Summer Product Review: Mikes' Hard Lemonade--Black Cherry

  Mike's Hard Lemonade is well-known for being fizzy and fruity and awesome. It's showing up in so many flavors and they're pretty dang tasty. I'm new to their Black Cherry flavor, totally bewildered by the combo of Hard Lemonade and Black Cherry twist. I'm thinking to myself "this is going to taste like weird, bitter crap". Once I popped the top and took my first sip, I knew I was completely wrong. Part of a multi-flavor 12-pack, I think it's the best out of the bunch. It's like childhood in a bottle--but drink responsibly, doggone it.






  First of all, I'm the occasional drinker. I have a sip when I'm out eating or whenever New Year's Eve comes around. Every now and then, I will randomly have some wine or a concoction like Mike's Hard Lemonade. After a boring stint in my early 20's where I had to try and be cool with Vodka and cranberry juice, I gave booze a rest. I had my first sip of Mike's sometime around the time I was seeing my game-crazy ex boyfriend. We split a six-pack of Cranberry flavor over PSP emulator lessons and my first go at Chrono Trigger. Ahh, memories. (Technically it was my second sip, but the first sip happened around the same time.)

  Anyway, I'll cut right to the chase. Imagine you're eating Jello's Black Cherry flavor snack. Now, picture it fizzing in your mouth with a sliiight hint of lemon. Or, think of the last really good, sweet black cherry soda you've had. Although the alchy-hol taste is pretty evident, you'd swear you're just having a soda or a bowl of black cherry Jello. It's that good. It tastes like a real black cherry, but there's this sweetness behind it that's absolutely wonderful. As my dad would say "it tastes like everything else, but there is alcohol in it!" The element of the bubbly and sweet will fool you into thinking it's just another soft drink in a bottle. If you're into sweet-tasting things, you'll love it. If you're not a frequent drinker like yours truly, I think you'll enjoy the buzz and the low alchy taste of this beverage. Consider this the kind of drink to have when you "just want a sip". There's no strong aftertaste, either.

  Exactly how "refreshing, cold, and hard" is it? Well, the hardness is there. I'm a little tingly, a little buzzed. I've only had one bottle. I'm not at my desk singing and rolling on the floor, but I do feel just a little bit fluffy. Obviously it's cold 'cause it came outta the fridge. Refreshing? You betcha. A great way to cool down on a hot Chi-Town day. There's also the fizzy drink burps that burn your nose, but let's not get into that. All in all, it's a pretty nice malt beverage. It's the kind of drink you share with chums on a hot day. Heck, throw some in the blender with ice and have some adult snow-cone slushie drinks. Coming home from a long day? Pop a bottle. I sound like a commercial over here, but this stuff is awesome. Sweet, dark, fruity awesome.

Disclaimer/PSA moment/Knowing is half the battle: Know your limits when it comes to drinking. Don't drink and drive, either. I WILL sound like a PSA for a minute, because I give a crap. Play it safe and don't make a fool of yourself or cost the lives of other people. Play responsibly and be responsible for your actions. Cheers!