Hard Seltzers are flavored malt beverages that ferment cane sugar or malted grains to produce their alcohol content. The low calorie, sugar, and carbohydrates make hard seltzers a popular choice for a refreshing drink. Hard Seltzers surpassed the total volume of spirits purchased and will likely surpass wine by the end of 2021.
Following in the footsteps of beer, many small, micro, and local breweries are leaning into the category as well (we included one in our research!).
Deanna Fiedler and Joyce O'Malley are members of our food and aroma evaluation teams. They took some time to evaluate 4 different black cherry hard seltzer products and document their flavor characteristics using Spectrum Descriptive Analysis (SDA). Read on to see what they learned!
We tasted four products all with black cherry flavor and to jump right to the chase, if you like:
Straightforward flavors
White Claw had aromatics of black cherry and mineral/flinty.
Not tasting alcohol
Bud Light Seltzer had no alcohol flavor but did have some medicinal notes.
More flavor
High Noon had the highest aromatics of the beverages tested with a good balance and blend of cherry, fruit, and floral citrus notes.
Trying new things
Cape May Brewing infuses real fruit into their hard seltzer.
Our Tasting Notes
White Claw Black Cherry Hard Seltzer
Tasting Notes:
Flavor & Basic Tastes
Overall Intensity: 5.5
Slight dark/black cherry
Slight mineral/flinty
Low bitter in mouth and aftertaste
Slight sweet (sweet spikes and bitter spikes)
Slight sour
Aftertaste: slight alcohol
Chemical Feeling Factors and Notes
Carbonation- Moderate
Mouth and tongue tingle/prickle
5% Alcohol/Volume
100 Calories
Bud Light Black Cherry Seltzer
Tasting Notes:
Flavor & Basic Tastes
Overall Intensity: 5
Slight black cherry
Slight medicinal
Slight benzaldehyde (almond/cherry)
Slight bitter, sweet and sour
Aftertaste: slight bitter
No alcohol aromatics, more medicinal
Chemical Feeling Factors and Notes
Carbonation: Low Moderate
Tongue roughening, slight burn from carbonation
5% Alcohol/Volume
100 Calories
Cape May Brewing Black Cherry Seltzer
Tasting Notes:
Flavor & Basic Tastes
Overall Intensity: 6.5
Low floral
Slight berry/fruity- not specifically dark cherry- more sour cherry
Slight fermented citrus (lemon)
Slight benzaldehyde (almond/cherry)
Slight soapy
Low sweet, sour and bitter
Aftertaste: benzaldehyde (almond/cherry), soapy, slight bitter, slight sweet
Chemical Feeling Factors and Notes
Carbonation: Moderate
Tingle, prickle, slight throat irritation
Low/moderate astringent (tongue puckering)
4.5% Alcohol/Volume
97 Calories
Contains 7% juice
High Noon Sun Sips Black Cherry Vodka & Soda
Tasting Notes:
Flavor & Basic Tastes
Overall Intensity: 7.5
Low-moderate cherry (dark and bright/light cherry)
Slight floral citrus (citrus blossom)
Slight general fruity
Low-moderate sweet
Low sour
Slight bitter
Aftertaste: slight alcohol- not as harsh, more fruity alcohol vs woody/grainy alcohol
Chemical Feeling Factors and Notes
Carbonation: Low-moderate (lowest)
Slight prickle- lowest feeling factors
Slight Astringency
4.5% Alcohol/Volume
100 Calories
White Claw: Dark cherry with mineral/flinty. Bitterness stuck out. Sweet and bitter spikes.
Bud Light: Lowest overall intensity. More fruit forward with slight notes of medicinal and benzaldehyde. No alcohol aromatics. Had the highest carbonation and lowest basic tastes.
Cape May: Slightly higher intensity. More berry and benzaldehyde, with soapy, floral, and a bright citrus note. Strongest feeling factors with tongue puckering (astringency) and throat irritation.
High Noon: Highest intensity. Highest cherry and fruit notes (citrus blossom). Reminiscent of cherry soda. Higher balance and blend. Highest basics tastes. Slight alcohol with more fruity than the woody/grainy alcohol in the hard seltzers. Best fit to black cherry hard beverage.
If you're looking to evaluate alcohol beverages consider using sensory evaluation to help qualify and quantify your products with sensory language.