Category: Food & Drink

5 facts you didn’t know about Corona’s palm tree Christmas commercial that airs every year

Feliz Navidad!

Editor’s Note: This article originally published on November 30, 2023 

The general debate over when Christmas season truly begins has plenty of options. For some, it’s the day after Thanksgiving. Others say it begins earlier. For another contingent it’s the first snowfall or first day of December.

Then there are those who believe one specific commercial dictates the start of Christmas season: Corona Extra’s ‘O Tannenpalm’ ad.

You know the one, where the palm tree gets dressed up with Christmas lights while someone offscreen whistles ‘O Tannenbaum’.

The ad pops up every year without fail and without virtually any updates. It’s simple, it’s calming and it’ll play approximately 80,000 times during every sporting event from late November to New Year’s Day.

The commercial has been around so long and become such a staple that it’s worth knowing a few fun facts about it.

Komos doesn’t taste like a premium tequila, and that’s a bummer

Komos has gorgeous bottles and a hefty price tag. Can it live up to that standard?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

You’ve probably seen Komos tequilas before, even if you don’t realize it. They’re the premium-priced Mexican spirit in ceramic bottles that look either like an elongated bell or the Iron Sheik’s old Persian clubs, depending on how old and/or wrestling-infected your brain is.

My press kit didn’t come with those big, beautiful bottles, which makes a lot of sense because shipping $400 of alcohol through the mail is a pretty big risk. But I still wound up with three of Komos’s best sellers — a reposado aged in wine casks, a cristalino that leans into the growing trend of purer, clearer tequilas and an anejo. A quick run through my local Woodman’s suggests the price on these fifths *starts* at a shade over $100, which, hooooo buddy.

Can Komos live up to that price tag? There’s only one way to find out.

Reposado Rosa: C+

Let’s start with the tequila that’s closest to my beloved bourbon. A barrel aged reposado offers a mellower sip thanks to oaky flavors imparted from a few months of barrel-aging. You get a little bit of that from the smell wafting off the pour. It’s buttery, a little fruity and a little spicy. It doesn’t seem especially fancy, but that’s tough to parse from a sniff alone.

The first sip is sweet and fruity. There’s a little burn toward the end. The space between is … kinda hollow. There’s a place there for spice or vanilla or oak or stone fruit and instead you just get a little pale agave and not much else.

The end result is a bit generic. For a spirit aged in French wine casks you don’t get much of that influence. It’s not bad by any means, it’s just not anything you’d remember after the fact. “Have you tried Komos?” “Yes.” “How was it?” “Tequila.”

That’s not a problem, except, well, you probably want more for $130 per bottle. It’s just sorta boring.

Anejo Cristalino: C+

It pours clear as expected. There’s a little patchy stickiness on the side of the glass, It lacks the buttery, fruity smell of the Reposado Rosa. It’s a little boozy but, strangely, doesn’t smell like tequila. Between that and the lack of color, there’s a minor vodka vibe to this. Dig your nose in a little deeper and you get some roasted fruit, which is pleasant.

There’s a sweet and buttery undercurrent that moves this along. It’s a little sugary and sharp, but not harsh. There’s more vanilla here than I expected, especially after the barrel-aged reposado didn’t offer much.

Ultimately, it’s a bit basic. I like it, but there’s little to focus on here. It’s a perfectly fine $40 tequila that’ll cost you $100 per bottle. There’s just not much do it, but it doesn’t burn so … that’s something.

Anejo Reserve: B

This pours a richer shade of mahogany. It smells similar to the other two Komos in that it’s not especially rich or tequila-y.

Fortunately, it breaks from the rest of the pack when it gets to your lips. There’s a fresh, crisp agave flavor that leans into sugar and spice, creating a warm impression that lingers long after it’s cleared your tongue. There’s vanilla weaved into that braid, along with a little cinnamon to give everything more depth than we’d seen before.

That gives it much more sippable replay than the other two. It’s still slightly underwhelming for a $100 bottle, but this is the most justifiable purchase of the three. It’s got dessert flavors that linger throughout each dram, giving you something to think about from the moment it hits your lips to when it clears your uvula.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Komos tequilas over a cold can of Hamm’s?

If they were cheaper, sure. But at $100-plus dollars per bottle, I’m all set.

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How large is Yao Ming’s wine glass, anyways?

Everybody’s asking this!

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, which is as good as any time to try to find the answer to some extremely dumb questions, such as: How large is Yao Ming’s wine glass?

Does this matter at all to anyone? Of course not. But while mindlessly scrolling on Wednesday night, I came across an advertisement for the Houston Rockets’ legend’s signature blends featuring the seven-footer enjoying a cabernet sauvignon. Nothing looked off about the photo, which is exactly what caught my attention.

As previously noted, Yao is over seven feet tall. He makes other NBA players look small. His hands have a habit of making normal-sized objects appear miniature. How big was this wine glass if it looked proportional to the man holding it? And how much wine can it hold?

With a hat tip to SB Nation’s James Dator for the inspiration, we knew we just needed to find something we could compare for scale in the photo to figure out the size of the wine glass.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a ton to go on. We first thought to measure the size of his index finger and use that to get the length of the glass, which would’ve been seemingly easy to do since there are a ton of photos with his hand next to a measuring tape but it proved an imperfect science as his finger was bent at bit in the advertisement.

Fortunately, there were more photos from this same shoot that were much more helpful.

via Yao Family Wines

OK, now we’re cooking here. We’ve got the big glass and an even bigger bottle next to it. At first it seemed like the bottle was a Nebuchadnezzar (which holds 15 liters), but after discussing it with For The Win’s resident alcohol guru Christian D’Andrea — as well as comparing with other photos and videos of Nebuchadnezzars — we concluded it was most likely a Balthazar, which holds 12 liters.

I also brought in a little extra backup in the form of the two graphic designers who sit across from me at the co-working space I use. Both were extremely helpful as they noticed some of the photos may have been edited to make the glass look a bit slimmer.

One of them also said, in a direct quote, “I can’t believe I’ve fallen into such a stupid rabbit hole.” Which, yes, welcome to living terminally online.

Onward.

From this point we had to start ballparking a tiny bit. A Balthazar is typically 28 inches tall. If we assume that’s the size of the bottle in this photo, we simply needed to count the pixels and do some of that proportional math our middle school selves truly never thought we’d need in the real world.

Which brings us here:

The graphic designer software used gave us a much more accurate pixel number, but it was easier to show in this format

That works out to a wine glass approximately 12.7 inches tall.

Trying to find a glass for sale between 12 and 13 inches that looks like Yao’s didn’t turn up much in admittedly morning’s long search, but it’s also fair to assume someone with their own wine label with the wealth and stature of Yao Ming would have a custom set for himself. All that said, BigWineGlasses.com sells an 11-inch tall Imperial glass that can hold 34 ounces.

If you need a reference for what a wine glass this large would look like in a normal-sized person’s hands, just search for bachelorette parties in Napa on Instagram and you can find every angle imaginable.

Crucially, this brings us to the end of our epic investigation, because 34 ounces is more than what’s in a standard bottle of wine.

So to answer the questions above: Yao’s glass is at least 11 inches tall, but more likely closer to 13 and it can hold at least an entire bottle.

We have reached out to Yao Family Wines and can hopefully confirm our findings with them soon.

Bawi Agua Fresca is juicy, bubbly water that works when its base flavors are brightest

There’s a fine line between seltzer and soda. Bawi walks it well.

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

There’s a dense middle ground between full-send, high fructose corn syrup sodas and their zero-calorie counterparts. That’s where Bawi Agua Fresca set up camp.

Agua frescas are not something I’m especially familiar with having lived north of the Mason-Dixon line the majority of my life. They’re a combination of a little bit of sugar, water and then grains, seeds or, most often, fruit juices. The combination creates a lighter, sweeter drink than a straight-up juice. And also, horchata, which it turns out also hits that agua fresca standard.

Bawi doesn’t offer horchata, a drink I still haven’t figured out whether I like or not. But the Austin, Texas-based company brings three classic flavors to its mix pack — pina (pineapple), limon (lime) and maracuya (passion fruit). Let’s dig in and see if they can offer big taste and refreshing sips at a reasonable calorie count.

Pina (Pineapple): B+

This pours a pleasant light yellow and with a small, but dense head that suggests there’s a fair amount of juice involved. At 60 calories compared to 40 for the other flavors, the nutritional facts back this up. Ope, and right there on the can it says 33 percent fruit juice. Well, there you go.

The smell off the top of the pour is pineapple, but it’s muted with a bit of a … melted butter scent? A little weird, but maybe that’s just me.

The first sip is crisp and clean. The pineapple is well balanced with the carbonated water, allowing it to make its mark without sticking around for a sloppy aftertaste. The bubbles come and get it, avoiding the aftertaste that can come with a sugary juice like pineapple.

That juice does a lot even though it’s a minority in the drink. It’s tart up front before dissolving into something sweeter before that dry finish. It’s not as sugary as a soda but has much more flavor than a seltzer, making it a viable middle ground between the two. It’s a tightrope, but Bawi walks it well.

Limon (Lime): B

Rather than the bready, citric acid scent of artificially flavored lime seltzers, Bawi smells fresher and cleaner than its closest comparison. It’s the Outkast version of a La Croix.

That lime juice is as tart as you’d expect. A little sweetener could turn this into a limeade. You do get that acidic tang up front, but like the pineapple it’s tempered by the bubbles around it. In this case, instead of softening a sweet, syrupy juice the carbonation teams up with the lime to give this the kind of bite of which Barq’s root beer could only dream.

Again, you’re left with a drink that has too much flavor for a seltzer and not enough sweetness to be a soda. And, again, Bawi does a solid job balancing the two sides. This would probably be great with a shot of tequila and some triple sec dropped in. But on its own, it’s pretty solid too.

Maracuya (Passion fruit): N/A

Look, I don’t like passion fruit. I don’t think I can rationally review this. It’s acidic and sour and, like most passion fruit flavored things, tastes a little rubbery and stale.

But hey, if you can handle passion fruit, have at it. It’s sour and tangy and a little tough to drink. That’s about as far as I can take you.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Bawi Agua Fresca over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Yeah. I’m a little bummed my mix pack had passion fruit and not guava, Bawi’s other flavor. But I enjoyed the pineapple and lime, both of which were acidic and tart and clean and sweet in stages. Paired with crisp carbonation, Bawi is a solid soda replacement for folks who, reasonably, don’t think most seltzers actually taste like anything.

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Mango Shotta is sweet and spicy and just a little too much

Tequila with mango and jalapeno. What could go wrong?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

My experience with tequila as a shot ruined it for me through my formative drinking years. Still, few spirits quite thrive 1.5 ounces at a time like Mexico most famous export. Only bourbon comes close.

Shots are no place for subtlety. As a result, we’ve seen an influx in flavored versions of these liquors. They’re infused with fruits or spices or, somehow, peanut butter or barbeque sauce. This is all an effort to leave a distinct impression once chilled down and slugged in a second or less.

That brought me to Mango Shotta (don’t worry, Chica-Chida peanut butter tequila, your time here is coming soon). The Sazerac-backed liqueur makes sense at face value; a tropical spirit blended with tropical flavors — in this case, tequila with mango and jalapeno peppers.

I’m generally a big fan of sweet and spicy drinks (my local brewery had a very good chocolate habanero stout before the whole place took a turn. I won’t name names, but if you’re in Wisconsin you can probably make a reasonable guess). But there’s a fine line that needs to be walked for the whole thing to work.

Does Mango Shotta balance on that razor’s edge? Or will it be too sweet, too spicy or too messy to stand out? Let’s pour a glass and find out.

Straight up: C

This smells … interesting. I brought it up to my nose and literally said “oooh.” There’s fruit and spice, like a fresh cut jalapeno dropped into concentrated juice. Underneath that spice is more spice, as the agave of the tequila lingers even at 52 proof.

“I gotta be honest, that tastes like my college frat,” the friend I poured a fellow shot for. He’s not wrong. There’s a lot going on here; some creamy mango, then spice. A few different levels that linger long after it clears your lips. It’s a little thick and sticky, which makes it at least a little off-putting.

The aftertaste is syrupy sweet, battling it out with the capsaicin of the pepper inside. It’s a nice idea, but it’s a bit too sloppy for my liking. There’s a lot of “this is what I had on hand to make this bottle of Pepe Lopez more tolerable” in the process.

Maybe a little ice will thin it out and make it better. Let’s see.

On ice: C+

OK, this smells better up front. The spice is a little more muted, which gives off less of a “I’m drinking pepper spray” vibe.

Still, the first sip is more jalapeno than mango. The sweetness lingers, but it’s stuck in a battle with that heat. The good news is you’re not getting any bad tequila burn here. The bad news is you’re getting a different heat and it’s a little weird.

I’m happy to give Mango Shotta credit for its originality. It’s nothing I’ve seen before in the bottle space. But it’s not for me. Too thick, too sticky, too schizophrenic in its execution. It’s not undrinkable, and it might be your jam. But this bottle’s gonna get brought to a tailgate and conveniently forgotten afterward.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Mango Shotta over a cold can of Hamm’s?

No thanks. I might do a chilled shot if everyone else is, but without peer pressure I’ll stick to my beer.

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Is McDonald’s Grinch Happy Meal coming to the U.S.? Because we want it.

We want our Grinch Happy Meal!

We all love the Grinch, so it’s no surprise a McDonald’s Happy Meal with  Grinch face box that comes with Grinch plushies has gone very viral.

The good news? It’s possible to get one!

The bad news? That’s true ONLY if you live in the United Kingdom, and it’s through Dec. 31.

So, is it coming to the United States? That we don’t have an answer for, so it may not happen this holiday season for the U.S.

But perhaps all the social media shouts will be heard by execs who will send the Grinch Happy Meal our way soon enough.

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Costco has its own barrel-aged vintage ale now. Is it any good?

Pairing with Deschutes and a $10 price tag makes it an easy pickup. Is it worth it?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

At some point in your life, you let down your guard. You embrace the mundane, because trends are exhausting. You find the truest, safest spot in a weary world; the Costco food court.

My salvation came, as it does for most of us, around the time my child arrived. A labyrinth of bright colors and free samples were enough to keep her occupied. Trips began with a hot dog and three to four Diet Pepsis and ended with soft serve and possibly a second hot dog. Judgment does not exist between the concrete floors and fluorescent lights of Costco; it is merely a place to exhale in between bouts of frustration with snack mongers setting a manatee’s pace between each sample station.

This quiet sense of security bred an appreciation of all things Kirkland Signature, Costco’s in-house brand. It began, as it does for many of us, with handles of booze that clocked in at $12 and tasted suspiciously like the more famous brands whose labels they aped. It expanded from there, reaching its pinnacle the moment I truly became a dad: when I purchased Kirkland brand sweatpants.

With my Costco alliances laid bare, it’s time to get to the meat of today’s review. There is a barrel-aged Kirkland Signature stout on shelves across our great nation. Unlike the spirits you have to sip before debating where they’d been distilled, this vintage ale offers no such mystery.

It’s a collaboration with Deschutes, the Oregon brewery responsible for trusted airport tap beers like the Fresh Squeezed IPA. More germane to this conversation, however, is their The Abyss imperial stout — a brew with tremendous reviews on Beer Advocate and a glowing sigil of hope that, once again, a Costco house brand might be secretly awesome.

Will the 2024 vintage live up to that lofty standard? Let’s dig in.

2024 Kirkland Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout Vintage Ale: B

It pours the expected heavy black. From the depths bubbles a creamy, tan ring of foam that lingers long after the beer has settled. It smells pleasant, but a little light. There are a few signs this is a 12 percent ABV brew, but it’s not overpowering from the top of the pour itself. It looks more like a heavy, seven-to-eight percent stout.

The first sip itself isn’t especially complex. It’s a little smoky, a little heavy and very smooth. Like the scent bubbling off the pour, there’s little here to suggest it’s as boozy as it is. It also feels much lighter than it pours; the texture here is almost effervescent and easy to drink, which is not something you’d expect from a barrel-aged beer with this gravity.

Part of that is because you aren’t getting much of the bourbon influence in each sip. You get a little bit of that grain and the warmth that comes with it — there’s a sweet rye feel for sure — but it’s not as pronounced as some of the other beers in this genre. That leaves it to come off lighter than, say, Goose Island’s winter Bourbon County offerings.

That might be a bummer to some. It’s slightly generic, which doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that it’s gonna leave a few beer nerds hanging. You get some solid porter notes here — roasted chocolate and a little bit of coffee — but nothing overpowering. It’s more of a broad appeal beer than some of the other bourbon-barrel stouts out there. That makes sense, even if I wish it went a little harder.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Kirkland’s barrel-aged imperial stout over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Yeah. It hits all the hallmarks of an aged stout even if it doesn’t go above and beyond what’s advertised on the label. It’s a Deschutes beer, so you know you’re getting quality here.

But if you’re a beer nerd, you may be better off waiting for this year’s run of Goose Island’s Bourbon County stouts for more complex flavors. I’ll have a rundown of those beers this time next week.

Does it bring the boom?

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Ammunition bourbon is a wine-forward whiskey that punches above its weight class

Cabernet barrels create a unique profile. But is that a good thing?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

I love whiskey. I’m ambivalent to wine. That made Ammunition’s cabernet-barreled bourbon a slightly weird call for me.

While I’m used to Scotches aged in unique casks to impart flavor, it’s not something I’ve seen with American bourbons all that often. With a Scotch, wine or sherry barrels impart calming fruit sweetness to pair with the salt and peat of the spirit itself. But bourbon is already a little sweeter to begin with; would this be too much? Not enough? Wine-tainted whiskey? Whiskey-tainted wine?

Either way, it was an interesting proposition. Ammunition is aged at least four years and clocks in at my local Woodman’s at about $40. The Cask Strength is roughly double that price — expensive, but still not near the top of the stupidly expensive American whiskey market. While it isn’t a bargain bourbon it’s still relatively cheap in a landscape where other new spirits are prohibitively expensive. But none of that matters if it tastes like a bar mat at the end of the night.

Let’s see how it is.

Ammunition Bourbon on ice: B

This pours with a rich caramel color that seems a little too dark to be purely barrel-added, particularly for a four-year malt. It undeniably looks great, however, and some of that rich color can be explained by the six months it spent in Bordeaux wine casks.

The wine influence creates a noticeable lightness on the nose, which smells clean and inviting. There’s red wine, fruit and grain swirling together that lets you know this isn’t your typical glass of Kentucky whiskey.

The first sip is solidly smooth. The spirit inside wouldn’t be old enough for kindergarten, but it tastes wise beyond those years. The warmth of a cask strength whiskey is there, but there’s no burn. Admittedly, that may be because I’m starting with a glass on ice, but this is supremely mellow.

That wine is prevalent in each sip. I’m not a wine guy, but this aged grape flavor profile undoubtedly helps cover up any of the flaws that come with a younger malt.

The issue there is that it doesn’t really taste like a bourbon. The sweetness isn’t from the oak, it’s from that grape profile. The depth isn’t quite there. It’s a good sipper, a proper dram that’s easy to drink. But it’s not quite what I’m looking for if I’m pulling from a bottle of whiskey.

Maybe I did this all wrong. Lemme try it neat, like I probably should have to start.

Ammunition Bourbon neat: B

You get more of that boozy warmth off the top without the ice, but the headliner here remains the wine cask influence. This is a bourbon, sure, but you can’t escape those grapes.

The taste is wine forward, which means you get those notes of aged grape and oak before the familiar whiskey tenets roll in. There are other fruits at play here; a little cherry, maybe some peach — but mostly, yeah, grape.

That leaves a lingering sweetness that sticks around after the sip. There’s no clear end to this; no demarcation between taste and aftertaste. Something like the muted salt of an Islay Scotch would do wonders here. Instead, you get a spirit that’s undeniably smooth but not especially complex.

But hey, if you like bourbon and wine, look no further. And at $40 (or $80), it’s not quite a bargain whiskey, but it feels like it’s more expensive than it is.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Ammunition Bourbon over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Yeah, I like it well enough. You can find better whiskeys at a lower price, but Ammunition is unique and well suited to anyone who likes bourbon and wine similarly. It’s a solid sipper that isn’t overly pretentious, which is a nice change from the spate of other new, higher-end whiskeys on the shelf.

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HappyPop! is quirky and a little weird, but it woke me up so it’s OK

The colorful energy drink promises “mood boosting.” Is that just code for caffeine?

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

I am not an energy drink connoisseur by any means, but I’ve been around the block.

Basically, anything that gets down to about $1 per can at Costco or my local Woodman’s gets purchased. This has led to a stockpile of good (Monster, Rockstar, Red Bull, Zoa sometimes), bad (Venom, Xyience) and weird (Gorgie, the C4 pre-workout cans that make my skin feel like a beehive).

That generally disqualifies HappyPop! from the conversation at roughly $3 per 8.4 ounce can. The brand’s buzz led it to my fridge anyway with promises of “mood boosting” ingredients and the idea rainbows are, deep down, made of tropical fruit.

Can it meet my energy drink desire of “sweet, fizzy and slightly acidic while propping up my eyelids an extra centimeter?” Let’s give it a shot.

Rainbow Drip: B-

I’m not sure I could start anywhere else but the flavor I know absolutely nothing about. “Rainbow Drip” is some nonsense but the can is pretty and, upon closer review, promises tropical fruit flavors that should start my morning off nicely.

Cracking the can unleashes a heavy current of pineapple, strong enough to be surprising. That’s a good sign, for sure. It pours a rich magenta, with a thick and heavy form forming on top to pay tribute to the fruit juice inside.

The taste is a little dry for an energy drink. There’s a sweetness that’s lacking, especially given the “pop” on the label. If I had to guess, I’d chalk that up to the tart cherry juice within. The flavors themselves are dense; you do get bit notes of pineapple and orange here and, at the tail end, that dry sour cherry.

Pouring it over ice helps thin it out, and since I typically water down my energy drinks anyway — yeah, I’m a weirdo — a little H2O keeps that flavor intact. It does lead to a bit of fatigue by the end; I wound up happy these cans are only 8.4 ounces instead of 12 or 16. I’m not sure I feel like I’m in a better mood after drinking them, but I’m alert and moderately focused so, not bad.

Ginger Spice: B

You get a kick of ginger root right from the can after you crack it. Like the Rainbow Drip, it pours with a dense, juicy head. The color isn’t super appealing, but most people will be sipping straight from the can so it’s tough to criticize.

That ginger kicks off the first sip with expected crispness. Then comes the lemon, which adds to the overall clean flavor profile. It also leaves a bit of a sticky aftertaste that isn’t 100 percent pleasant, but also not really a problem.

Unlike the Rainbow Drip, this gets better as it goes. the balance of spice/sour/bubbles snaps each sip off more cleanly than its predecessor. And I do feel like I’m in a better mood after two. Maybe a little manic, but it’s a different feeling than most high-caffeine energy drinks would provide (in this case, 200 mg over 16.8 ounces).

I don’t know that I’d stake my wellbeing on it, but it does seem like it would be a good chaser after hydrating the morning after a night of drinking.

Tangerine Dream: B

This pours a fainter orange than I expected and the dense foam of the last two cans is lighter and fizzier this time. It smells great, like sweet, fresh orange juice.

The first sip is a little underwhelming. The flavor starts off with big orange notes, then sorta fades into nothing. You’re left with a stale, citrus aftertaste that lingers longer than I’d like.

It’s less of a problem from the can, where the orange is more focused and sweeter. And same from sipping with a straw, so I’ll chalk that up to a too-watery sip at the top of a glass filled with ice. Don’t do that.

On its own, the citrus flavor is potent and runs 75/25 sweet vs. acidic, which is right where I want it to be. This has the broadest appeal of the bunch. It’s personally not a flavor I’d seek out, but it’s solid enough that I’d pick up a can on a Saturday morning to get through my kid’s swim class.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm’s?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink HappyPop! over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Eh, maybe the next morning after a few Hamm’s. Ultimately the drink doesn’t quite live up to its price. But if you’re looking for something closer to an artisanal energy drink, then you might have a better time than I did.