Sometimes I need to take a break from wine – and I’ve had a few interesting beverages cross my table in the past few weeks. There’s a saying in Niagara that it takes a lot of beer to make good wine – but I wonder if anyone is starting to think about unsweetened Vodka cocktails… Yeah, I’m serious.
I know I’ve written about Social lite before – but there are some new flavours on the shelf this summer. When I got married last year we kept the vodka coolers in the fridge for people who didn’t want wine or beer. These canned drinks are something that always go over well in a crowd.
I spoke with Dan Beach, the founder of Social lite. This summer the LCBO has added an unsweetened Ice Tea, Field Strawberry, and Blood Orange to the lineup. All three of these flavours are winners – the Field Strawberry stands out – as it tastes like fruit snacks, but it’s not sweet. The blood orange is refreshing and citrus, but without the bitterness you might get from grapefruit. The market is definitely picking up for Social lite, but the challenge is that the market still feels as though these coolers are the sweet drinks we used to toss back when we were discovering alcohol in our university days. The best way to describe these drinks, according to Dan, is to call them “naughtier Perrier”. You can continue to find these in my home on hot days in the summer
Field Strawberry – LCBO 649376 – $9.95 (4 pack)
Spiked Iced Tea Peach – LCBO 649400 – $2.95
Now moving on, to the continued resurrection of the Gretzky brand by Andrew Peller Ltd. Number 99 has delivered it’s Rye Lager to market. This is completely my kind of beer. I’ll admit, I’m probably not what most people would consider and “adventurous” beer drinker – I like my craft lagers – but I’m not a fan of beers that finish too bitter. I’m a fan of Steamwhistle, and the Sidelaunch mountain lager – but Sidelaunch has recently discontinued that beer in cans. So I’m excited to say that the Gretzky lager has nice depth of flavours – it’s certainly more interesting than some of the large brewer lagers. I think it’s safe to say that this might replace the Sidelaunch in my fridge. I am also very excited to see what else Peller has up their sleeves for this brand.
Wayne Gretzky No. 99 Rye Lager – LCBO 139162 – $3.25
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