I’ve never really reviewed hard soda before, nor have I had much experience drinking any; there were the “Not Your Father’s” line of Root Beer and Vanilla Cream some years back, and maybe one or two others over the years, but it’s not a category I see much presence of in the market, so I’ve never really had the opportunity.
However a few months back I received a collection of hard sodas from Owl’s Brew, a company that crafts canned cocktails, which had just released its line of Spiked Pop. Owl’s Brew creates botanically-driven drinks with real ingredients, and that approach to these hard sodas reflects that approach, which include ingredients such as vanilla bean, hibiscus, green and white teas, real fruit juices, and more. The tagline is, “Hard soda, done clean.”
They are low in sugar as well: each can contains only five grams of carbs per 355ml (12 ounces), with 110 calories. There are seven flavors so far: Black Cherry, Pineapple Dew, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Hibiscus, The Doc, Cream Soda, and Watermelon Lime.
With 4.8% alcohol by volume, they are at the other end of the soda spectrum, so to speak, from those like Stiller’s Soda (which I’ve also reviewed). I was pretty intrigued by these when I received them, not knowing quite what to expect. One thing I found interesting as I was working my way through the flavors is that nearly all of them include tea as a major ingredient (green, white, black, or rooibos).
All of the varieties share the same stats per can (mentioned above) so I won’t re-list those stats individually. Let’s get into reviews!
Lemon Lime
I started with what I judged to be the lightest, but also potentially the most familiar. The website’s brief description says:
Bright, zesty, and wildly refreshing. Fresh lemon and lime juice meet crisp bubbles for a sparkling finish that actually tastes real. And oops, we spiked it.
The ingredients listed on the can are: Sparkling water, raspberry leaves, alcohol from cane sugar, cane sugar, lemon juice concentrate, lime juice concentrate, Red M.
My notes: Pale yellow, almost milky white. Not much aroma, and what I get is largely lime, with a touch of bottled lemon juice character (acidic); there’s maybe a bit of crushed herbal greens (the raspberry leaves?). It has an herbal taste as well, almost like a hop water, but it also makes me think of tobacco leaf; the citrus is dialed back and it’s not overly sweet. The lemon-lime character is nice and bright albeit mellow. It’s a bit too herbal in my opinion, giving it something akin to a medicinal character, and doesn’t really drink like soda pop, but more like a citrus hard seltzer.
Cream Soda
Continuing in the “lighter” vein, I do enjoy a good cream soda, so I was excited to try this one. The website says:
Smooth, creamy, and made with real vanilla. This nostalgic classic just got a boozy up upgrade.
p.s. Add some Vanilla Ice cream for an unforgettable Spiked Float
Ingredients: Sparkling water, organic green rooibos, vanilla bean, alcohol from cane sugar, cane sugar, citric acid, Red M.
My notes: Golden color, clear, looks like a beer actually. The aroma gives vanilla bean with a touch of tea, mellow but overall I get “cream soda” from it. There is definitely tea in the flavor and a perfumy, flowery vanilla character that’s reminiscent of cream soda but is strongly “iced tea with vanilla extract” along with a bit of sweetness. Not a sweat tea level of sugar, it’s pretty mellow and not cloying. “Floral” is the main descriptor I think I’d settle on here, as much vanilla blossom as bean.
Watermelon Lime
This could be a fun flavor combination in a craft soda, not one that I’ve had before (though I’m sure I’ve had a sour beer with this combo). The website says:
Juicy watermelon meets zesty lime in a crisp sparkling mash-up that tastes like peak summer energy.
Made with real juice, brewed botanicals, better bubbles, and no weird stuff. It’s hard soda that grew up.
Ingredients: Sparkling water, organic white tea, alcohol from cane sugar, cane sugar, lime juice concentrate, raspberry juice concentrate, watermelon juice concentrate, citric acid, Red M.
My notes: Smells like ripe, freshly-cut watermelon, seeds and all, with a bite of lime/citric acid at the back. The color matches the color of watermelon juice. The flavor is a bit earthy, more watermelon rind than fruit, and I get a fair amount of the tea with a little pop of lime. Similar to the Cream Soda, it reads more “iced tea with fruit” than as a soda, with mellow sweetness. I want more watermelon flavor to match what I get in the aroma.
Strawberry Hibiscus
I feel like strawberry soda in general should have a big, sweet, berry character and bright red color; that isn’t really the case with this flavor, unfortunately. The website says:
Bright strawberry and vibrant hibiscus come together in a juicy Spiked Pop that’s slightly tart, super refreshing, and wildly delicious.
Made with real juice, brewed botanicals, better bubbles, and no weird stuff. It’s hard soda that grew up.
Ingredients: Sparkling water, organic black tea, organic hibiscus, alcohol from cane sugar, cane sugar, lemon juice concentrate, strawberry juice concentrate, raspberry juice concentrate, Red M.
My notes: It’s kind of a pinkish-gold color, and tea and hibiscus are the prominent aromatic notes; it’s herbal and floral, and I don’t really get any berry from it. There’s tea in the flavor, but also a mellow, slightly artificial, strawberry syrup-like flavor that’s reminiscent of aspartame; maybe that’s a contribution from the hibiscus? Or just something in the strawberry juice doesn’t work with the tea? Either way, it’s a touch medicinal and herbal, with a bump of sweet but leaving an artificial-y aftertaste.
Pineapple Dew
This was another flavor that sounded pretty interesting to me; I was envisioning a pineapple Mountain Dew, I suppose, which seems like a great idea to me. The description says:
Tropical and electric. Juicy pineapple flavor with crisp bubbles and a bright finish that keeps things extra refreshing.
Made with real juice, brewed botanicals, better bubbles, and no weird stuff. It’s hard soda that grew up.
Ingredients: Sparkling water, organic black tea, chamomile, alcohol from cane sugar, pineapple juice concentrate, cane sugar, lemon juice concentrate, citric acid, Red M.
My notes: Yellow color as I’d expect, and the aroma has tea as I’d expect at this point, along with a tart note that I can’t quite place, maybe a combination of lemon juice and pure citric acid or maybe even a kombucha-like character. No real pineapple in the aroma. In the flavor there is subtle pineapple, but it’s not very strong—I would have liked more of a pronounced pineapple juice flavor—and it’s blended with the herbal tea that’s been characteristic of these past few sodas. It doesn’t quite work as well as it should.
Black Cherry
This is another I was interested to try and had high hopes for, because I do like cherry as a soda flavor (both directly and as an accompaniment to say, cola). This one includes hibiscus as well as cherry. The website says:
Dark cherry with a juicy hibiscus twist. Smooth, bold, and just sweet enough. Deep, crushable, and a little flirty.
Made with real juice, brewed botanicals, better bubbles, and no weird stuff. It’s hard soda that grew up.
Ingredients: Sparkling water, organic black tea, organic hibiscus, alcohol from cane sugar, cherry juice concentrate, cane sugar, citric acid, Red M.
My notes: Attractive crimson red color, nicely clear. Tea again is the main aromatic quality, with a bit of cherry juice behind it; there’s no real presence of hibiscus that I can detect. In the flavor, it has more of a soda quality than the previous few, where I’m getting some sweet cherry and a touch of herbal hibiscus tart character, underpinned by the black tea. It’s a bit of a blend of cherry soda and iced tea, one of the better flavors in the lineup.
The Doc
Finally, The Doc, which as I noted in my review notes, just has to be inspired by Dr. Pepper, as it has longer list of herbs and spices in the ingredients. The short version—yes, sort of, but… more like a sarsaparilla. The description says:
A grown-up twist on the classic soda you already love. Same familiar, nostalgic flavor. Cleaner ingredients, crisper finish, with a spike.
Made with brewed botanicals, better bubbles, and no weird stuff. It’s hard soda that grew up.
Ingredients: Sparkling water, green tea, dandelion root, dried cherry, orange peel, vanilla, mint, cloves, cardamom, ginger, licorice, pepper, alcohol from cane sugar, cane sugar, cherry juice concentrate, citric acid, Red M.
My notes: Based on the ingredients list this seems like the most interesting of the bunch (obviously based on Dr. Pepper). It’s rather pink, a dark pink in color, and the aroma initially reminds me of root beer but then it grows more herbal, something akin to an herbal liqueur, with pepper, fruits, and mint in particular present. It tastes something like an herbal root beer as well, spicy, with a lot going on; it’s a medley of mint, cloves, green cardamom, orange peel, some licorice, some raw ginger, green tea, and more—almost all the ingredients can be distinguished, I think. There’s a minty touch of menthol character as well. It’s definitely interesting, a little different, but does it work? I think yes, as a kind of nostalgic sarsaparilla type soda.
Final thoughts
These are quite interesting, though not really what I was expecting; they are much more of a natural, herbal-based line of soda-tea blends, since the (black/white/green/rooibos) tea character is so prominent in them. That’s fine! I received three of each flavor (two variety packs) so I was able to revisit each and they grew on me as I drank them.
That natural character is the hook for these, and especially as they are low-calorie, low-sugar, I’m sure they will find (have found) an audience; these really are more of a lifestyle line of drinks than a straight soda line would otherwise be. They are also light enough in ABV to be sessionable while still scratching that alcohol itch.
You can find these at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, among other retailers, so they should be relatively easy to find if you’re curious and want to try them for yourself.
