘go big or go home theory’ as well, because they screwed it up real good.

BAWLS Sugar Free is not very sweet at all, the chemical after taste is as bad as I’ve ever encountered, and the true flavor of the drink is almost completely covered up. Very, very medicinal. BAWLS is (supposed to be) berry flavored, guarana berry to be more specific.

The ‘energy enhancement’ did next to nothing for me, so this isn’t a product that I can even recommend as a decent pick me up.  The price isn’t exactly a bargain at $1.50 for only 10 ounces. The best only thing BAWLS Sugar Free has going for it is the cool container; a clear glass bottle with little nodules all over it. Very sweet looking; but not cool enough for me to buy it again. Ever.

–Jeremy Hobbs 

Then my doctor told me that it'd be in my best interest to not be fat anymore, and a nutritionists said it'd be a good idea to switch over to low calorie beverages if I still wanted something fizzy to drink. I was disappointed, but at 180 calories per can, I can now clearly see that it was causing a problem.

Lucky for me, when Coke launched Vault, Vault Zero came along right behind it. I bought it by the pallet, and I'm not joking about that either. I stalked the area Coke guy, and slung twelve packs of this stuff into my shopping cart just as fast as he could put them on the shelf. But sales numbers indicate that I was a minority in my adoration for this beverage; many stores no long even carry it.

Using the magic mix of aspartame and Ace-K, it tastes fairly authentic. It's not as close to Vault as Coke Zero is to Coca Cola Classic, but it'll do. Unlike colas, there are not a ton of choices available to you for this type of soda, it's only real competition is Diet Mountain Dew. And to be perfectly honest, Diet Dew is probably a better tasting option (a bit smoother going down), and it's certainly easier to find. But Vault is always going to have a special place in my heart. I definitely recommend trying one if you can locate some; it'll definitely give you a kick with it's near energy drink amount of caffeine. If you're a Diet Dew drinker, it'll serve as a nice change of pace every now and then.

–Jeremy Hobbs 

The flavor falls neatly in line with drinks like the original Monster, and Rockstar. That flavor is kind of hard to nail down, but I’ve heard it described as ‘bubble gum,’ so I’ll roll with that one. The all important sweetener blend is Splenda (sucralose), with Ace-K (acesulfame potassium). You will not find that combination in a very many low calorie beverages, but the two work very well together as a team, giving a very ‘natural’ taste. Nothing too artificial.

For those of you that are energy drink consumers, but have not sampled any of the diet versions, you’ll notice a couple of differences. The energy boost simply isn’t as powerful, because sugar all by itself produces energy. Take that ingredient out, you lose the energy enhancing benefits of it. There is a neat flip side though; sugar is what makes you crash after drinking one of these. No sugar, no crash. More like a gentle let down as your body unloads the other energy producing ingredients. That has been my experience anyway, your results may (and almost certainly will) vary.

Your energy enhancers will come in the way of 60 mg of vitamin C, 2 mg of vitamin B6, 400 mg folic acid, 6 mg of vitamin B12, 1,000 mg of taurine, 90 mg caffeine, 100 mg of inositol, and last, but not least, 10 mg of guarana seed extract. If you plan on drinking the whole can, take all those numbers and multiply them by two, as there are two servings in each can.

Not available in a lot of stores, but it is available in one big one; Wal-Mart. I totally recommend checking it out, especially if you’re dieting. You can’t drink one of these and sit still, you’ll have to get up and exercise. You can get out of the store with one for $0.99. Enjoy!

–Jeremy Hobbs 

Well, some fellow (or a lady) hidden deep in the underground Dr. Pepper laboratories just got tired of wondering one day. That person eliminated the sucker all together, and melted down a Cherry Tootsie Roll Pop, and mixed it into a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper. Thus, Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper was born. No more licking necessary. Just twist the top off and drink.

Let's make this very clear from the get go, this product is a simple novelty in the sea of low calorie beverages. Just another 'hear today, gone tomorrow' ‘Limited Edition’ soft drink. My thinking is, as the carbonated soft drink industry continues to lose ground to teas, coffees, energy drinks, and juice products, they’re getting just a little desperate. This starts the process of throwing a bunch of ideas against the wall, and praying that something sticks. Good news for them, by slapping ‘Limited Edition’ on the label, should it fail miserably, they can yank any given product and say ‘Oh well.’ Should one actually be a success, I'd wager that the 'Limited' label would fall fall off pretty quickly.

Will Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper be one of those successes? I have my doubts. That doesn’t mean that it’s a bad product, it’s not. It's smack dab in the middle of mediocre. Far too much of a ‘niche’ product to justify keeping it in full production for very long. What do I mean by ‘niche?’ First of all, it only appeals to consumers of diet soda, and maybe a few die hard chocoholics. Second, and this point is way bigger than you might imagine, it must appeal to diet soda consumers who will drink something besides Diet Coke. Third, it requires a very courageous soul to even sample a diet beverage flavored with cherries and chocolate. Lastly, with it being such a ‘unique’ flavor, only a certain (i.e. 'low') percentage of those people will ever purchase it again. Out of those that would purchase it again, how many are going to make it a part of their regular beverage rotation? See where I’m going?

For those of you out there that think Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr. Pepper would be disgusting, it’s not. I feel comfortable recommending it for a sampling. This is destined to be one of those ‘love it or hate it’ products. If you happen to be in the ‘Love it!’ category, I suggest you start stock piling immediately. If you're not so fond, it shouldn’t be in your way for very long. $1.25ish (20oz) wherever Dr. Pepper products are sold.

–Jeremy Hobbs

So, after all these years, why make a low calorie Gatorade? Because that's where the market is heading; people are beginning to take their health seriously, and eliminating empty calories is a major part of that. The marketing behind this product is that it's still for athletes, but for 'off the field.' That's just hype. Companies like Pepsi Co. didn't become billion dollar enterprises by ignoring trends, and the trend that's moving right now is low calorie, non carbonated soft drinks and flavored water. They had a brand that could fit in that niche, and they used it. G2 is the result.

How does it fair? Quite well! It's a bit light, but not as flavorless as I had expected going in. It's not difficult to see this becoming an 'every day' beverage for people. G2's ultimate job is to keep you hydrated, and quench your thirst, and it does manage to do that very well. Thumbs up for that.

If you enjoy the kind of generic 'fruit punch' flavor of the original Gatorade, and can stand to consume the few calories per serving, I think that G2 may be a beverage that you'll be interested in. It is something I'll purchase again. I've also seen it in orange, and grape, but can not give a recommendation one way or the other one those; I haven't tried them. But this one is a keeper!

–Jeremy Hobbs 

Diet Pepsi Max is one of Pepsi’s newest low calorie beverages. You may be asking yourself ‘What is the difference between Diet Pepsi Max, and other 438 varieties of Diet Pepsi?’ Short answer would be caffeine, and lots of it. Even more than a Mountain Dew. My use of mathematics brought me to the conclusion that there were 69 mgs of caffeine per 12 ounces. Those are ‘weak energy drink’ kind of numbers. Pepsi even went out of their way and added a touch of ginseng for another extra kick.

Another major difference; Diet Pepsi Max is a direct competitor to Coca Cola’s Coke Zero. This makes Diet Pepsi Max a much better tasting product than regular Diet Pepsi, at least in my opinion. It’s all in how you sweeten the drink. Aspartame alone just isn’t acceptable anymore; it’s can taste bitter, artificial, and leave a bad finish. It does all of the above more often than not. Sure, if you drink it long enough you can develop an immunity to these less that desirable traits, or even start to crave them (Diet Coke drinkers, I’m talking to you!), but why should you settle for an inferior tasting product? When beverage companies add in the ‘magical’ ingredient known as Ace-K, it cuts straight through that bitterness, and leaves a much (much!) more pleasant taste in your mouth.

Diet Pepsi Max truly tastes like a non-diet product. It is very worthy competition to Coke Zero, and by adding a few energy drink elements, Diet Pepsi Max doesn’t look like a ‘me too’ product. Side note, and one I wont talk about very often; the packaging looks really great. I know it’s what’s in the bottle that actually counts, but a guy can walk down the street with a 20 ounce bottle of this stuff in his hand and not look like a total sissy. Us fellas  are image conscious too, and sodas are our accessories.

Coke Zero wont be leaving my fridge anytime soon (or ever!), because it’s still a great low calorie product. It just might have to start sharing some shelf space with Diet Pepsi Max. Diet Pepsi Max should be available in your area now, in most packaging options. Okay, now you can go.

–Jeremy Hobbs