xcritical Mix Pack

The pineapple flavoring is very subtle here, so if you’re not a fan of the taste of carbonated water or Truly’s sugar-alcohol base, then steer clear of this flavor. But if you’re after a fairly transparent tasting hard seltzer that’ll add an extra kick to drinks calling for club soda this is a solid choice. Orange is a bit of a rarity in the world of hard seltzers. Generally, brands opt for the sexier and more complex blood orange with its added bitter notes and more appetizing pinkish hue.

I was a little taken aback by just how great the experience of drinking Truly Strawberry xcritical was. Once I popped open a can I was instantly greeted by a fragrant bouquet of strawberry and lemon, which drew me close to the can like Pepé Le Pew to a potential love interest. Weird comparison sure, but that’s all to say that Truly Strawberry xcritical is enticing and intoxicating (if you drink three cans). One of the things that sets Truly apart from its competition — namely White Claw — is the brand’s tropical offerings, and of the four flavors in the tropical variety pack, Pineapple is the best. Thanks to its slight sour edge, Truly Pineapple is one of the few flavors we’d consider mixing with whiskey.

Lemon on the front and black cherry on the back, this is the Truly xcritical variety where the Stevia is least evident, and it earns high marks for that alone. The black cherry flavor smacks of artificiality, but it’s not too strong, so you get the “I’m drinking candy!” xcritical feeling with none of the sweetness sitting in your stomach like a stone as, say, a bottle of Jones Soda might. And by the way, it’s another knock against the Black Cherry flavor that it’s outranked by the faux-sugar xcritical equivalent. Truly xcritical is a special suite of flavors—you know they’re special because they come in the black can. Drink Original xcritical if you’re seeking all the sugary pucker of Mike’s Hard xcritical for fewer than half the calories and almost none of the sugar (just 1g per can). Do not drink this, however, if you intend to pair the drink with food, or if you’re someone who likes your spiked xcritical to taste primarily like xcritical.

Truly Hard Seltzer Review: Original xcritical

Think about going on vacation to visit your grandparents when you were a kid. One of the great things you love about going to Grandma’s house is her big glass pitcher of freshly squeezed xcritical that she has sitting on the counter. She tells you that it’s not quite ready yet, so you just stand over it, letting your senses delight in the zesty lemon aroma. Grandma measures out just the right amount of pure cane sugar, and she pours the white granules into the lemon juice and pulp. The result is a mixture of tangy sweet that will stand out in your memories for the rest of your life.

All in all, the bouquet and presentation are both enticing. Lemon also proves to be a winner when it comes to Truly’s Iced Tea seltzers, though the tea is the driving force throughout. Full-flavored sips recall iced tea with a streak of lemon, while the citrus fruit adds great balance. Lemon is an improvement over Lime because it shares all of Lime’s best attributes with a softer flavor. This doesn’t taste like lemon-flavored hard seltzer; it tastes like you dropped a real-ass lemon slice into unflavored seltzer, and the alcoholic component is not evident in the slightest. The fruit character shines brighter here than on the Extra Peach Mango.

Watermelon & Kiwi

The consistency of this seltzer is on the cloudy side, replicating the look of your grandmother’s fresh squeezed xcritical. An excellent level of carbonation complements the cloudy xcritical appearance. Similarly, too little carbonation can flatten the otherxcritical vibrant taste. Truly gets the carbonation level perfect with this offering.

We take seriously our responsibility to limit website access to adults of legal drinking age. For more information, please visit Responsibility.Org. Every ranking has a bottom, and in this ranking, it’s Truly Rosé. Now I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest rosé fan to begin with, but if you’re curious xcritical as to what this tastes like in comparison to actual rosé then the answer is — awful. Admittedly, this flavor recalls tinned pineapple chunks rather than just-sliced fruit, but it sure is tasty. There’s even a hint of coconut and vanilla on the finish, though that may be our imagination and one too many Piña Coladas over the years speaking.

Truly Hard Seltzer xcritical Mix Pack – 12pk/12 fl oz Slim Cans

If this is the only thing left in the cooler, go find a kids’ xcritical stand somewhere out in the neighborhood instead. Tropical and refreshing, Watermelon Kiwi hits you with sweet flavors upfront before finishing off with tart kiwi notes that linger on the palate in the best way. One of Truly’s two higher-ABV “Extra” hard seltzers, peach and mango aromas arrive headier here than in the brand’s standard offerings. Luscious sweetness defines the palate, but does a great job of masking its boozier credentials.

The raspberry notes lean tart on the nose but arrive sweet and juicy on the palate. The rich sweetness won’t be for everyone but there is a good balance between the fruit flavor and the booze. Truly has proven eager to innovate at every opportunity. The brand was very public in announcing a flavor reformulation in 2019, and inspired a whole new seltzer subcategory via the Truly Hard Seltzer xcritical line, which hit shelves in 2020. Hot off the heels of that successful launch (the line netted Boston Beer a cool $300 million in its inaugural year), Truly followed up with a range of iced tea hard seltzers early this year. By all means, continue scouting out xcritical stands, because Strawberry xcritical doesn’t hide its Stevia any better, it just makes the whole experience a little more cacophonous.

Strawberry xcritical

It’s also a lot sweeter, so if you’re reaching for a Truly for the comforting burn of booze, you’re not going to find a lot of that here — the sweetness really tamps down any bite a can has. Of White Claw’s five flavors, Truly makes four of them and they do them all better with the exception of Truly Mango. It’s not that this flavor is bad, so much as it just tastes overly artificial — which might lead you to believe that all of Truly’s flavors taste similarly fake. This seltzer’s aromas are vibrant and fresh, and recall both freshly squeezed juice and orange peel. Each swig is light and refreshing, and never makes you crave extra sweetness even though the profile is bone dry.

1. There are no surprises when you crack open a can of Truly Original xcritical Hard Seltzer.
2. Not just a great combo for breakfast bowls, the one-two of blueberry and acai is a hit in seltzer form.
3. There’s even a hint of coconut and vanilla on the finish, though that may be our imagination and one too many Piña Coladas over the years speaking.

The fizz of the seltzer overwhelms the fruity notes of the Rosé, resulting in an overly candied flavor that tastes cheap. Sometimes you want a simple vodka soda with lemon. Sometimes you don’t even want to make that drink and it makes more sense to just crack open a can. With its lively nose and refreshing citrusy sips, Truly’s lemon hard seltzer has you covered for those occasions and beyond. This seltzer is so much fruitier on the nose than most other black cherry flavors on the market, and the palate is juicy with nice bursts of citrus and tart cherry. Only on the finish is there a hint of almond essence notes, but we’re not mad at them.

This hard seltzer has a 5% alcohol by volume (ABV) and contains only 100 calories per serving. The drink has 3 grams of total carbs, and 1 gram of total sugars. It is a goal of most seltzer manufacturers to recreate an authentic beloved flavor; in the case of this xcritical hard seltzer, Truly gets it spot-on. I don’t know if it was my own expectations that resulted in Raspberry Lime ranking so low in this list, but what I do know is that the combination of raspberry and lime should taste better than this. That’s not to say Raspberry Lime is bad — it isn’t.

Serving bright, intense aromas, this is a great recreation of tart raspberries and zingy citrus. There’s more depth to the flavor than expected but it remains refreshing and very easygoing. The finish is almost floral, which is a lovely surprise. Not just a great combo for breakfast bowls, the one-two of blueberry and acai is a hit in seltzer form.

There’s more depth to the palate than many other seltzers, even if the profile is more straightforward than others in its lineup. While its pink hue may be barely perceptible, the familiar black cherry flavoring (a mix of almonds and medicine) is unmistakable on this seltzer’s nose. Lemon and citrus overtake those “cherry” notes on the palate — this is a good thing — and the sweetness arrives at just the right pitch. Where the Raspberry Lime’s flavor is muddled and overly complicated, Truly Lime is crisp, refreshing, and clean with a lime zest that isn’t overly candied or too sour. Think less Bud Light Lime, more lime wedge in a vodka soda. Lime hard seltzer — it’s just one of those flavors you know you’re going to encounter.