Something & Nothing Yuzu Seltzer – 12 x 330 ml

Product Information

Anyway, as New Zealand is now experiencing its very own seltzer summer, The Spinoff decided to review and rank as many as we could find. That ended up being 36 different flavours, from 10 or so brands (we did it over three sessions on three consecutive days). It’s not all the seltzers available in New Zealand, but damn near. The tasting set-up (Photo: Lucy Reymer) All our Premium Sodas contain grape juice and lemon juice to give balance and a full flavour. Our Premium Sodas are naturally low in calories - under 57 calories per can (11oz) Yuzu is a delicious citrus fruit from Asia. It's flavour has notes of grapefuit, lime and tangerine French Sauvignon Blanc (34.6%), Carbonated Water, Concentrated Grape Juice, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Cucumber Extract (0.2%), Natural Flavourings. Sparkling water, cucumber extract, concentrated grape juice, concentrated lemon juice, natural flavourings.

Sure, adaptogen-infused drinks have existed prior to Droplet’s launch and the trend continues to grow, but that doesn’t mean the beverages have always felt particularly appealing. “We're at the beginning of the adaptogen trend right now and we could see that they've really only been used two ways: for mens' high performance or for the New Age woman, who presumably already knew about alternative therapies,” said Perez. “There are millions of us who don't identify with either of these categories—some of us just want a little bit of a health boost without too much granola.” Great with: lunch, brunch or evening meal. This refreshment bomb is as versatile as it is delicious. Also great as a mezcal or tequila mixer.If your fave isn’t in the top 10, sorry, but don’t take it to heart. Taste is, of course, subjective, and the thing about the hard seltzer – as I told a couple of tasters who asked me what attributes one should look out for in determining a good seltz from a shit one – is that it is not a complex beverage. As The Atlantic put it in 2019: “It’s cold, drinkable, and doesn’t taste like much. It neatly satisfies young consumers’ desires for affordable, convenient, portable, low-calorie, healthy-seeming alcohol options. In other words, it’s the perfect drink for people exhausted by rules.” Enjoy.

We’re listing the top 10 here with tasting notes, followed by some of the other acceptable-scoring seltzers. We’re not naming the brands we liked least, but have included some of our less flattering comments for your amusement. Shake. Add the whisky, lemon juice, yuzu juice, simple syrup and egg white into a shaker and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. This drink is like a holiday in a can, hence having the picture of a holiday on the can, not a cucumber as you might expect.... we like a bit of semiotic tomfoolery.

This drink is an attractive pale pink. On tasting, the flavours all burst through. There is a fullness and delicacy, which is a wonderful combination– the idea of a summer evening and a whole bottle of this is delightful! The fragrance on the nose with the delicate balance of the fruit is so attractive, and the fact there is no added sugar is also a bonus. This is a modern Spritz (4%) that is deeply refreshing, complex and delicious. It tastes like serendipity, quenches curiosity.

French Rosé (34.6%), Carbonated Water, Concentrated Grape Juice, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Rose Extract (0.2%), Hibiscus Extract (0.2%), Natural Flavourings. Lunar Hard Seltzer Lychee– This is the brightest flavor of the three offerings, owing to the punchier sweetness of Thai lychee fruit itself, and still maintaining a balanced sweetness of the accentuated fruit as opposed to being overtaken by added sweeteners. The maltiness again is more pronounced here than the Plum expression. This again is very drinkable, with an alcohol level that is almost forgettable. 4.5% abv. B+ For the chili tincture: Fill a quart container with halved habanero chilies. Fill the container with a high proof neutral grain spirit, such as Everclear. Wait three days, shaking the container every day. Strain using a double strainer and taste for level of heat. Thin with vodka if it’s too spicy. Seven Spice Sour Eric Medsker

Every seltzer was tasted blind by a rotating panel of between five and nine Spinoffers, from seasoned seltzer consumers to first-timers, with the tasting expertly conducted by office manager Lucy Reymer. Each taster gave each seltzer a mark out of 10, which were averaged out to calculate the final scores (sorry about the decimal points, we’re a precise bunch).

Suze is, plainly, a bitter aperitif (which we are no strangers to here). The main ingredient is gentian root, specifically the species gentiana lutea (Great Yellow Gentian), which imparts the bitter, vegetal flavors the drink is known for. Gentian is also used in a number of other beverages — both alcoholic and non-alcoholic — such as Gentian (obvious, right?) and the soft drink, Moxie. The plant grows in Switzerland and France, which is a great segue into ... Lemon Juice: for the freshest flavor, use freshly squeezed lemon juice. I prefer to use meyer lemon because they have a subtly sweeter flavor but you can use any lemons you want. The flavors are a revelation; comforting to those of us familiar with them, and enticing for seltzer fans ready to try something new. Thankfully, Roco isn’t the only person capitalizing on the flare of Asian flavors. There’s adaptogen-infused seltzers streaked with the zip of yuzu, hard seltzers that capture the subtlety of dragonfruit, and sparkling waters infused with sweet-and-salty ume.All our Premium Sodas contain grape juice and lemon juice to give balance and a full flavour. Our Premium Sodas are naturally low in calories - under 41 calories per can (330ml).