Monster Energy Vanilla Shot Is Out in Full Sugar and Zero Sugar

Monster Energy has added Vanilla Shot: the original formula with vanilla, in a 16-ounce can. There are two versions, full sugar and Zero Sugar. Both list 160 milligrams of caffeine.

Monster’s product pages mark both cans as new. The brand has not posted one nationwide on-sale date. Cans were already in at least one store by mid-October. The Impulsive Buy reported a Harris Teeter sighting on October 14, 2026.

What is Monster Vanilla Shot?

Monster describes the full-sugar can as “100% Monster,” with “a creamy vanilla flavor” on top of the original taste. The Zero Sugar page uses the same idea: zero sugar, the original formula, and a creamy vanilla twist.

This is the next can in Monster’s Shot line, after Strawberry Shot. Sporked has described that line as a flavor shot poured into the usual Monster formula, not a small concentrate bottle. The Impulsive Buy used the same framing when it spotted Vanilla Shot, calling it “a Dirty Monster Energy Drink.”

Energeia has not tasted either can.

How much caffeine, sugar, and calories?

Monster lists 160 mg of caffeine in a 16 fl oz can for both Vanilla Shot and Zero Sugar Vanilla Shot. The full-sugar can is 220 calories. Zero Sugar is 10 calories and 0 g sugar.

That 160 mg dose is a standard energy-drink serving. You can run it through Energeia’s caffeine half-life calculator, or see other verified cans at the same amount on the 160 mg caffeine page. Vanilla Shot is not in the Energeia database yet. Other Monster cans already logged are on the Monster brand filter.

Retailer nutrition panels add detail Monster’s pages do not. Energeia is using those listings, not a photographed can, so the label in your hand is the one that counts.

On a Harris Teeter listing for the full-sugar 16 oz can, one serving is the can: 220 calories, 0 g fat, 380 mg sodium, 57 g carbohydrate, and 53 g sugar, all of it added sugar. The ingredient list there includes sugar and glucose, and it also includes sucralose.

On a Kroger listing for Zero Sugar Vanilla Shot, one can is 10 calories, 0 g fat, 390 mg sodium, 6 g carbohydrate, and 0 g sugar. The sweeteners listed are erythritol, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. Both retailer panels also list taurine, L-carnitine L-tartrate, caffeine, panax ginseng flavor, and B vitamins.

What does it taste like?

Sporked published an early taste review on October 3, 2026, from sample cans. The full-sugar can scored 7/10. The review said the vanilla sits with the original Monster flavor and should drink more smoothly if you find the original harsh. Zero Sugar scored 7.5/10, and the reviewer preferred it, saying the vanilla tasted stronger and covered more aftertaste.

The same review’s caveat for Zero Sugar is the shelf it sits on: next to Monster Ultra, which Sporked called some of the stronger sugar-free energy drinks already out.

Those scores are Sporked’s, not Energeia’s.

Where can you buy it?

The Impulsive Buy said a reader spotted Vanilla Shot at Harris Teeter, with a Zero Sugar version as well, in a post dated October 14, 2026. Sporked’s sources had expected both cans, plus a Java Monster Dubai Chocolate drink, in the first week of October. Energeia has not confirmed that Java Monster release.

Retailer pages are up, and stock is uneven. When Energeia checked, Harris Teeter listed the full-sugar can at $3.69 and showed pickup out of stock. Kroger listed Zero Sugar Vanilla Shot at $3.49 and showed pickup unavailable. Those are banner prices, not a national shelf price. A full store list was not on Monster’s pages.

Energeia take

The caffeine does not change between the two cans. The sugar does. Full sugar is a 220-calorie can with 53 grams of sugar on the Harris Teeter panel. Zero Sugar is a 10-calorie can sweetened with erythritol, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium.

“Shot” here means a vanilla add-on to the 16 oz original, not a 2 oz energy shot. If you already drink original Monster and want that formula with a vanilla note at 160 mg, that is the product. If you want zero sugar, this is still 160 mg. It is the original formula without the sugar, and it will sit on the shelf next to Ultra.

That is Energeia commentary. The confirmed news is narrower: Monster Vanilla Shot and Zero Sugar Vanilla Shot are 16 oz cans with 160 mg of caffeine, and they have started showing up in stores.