We tried Truly's new iced tea hard seltzers so you don’t have to

By now, it should be clear to every drinker: hard seltzer isn’t going anywhere.

For those who drink hard seltzer, this is good news. This means that to stay on top of the game, seltzer companies have to keep developing new products and flavors to keep consumers interested. The latest of these, made by Truly, is iced tea hard seltzer.

Truly, who gave their slim can design a gold makeover to fit the new product, has released the iced tea hard seltzers in four flavors: lemon, raspberry, peach, and strawberry. Each is said to contain “real brewed tea,” 100 calories, one gram of sugar, and is 5% ABV.

The 12-can variety pack of flavors I bought from Giant Eagle (only a few spots in Pittsburgh carry the product right now) was a mixed bag. I expected something similar to a Long Island Iced Tea, but the cans tasted more like a crossover between bubbly water and Snapple.

(Disclaimer: I do not like Twisted Tea. People who enjoy hard teas may feel differently about these seltzers.)

Lemon and peach were decent. Truly managed to get the actual flavor of tea, not a fake-tasting substitute, into these cans, which was impressive. The peach tasted exactly like peach Snapple, and the citrusy, lemon flavor improved dramatically after my second sip.

Things got weird with the berry flavors. The raspberry didn’t taste like anything, and I spit a sip of Truly's strawberry flavor out into a sink. It tasted manufactured and only got worse the more I tried to drink. Even the aroma was bad.

After a few sips from each flavor, the sweetness of the tea seltzers became unbearable. The sugary, metal aftertaste refused to leave my tongue until I gave up on trying and opened a beer instead.

My advice? Stick to normal seltzers, unless you love Twisted Tea. Then this drink might be for you.