Artificial cherry is a REALLY tough flavor to nail, and unfortunately, I grew up having to take cherry-flavored medicine and my tastebuds recognized that specific tartness on my first sip. I think the same tartness is present in the other Cherry Limeade, just not the right type of cherry for me. So why am I giving this a four-star instead of a two? Well, I happen to have some store-brand cherry-limeade flavor at home. When I mixed the two, it was the PERFECT flavor. The tartness was more subtle, it was a great blend of sweet and sour, and it gave me the energy I needed. I can honestly stop buying energy drinks for those cases where I don't want coffee. It'd be weird for me to rate this anywhere below 4 stars if I know I'll be ordering a lot more of these down the line, but I can't give it the usual 5 stars because, on its own, it's not really for me.