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About a month ago a new child was born into the seltzer family - Bud Light (?!). But wait - isn't that beer? ...the first words out of mine and just about every body else's mouth. How will this work? Will it be flavored beer? Is there gluten in it? Sounds a little gross. Turns out - it's a normal seltzer just like the rest of them. While seltzers have faded out of my diet during the winter months, soon concert season will be upon us, and it would be truly foolish not to be prepared. So I've taken it upon myself to taste test the newest addition to all our seltzer repositories - you know, only for your guys😉
The one main difference I can find between Bud Light and other seltzer varieties (White Claw, Truly, Spiked Seltzer, Wild Basin) is the strawberry flavor. I could understand how they'd want to include this to set them apart, but if I'm reaching for a pink can, I would always rather a grapefruit than anything else. The rest are your standard flavors (don't be fooled by thee orange color - this is mango - which, as a mango claw fan myself, is what sparked my interested to begin with).
What's Inside:
Available in four flavors: black cherry, lemon lime, mango and strawberry. Each can is on par with most seltzers, weighing in at 100 calories, 5% alcohol and less than one gram of sugar.
The Verdict:
Mango:
Starting off with what I was most interested in. The Mango Claws have been my go to since they made their debut, so it was going to take a miracle for this to blow it out of the water. While I'll admit I might not have gone in fully open-minded, I was a bit disappointed. The Bud Light version of mango tasted almost... chemically? After reading Syracuse.com's writeup, I'd agree, the drink tastes almost peach-like. Not my cup of t̶e̶a̶ - ahem - bubbly, but if you like peach by all means.
Lemon-Lime:
I like it. Honestly, didn't taste much of a difference between this and other brands. Lime is a close second for me when it comes to hard seltzers in general, for the reason it's typically dry and mild in flavor. The Bud Light version was absolutely not too sweet or overbearing, so it's a win for me! Would I buy a variety pack of this over the Claw? No, but I definitely wouldn't turn a can down.
(Side note: when writing my first draft of this blog, I listed the flavor as just "lime" because it tastes just that. You really don't get much of the lemon flavor.)
Black Raspberry:
This is by far my favorite of the Bud Light's flavors. I know many people are turned off by black cherry (notably the only cans left sitting in a well-scavenged variety pack) but I've always been a fan. And Bud Light did it perfectly. Again, it was dry and refreshing, and by the end of the can, it doesn't begin tasting like that bright pink medicine your mom forced you to choke down when you were a kid (let's face it, when a can of seltzer gets warm, the flavor starts doing all kinds of funky things). Out of the entire pack, this is my go-to.
Strawberry:
Ahhhh, strawberry. I left you for last on my list because I'm still so intrigued by you. I still don't know how I 100% feel about this as a seltzer flavor. The first few sips I love it - it tastes nothing like everything else I've tried before. And, not to say I'm the biggest fan of other raspberry seltzers (the closest comparison since strawberry has not been done before). But when I think back to my ultimate favorite, mango, I could not imagine buying a 12-pack of just strawberry and drinking them at a tailgate the way I could mango. After a while, the taste gets too sweet, but again, if sweet is your thing, you'll find the strawberry to be right up your alley.
If I had to rank the Bud Light seltzers in order from most to least favorite, I'd go with:
1. Black Cherry
2. Lemon-Lime
3. Strawberry
4. Mango
While I'm not sure I'll be regularly buying these any time soon, I think it's important to note that Bud Light is a local company, and for this reason alone I'm in full support of them entering the seltzer arena. I'm interested to see how these fare come concert/beach season, and want to hear your thought, too! I compared Bud Light to White Claw, but what brand is your favorite? Comment below!
xx jess