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 that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
It was too easy. A burgeoning hard seltzer and canned cocktail market expanded the space for fruity, soda-adjacent alcohol. Sonic, the Oklahoma-based drive-in with the 44-ounce cups, had long prided itself on its expansive selection of sweet drinks going above and beyond the simple Coke-Sprite-tea/lemonade triumverate.
Thus, Sonic leapt into a crowded marketplace with familiar flavors and an even more recognizeable logo. The fast food company’s hard seltzers promise more than the standard citrus flavors. There’s signature tastes like their cherry limeade and Ocean Water. And, at 100 calories and five percent ABV per can, it walked an efficient line between boozy and, well not healthy, but slightly better-for-you than most drinks.
Sonic’s attempt to crack a new market — or at the very least streamline the process for anyone dumping a few shots into their enormous styrofoam cups — isn’t limited to its classic lineup. There’s a melon medley and tropical fruits and a few hard seltzer standbys. The question remains, however; is it any good?
Well, let’s see what we’re dealing with.