Tag: hard seltzer

Hard seltzer of the Week: Vizzy’s mimosa lineup is a solid brunch buzz in lighter form

A solid lineup of orange juice + champagne inspired seltzers hits the spot despite its light calorie load.

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.

There’s a natural progression from brunch drinks to hard seltzers. Fizzy, fruity and boozy are the through-lines.

Thus, it was only a matter of time before Vizzy grabbed the orange juice-champagne buddy cop feature capable of making $16 eggs benedict dishes palatable and enlisted it in its own seltzer army. The venerable brand, last seen in this column rolling out a just-OK creamsicle flavor, has jumped into the fray with more than just orange flavors to offer.

We’ve got a solid lineup of classic seltzer flavors with which to pair that mimosa base, from pineapple to pomegranate. The question now is whether they’re any good — and, at 100 calories and five percent ABV, a worthy replacement for a more-filling, mixed-at-your-table mimosa.

Beverage of the week: Canelo Alvarez’s VMC canned cocktails, sigh, pack a wicked punch

The boxer’s signature cocktails are perfectly balanced and eminently drinkable. Mostly.

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.

Once again, we’re diving into the ever-expanding chasm of celebrity-branded booze. A boutique kingdom once ruled by the likes of Sammy Hagar and Dan Aykroyd has seen an influx of invaders fight over an expanding territory and the hearts and minds of drinkers across the world.

In this column alone we’ve hit branded offerings from Guy Fieri, Kendall Jenner, Blake Lively and many others. Today, since this is a sports site after all, we’re headed to the ring to see what Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has in store. His VMC line of drinks — short for Viva Mexico Cabrones, which I *think* I can write here without getting dinged by Gannett’s standards and practices — taps into his Mexican roots with local tequilas and classic recipes.

But it’s a crowded landscape when it comes to 12 ounces of carbonated cocktails to-go. Does a world class boxer have what it takes to stand out?

Hard Seltzer of the Week: Willie’s Superbrew is as weird as its name suggests

“Superfruits” and herbs make Willie’s stand out in a crowded seltzer market. 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 that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

Willie’s Superbrew is not like other hard seltzers. That’s clear right away.

Whether it’s the craft brewery-style 16-ounce cans with sticker labels or the bold promise of “superfruit,” it’s not a drink you’d ever confuse with High Noon, White Claw or a host of slim-canned market standbys. The Massachusett brewer’s uniqueness isn’t limited to marketing, either. Their lineup includes flavors like ginger and turmeric and hops, which go above and beyond the La Croix-limited palates of other seltzer brands.

A drink that started as a home-brewed, boozy and fruited ginger beer has expanded to three flavors from its New England roots. And each can, from its DIY aesthetic to the uncommon mashup of flavors inside maintains that vibe. That makes it very interesting and at least a little cool amidst a perpetually expanding marketplace.

But is it any good?

Hard seltzer of the week: Berczy brings a touch of class and uninspired flavors to the game

Berczy is fine, but boring. And stop foisting passion fruit on us, brewers.

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.

Hard seltzer remains an inescapable part of the drinking landscape. And if trends continue, there’s little downside to jumping into an already crowded market.

Sales revenue for boozy seltzers increased by another 22 percent between 2022 and 2023, per Statista. Overall sales volume is projected to increase by nearly four percent next year. Young drinkers are starting with bubbly citrus instead of skunky bargain beers. Older ones are opting for the lower calorie counts and diverse flavors of slim 12-ounce cans over lagers.

That leaves plenty of room for new competitors to join the fray, though they’ll need a hook to set them apart on a crowded horizon. For Berczy, that’s a touch of London class and the distinction of an “alcoholic sparkling water.” The British import promises classic flavors and 75 calories — though the cans I received clock in at 110, which is a pretty significant difference.

Does it stand out for anything other than its origin across the pond? Let’s give it a shot.

Ranking — and grading — every sorta-mid Sonic Hard Seltzer flavor

Sonic’s seltzers are mostly average. Even Ocean Water and cherry limeade.

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.

Beverage of the Week: Vizzy’s creamsicle hard seltzer almost gets it right

Creamsicle hard seltzer sounds great. In execution, it’s a little too … seltzer-y.

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.

In the world of hard seltzers, Vizzy is a name I see a lot but have yet to try. It’s not the industry pioneer, like White Claw. It’s not an industry leader like High Noon. It’s not readily available at the open bar at weddings like Truly. So there it is, recognizable but not yet something I could actually say is good or bad.

Needless to say, Vizzy needed to stand out. Unleashing a creamsicle seltzer in time for hot days at the pool? Yep, you’ve got my attention now.

Coors did their own take on the orange classic in a limited edition seltzer offering last year, but I was unable to find it in time (what I also miss from Coors’ limited summer selection? A pretty decent shandy. Anyway …). I was worried that was my last crack at the ethereal taste of childhood mixed with the unmistakable tenet of drinking in the 2020s. Thankfully, Vizzy — owned by Molson Coors — stepped up to fill that void.

Beverage of the Week: Sunny D Vodka Seltzer is way better than ‘purple stuff’

Nostalgia meets booze trends to make a glorious, orange-y seltzer you can drink all day.

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.

Nostalgia is one hell of a drug. Especially for millennials currently caught up in any generational malaise.

That’s why we’ve seen a lot of the 1990s come back into focus lately. We brought back Dunkaroos. We adapted Legends of the Hidden Temple for adults (it went poorly). Now we’re doing the same for Sunny Delight.

“Sunny D,” as its known to friends, was and remains the nebulous sweet, slightly goopy orange drink that arrived in our childhood refrigerators in bottles shaped like whac-a-mole mallets. It was orange juice without pulp or bitterness and, somehow, less sugar than the actual thing. It was great and kinda awful and despite those fond(ish) memories I hadn’t had it in any form in roughly two decades.

Until this week, because Sunny D now comes in a boozed-up version. Behold, Sunny D Vodka Seltzer.

Beverage of the Week: Simply made spiked peach juice and it’s candy in a glass

Turns out, mixing peaches and sugar with booze makes one heck of a summer drink.

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.

Last year, Simply made the move from bowling pin-shaped plastic bottles of juice and lemonades to cigarette-jean aluminum cans of hard seltzer and made waves in an ever-expanding ocean. That set the stage for an encore.

Market trends in 2023 dictated it would be one of three things: tequila-based, hard tea or peach flavored. That middle option would have been a natural fit — look out, 2024 — but instead we got a sea of peach mixed with some Simply standbys.

That doesn’t mean the new lineup is just peach lemonade. In fact, this extension leaves its roots behind and there’s nary a drop of lemon in the entire lineup. Instead, we’re getting fizzy Georgia fruit with strawberry, mango and kiwi to fill out the sampler.

The company that forced its way into a crowded marketplace is at it again. Can the sequel live up to a well received debut?

Beverage of the week: Surprisingly, Darren Rovell makes 3 pretty good canned cocktails (and one terrible one)

I regret to inform you Darren Rovell makes a pretty good cocktail. Except the raspberry. Don’t get the raspberry.

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.

Darren Rovell is — how do I put this diplomatically — a divisive figure in the sports landscape. He’s a comprehensive reporter whose hustle never ends and helped popularize the sports business beat. He also carries himself online as the living embodiment of #brands and once emailed the University of Michigan to complain about one of its graduate students mocking him online, only to later be mocked online by the University of Michigan.

But what’s undeniable is the former ESPN talking head and current Action Network reporter has an expansive reach and an battle-tested understanding of influence and monetization across athletics. You can find this out for yourself if you’re willing to drop $89 on a Cameo from him. Or you can be like me, write a booze column and wait for your interests to intersect.

This happened back in February, because Darren Rovell, a man who charges nearly four times more for a recorded video hello than Olympic gold medalist, American hero, Figure It Out host and woman who makes Sixpence None the Richer songs play in my head each time I see her, Summer Sanders, founded his own canned cocktail line. Then he sent me some to try for this review.

KickStand isn’t your regular vodka-soda slim can. The baseline flavors are mostly there — lime, pineapple, cucumber and peach — but the twist comes with an infusion of “artisanal spice” aimed at blending elements of hard seltzer and spicy margaritas together in one drink. At 5.5 percent ABV and 103 calories it packs more of a boozy punch than most seltzers or light beers, so we’re already winning in that regard.

Hell, I like a good habanero stout every now and then. Let’s see if the flavor can match the hype.

Beverage of the Week: High Noon is coming for that tailgate market and the results are… fine

High Noon’s new flavors don’t add much to the lineup. But they’re still better than most seltzers.

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.

I’m already on board with High Noon’s vodka-soda mixers. I came into the Pool Pack expecting a hard seltzer wannabe but instead got the Transformers to White Claw’s inferior GoBots.

This made me unreasonably excited for the company’s next mix pack, a fall(ish)-themed combination of flavors aimed at stocked coolers in parking lots across North America. High Noon’s Tailgate pack follows the brand standard; eight cans and four flavors for roughly $15, depending on where you live. Those flavors:

  • Black cherry
  • Pear
  • Cranberry
  • Grapefruit

Eclectic! I’m not sure I’d associate 75 percent of those flavors with grills and cornhole, but I appreciate the effort. And I’m gonna do some work to drink at least a couple of them in the proper environment.

This week, I ventured out from Madison to what used to be Miller Park to partake in the best tailgating scene in baseball. Even better, I had the chance to watch the nihilistic nightmare for which I’ve been rooting since I was six years old (the Pittsburgh Pirates) and the local team who somehow knew the exact expiration date of Josh Hader’s pitching abilities (19.06 ERA, 3.53 WHIP since being traded from Milwaukee to San Diego).

Complicating matters was my 4-year-old daughter, who was significantly more interested in the escalators at the stadium than the game itself and had entirely too many questions about port-a-potties. It was just the two of us that day, a bonding moment where we could discuss the consequence of bad decisions (my three decades watching the Buccos mostly vomit off the side of the boat, not writing these articles).

It also led to roughly 300 questions per minute. This ensured that:

a) I very much needed a drink.

b) I couldn’t drink too much.

That made the 4.5 percent ABV High Noons a worthy selection for a day game. Would they stand up to the 85 degree heat and a sun-baked parking lot? Would they ease the pain of hearing 35 straight jokes whose punchlines are “Mr. Poopyhead?” Well, let’s find out.