Battle of the Seltzers

Contributions & Photos by Jayce Kadoun | Design by Krista Kok

Many people share the same problem at the end of the day, yet some feel that they suffer alone. The inability to choose which hard seltzer to drink impacts Americans across the country, and with so many brands and flavors to choose from, it’s no wonder why this problem is so prevalent. 

The truth behind the struggle of hard seltzer shopping is that the people involved are not alone. Everyone wants to know which brands taste the best and how to get their money’s worth, but to guess what brand is superior can be hard to determine. That’s why I set out to find the best hard seltzer flavors for the price and for the greater good.

It seems that White Claw, Truly, Bud Lite and Smirnoff Seltzers are some of the most popular drinks on the corner store shelves these days. So I took it upon myself to shop around and perform rigorous taste tests to break down what defines these beverages. 

The CLAW

With their recent additions of mango, tangerine, lemon and watermelon to the White Claw family, the brand is certainly a top competitor in the battle of the seltzers — but is it the best?  

The ‘variety pack’ of Claws comes with a mixture of the 12 flavors and will cost you between $14 and $18 on average. It took awhile for the new flavor pack to hit the shelves, but they can now be found pretty much anywhere White Claws are sold. You can also purchase the drinks in single flavor six packs for $8 to $9 and individually packaged tallboy cans in the $2 to $3 range. 

Of the new flavors, I can’t say I have a favorite. They all live up to the expectations I have for White Claw. Based on the original round of flavors they made, I had pretty high hopes for the new variety pack and it delivered. The lemon flavor reminds me of Sprite, and the tangerine is unlike anything I have tried from other brands. Overall, I give the Claws five-out-of-five stars. 

Truly Not So Great

Truly released a line of four new lemonade flavors early this year. Their ‘mix pack’ is similar to White Claw’s in price and will run you about $14 to $18 depending on where you pick them up. As far as flavors go, the lemonade pack includes black cherry, original, mango and strawberry. They sell the original lemonade flavor in a 24-ounce can as well for $2 to $3.

Of the four brands mentioned, these new Trulys were my least favorite. Though they’re marketed as a hard seltzer, I felt they did not contain enough carbonation to fall under that category. They came off as extremely sweet to me, and the flavors sort of blended together so much that I couldn’t really tell the difference between them. The Truly drinks get a two-star rating in my book.

Bud Lite is Alright

Bud Lite’s new Post Malone-endorsed seltzers come in 12 packs of flavors that include black cherry, lemon lime, strawberry and mango. They cost about the same as other packs of the same caliber, and with similar flavors to those included in the tried-and-true White Claw packs; one can only wonder if they hold a torch to the OG.

They have a taste similar to Claws, but I think Bud Lite has put enough of their own charm into these seltzers that they stand alone as a qualified competitor. Even though their pack comes with some of the same flavors, Bud’s versions certainly contain a taste all their own. I think the Bud Lite Seltzers deserve a four-star rating.

Smirnoff Knocks Socks Off

Smirnoff got creative with their twist on the classic hard seltzer. Cross-bred flavors like cranberry lime, berry lemonade, raspberry rosé and piña colada make up their variety pack. The asking price typically falls between $12 and $16 for these, and the six packs they offer with individual flavors go for $8 to $10 on average. 

Smirnoff has changed the seltzer game with these flavors. Piña colada is by far my favorite, but all the options offered in the pack are extremely unique and taste great. These drinks don’t get enough exposure in my opinion and if people start giving them a shot, they might just become the hottest new hard seltzer. They deserve at least four-and-a-half stars.

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