6 minute read
IN THE DRINK
by All At Sea
BY PAUL ANTROBUS In the drink With Paul Antrobus
ard i e
This month Paul Antrobus has been trying a hard alcohol with a soft fruity touch.
Hard 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 fi ve per cent abv and fruit fl avouring.
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 fl avours 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 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 artifi cial 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 defi nite slightly tart fl avour 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 fi zz is quite slight.
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 fl avour. They were better chilled with ice.
Sales Growth 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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Wordwheel: DASHBOARD
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. Cheers for Volunteers! 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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Codeword
WHIMSICAL RECAP O N I O Y E R I UPEND VINTAGE O N F I E X C D N DEFINITE STROKE A G D I E J IBE HELICOPTER I L A R V N H E THEOLOGIAN QUID T I O H M ENAMEL SQUABBLE R O N P U N N N B REALISE DRAFT U T T T E L I R GLAZE HORSEPLAY
Editor Jane Hyde Puzzle Page 56.indd 3079 402 403 90 editor@allatsea.co.uk
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ontributor David Henshall Simon Everett Paul Antrobus
dverti ing and i tribution irector John Baggaley - 07740 118 928 john@allatsea.co.uk
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ccount accounts@allatsea.co.uk
eneral en uirie john@allatsea.co.uk
ffice 01954 583617
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10/05/2022 3:03:03
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