Shortly after turning 21, like many, I went to the nearby liquor store to purchase alcohol for the first time. In general, I’m not a huge fan of the more bitter alcohol, so I wanted to start small with something with a more fruity taste. After a recommendation from my roommate, I ended up settling on Truly Lemonade, a hard seltzer that comes in four flavors — plain lemonade, strawberry, watermelon and mango. Being the opinionated person I am, I was quickly able to figure out which one was my favorite and rank them:
Plain Lemonade:
I’ll admit, I tried this one with the assumption that it wouldn’t be my favorite, which may have influenced the way I feel about it. To me, the plain lemonade flavor was definitely more bitter than the other flavors and I was slightly disappointed by the fact that. To me, it didn’t really taste like lemonade either. I couldn’t quite pinpoint the flavor that it actually tasted like, but it certainly didn’t remind me of the kind of refreshing lemonade that one would drink in the summer. I’d drink it again, but only if I really have to.
Watermelon:
In general, I tend to like watermelon-flavored drinks and sweets, so I expected that this would be a good choice. After tasting it, I was a little disappointed that the taste of watermelon wasn’t as strong as I expected. Its aftertaste, however, was still pretty good and it was definitely sweeter than the plain lemonade flavor. Overall, I much preferred watermelon to the plain lemonade flavor and will definitely have it again.
Strawberry:
With strawberry lemonade being a rather popular drink on its own, I hoped the strawberry flavor would live up to my expectations. Like watermelon, the initial taste of strawberry was not very potent, but it was still on the sweeter side, especially compared to the plain lemonade flavor, with the subtle sourness of strawberries, which was a mixture that I liked. I enjoyed this flavor about as much as I liked the watermelon, so, in terms of ranking, I’d say they’re in a solid tie.
Mango:
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I tried mango. A part of me hoped that it would be reminiscent of the Frooti mango juice that I would get from the Indian store when I was younger. However, mango lemonade isn’t a drink I know to exist, so I was not entirely sure how the flavors would mix. To my surprise, it really did taste and smell like it had been infused with mangoes, which was something I really liked. In addition, I felt the mango flavor was sweeter than the others and the fruity taste was stronger than that of the strawberry and watermelon. It may be a more acquired taste, and was definitely helped by the fact that I generally like the taste of mangoes and mango-flavored drinks; however, mango is certainly the one I would pick over the rest in a heartbeat.
Overall, Truly Lemonade is a good choice for anyone who is not looking for something too strong or bitter and for those who like bubbly, carbonated drinks with an added fruity taste.
