Hard seltzers have taken the liquor industry by storm in the past few years. If you’ve visited your local liquor store lately, you’ll notice dozens of new brands and legacy beer brands with their own spin-off. The industry is booming, and is expected to grow to $14.5 billion by 2027. Everyone is getting in on the action, and the hard seltzer selection is growing to rival that of beer.
Seltzers are similar to beer in a way, as they also come in cans and contain roughly the same amount of alcohol by volume as beer, but they’re quite different. Instead of barley, grain and hops, hard seltzers are infused with fruit flavours and hard alcohol – most typically vodka or gin.
For many, this new player is a welcome addition to the liquor store shelves. It appears there were plenty of people looking for something new, whether because beer makes them feel a little bloated or they just plain don’t like the taste.
In this article, we’re going to curate some of our favourite hard seltzer options in order to make your next liquor store trip a little smoother:
Truly
Truly is one of the most well-known hard seltzer brands with over 30 flavours in total. They’re made with real fruit juice and have no trace of artificial flavours or sweeteners. Plus, every 12oz can sits at 5% ABV, comes in under 110 calories, and includes just 1 gram of sugar. You can find just about any flavour under the sun, but the most recognized Truly cases are their berry, citrus and tropical mix packs.
Vizzy
Vizzy is another big seltzer brand similar to Truly, but they’re proud to be the first seltzer packed with vitamin C. So you can get your vitamins while you’re getting your buzz on. Each can is 100 calories and 5% ABV – the standard for seltzers. Vizzy makes far less flavours than Truly, but there are some delicious ones, and each is made with Acerola cherry. Their signature flavours are Raspberry Tangerine, Watermelon Strawberry, Black Cherry Lime, Blackberry Lemon and Papaya Passionfruit.
White Claw
White Claw is recognized as the brand that ushered hard seltzers into the mainstream, going completely viral when it hit the store shelves in 2016. Today, White Claw is the fourth largest brewing company in the United States. They’ve since developed dozens of flavours and even their own vodka line, but their classic products remain Black Cherry, Mango and Natural Lime.
Hornitos
Hornitos is a classic tequila brand from Jalisco, Mexico that’s been around since the 1950s. Now, they’ve got their own seltzer beverage – and it’s delicious. Hornitos seltzers are made with Plata tequila, and come in three flavours: Mango, Pineapple and Passionfruit. In each can, you’ll get a strong whiff of juicy aroma and taste the bold agave character.
High Noon
High Noon Seltzers are made with both vodka and tequila, spotted by their bright blue and yellow logo. The brand is owned by an old company that makes products like Barefoot, Carlo Rossi and Manischewitz wine. Each flavour is made with real juice and sparkling water, contains no added sugar, and sits at 100 calories. They’ve got a handful of variety packs available, and classic individual flavours like Pear, Cranberry, Lemon, Kiwi, Guava, Mango, Peach and many more.
Flying Embers
Flying Embers is a hard seltzer brand with by far the most interesting flavour combinations we’ve seen. They’ve got two main lines: Botanicals & Bitters, and Sweet & Heat. The botanicals pack comes with Cranberry Raspberry, Black Lime Juniper and Blood Orange. The sweet and heat pack comes with Pineapple Cayenne, Watermelon Chili and Guava Jalapeño.
Corona
Everyone knows about Corona, one of the Mexican beer brands in the world. Now they’ve entered the hard seltzer game with their new Corona Hard Seltzer. Just like classic Corona, these seltzers are ideal for beach days in the sun. They’ve come out with two flavour packs, Berry and Tropical, which include flavours like Blackberry Citrus, Strawberry Kiwi, Blueberry Acai and Raspberry Lemon.
Amass
Amass is a brand known for their heavy use of botanicals in their spirits, but also self care products like hand soaps, sanitizers and mists. More recently, they’re come out with their own line of hard seltzers made with botanical extracts and organic cane sugar. And they’ve got some super interesting flavours that incorporate botanicals like hibiscus, ginger, oak, turmeric, vanilla, mandarin, jasmine, cardamom and more.
Mike’s Hard Lemonade
Mike’s Hard Lemonade has been around for years, known for their classic hard lemonades. They were super delicious, but packed with sugar. Their new Hard Lemonade Seltzers come with just 100 calories and 1 gram of sugar. Plus, you can get them in four lemon-y flavours such as classic Lemon, Strawberry, Mango and Pineapple.
If you’re looking to stock up on hard seltzers, head on down to your nearest Springs Group liquor store. We’ve got a great selection of seltzers, plus craft beer wine, spirits and everything in between. From Vancouver to Chilliwack, we’ve got pubs, liquor stores and cannabis dispensaries for all your needs.
