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In the drink With Paul Antrobus
BY PAUL ANTROBUS
ard i e
The lemon and lime was a bit like a weak lime squash, but the raspberry was certainly tangy, as it says on the tin, and the preferred flavour. They were better chilled with ice.
This month Paul Antrobus has been trying a hard alcohol with a soft fruity touch.
H
ard Seltzers have been a big deal in the US for years but have only recently migrated over here and been hailed as the latest boozy phenomenon (but no stronger than a regular beer). ‘Seltzer’ is an American term for the carbonated water we would call soda, as in Schweppes soda water, which is different from sparkling mineral water. What makes the seltzer ‘hard’ is the inclusion of pure neutral alcoholic spirit distilled from sugar beet, not grains. The hard seltzer drink is simply carbonated water mixed with alcohol of only four or five per cent abv and fruit flavouring. It has burst on to our supermarket shelves on the back of rising consumer interest in mixed fruit-based drinks and low calorie and low sugar content.
Choice is Yours
It seems this is a bit of a ‘me too’ category. There are more than a dozen brands all offering a range of real fruit flavours such as raspberry, peach, passion fruit, black cherry and lemon and lime. The 330ml cans all have bright modern graphics (but not psychedelic like the beer fruit mixes), cost around £2.50 and
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all have a mixed box offer of four or six to share at a big variety of cheaper unit prices. Many have the same or similar product claim on the packaging ‘alcoholic sparkling water, 100 calories, two grams of sugar, vegan and gluten free, no artificial sweeteners, tangy and refreshing’. My impromptu tasting panel tried TopoChico lemon and lime, Mike’s raspberry and White Claw raspberry, all from Tesco. The group agreed there is a definite slightly tart flavour from the alcoholic water but the chosen fruit additive is predominant. They have no colour, so look like plain water, so you have to smell or taste to tell them apart, and the fizz is quite slight.
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S C U H O A C R Y M S I R E S C G A R A A C O P Y I O S T D I E C U R F
Answer: YACHT
P P A O R L I C K H A Q I T A G E C C A T R U E E R P E E W
Jane Hyde 079 402 403 90 editor@allatsea.co.uk
Puzzle Page 56.indd 3
Art Editor
Mark Hyde design@allatsea.co.uk
ontributor
David Henshall Simon Everett Paul Antrobus
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Sudoku: Tough
Codeword
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Whatever your tipple to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, remember to say Cheers for Volunteers on Thank You Day. The actor Ross Kemp has called on the whole country to unite on 5 June to say thank you to all the volunteers who make such enormous contributions to our country. Those of us who take to the water in boats must not forget to say a special cheers to the many RNLI volunteers who give up their time to help save lives at sea.
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Sudoku: Moderate
Wordwheel: DASHBOARD
Editor
As a generalisation, the over 60s were not keen, although as you work through the can it gets nicer. But sales and supermarket shelf space devoted to them are growing, so it could be the
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Sudoku: Easy
Crossword P A P E R D N P I A N O U E S T I V A M I D S T E A R R Y E M E A F O O C U T H E R
Sales Growth
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younger generation of drinkers who are buying in, and there is no doubting Hard Seltzer has become a category. With the increased UK demand, it is not a surprise that cult American brands such as White Claw, which accounts for over half of the US Hard Seltzer sales, are making their way into British stores, while established names like Smirnoff and Kopparberg have been quick to jump on the bandwagon and launch their own versions.
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