I Tried 16 Truly Hard Seltzer Flavors, and These Are the Best

People will be drinking gluten-free hard seltzer until the end of time, but there was a moment when it was a novelty. Back in the day — 2016, to be exact — Truly was one of the first hard seltzer companies on the scene. Seven years later, the alcoholic beverage titan has had plenty of time to tighten the screws and develop hit recipes, made for the most part with real fruit juice. There are a slew of Truly seltzer flavors — from berries and ice tea to lemonade and tropical fruits — so I grabbed four different variety packs and ranked them. Come with me; let’s talk about them.

Prices and availability are subject to change.

Related:The 7 Best Fruit Smash Hard Seltzers, Ranked

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It seems like black cherry drinks are almost always amongst the best in any variety pack. Truly’s cherry option tastes a lot like other black cherry seltzers, measured in flavor and refreshing. I’m very into this one.

Related: Here's How Kirkland Hard Seltzer Stacks Up Against White Claw

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What a pleasant surprise. It's well-named, because this really tastes like some fresh-squeezed orange, lemon, and lime. A lot of citrusy, lemon-lime hard seltzers seem to fall apart for reasons I don’t understand, but I have two big thumbs ups, gift-wrapped for folks at Truly for this one.

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I am stunned to report that this tastes like a real blueberry. I don’t even like blueberries, but this seltzer works for me. Something is happening to my body. I think I contain more hard seltzer than blood, and now blueberries have manifested themselves as something I enjoy.

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Do you like Squirt? This tastes like Squirt. I love Squirt so I love this. This is an upper-tier grapefruit hard seltzer.

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I’m pretty impressed with this one. I’m impressed with the entire Truly Vodka line to be honest, but this cherry lime flavor in particular is a winner. It’s pretty sweet, yes, but for some reason it’s not off-putting. It doesn’t taste artificial the way other seltzers do. Think of the vodka flavors more like canned cocktails than seltzers and it will click into place a little more. Not bad at all.

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You gotta like mango for this one. This is a mango blast unlike a lot of other mango seltzers I’ve tasted, so if you’re up for it, give it a try. Cane sugar really succeeds where aspartame fails.

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I’d grab a whole sixer of this flavor, if I could. This is a tasty son of a gun, though admittedly a little mild. I wouldn’t mind an extra little kick of passion here, but that’s just me.

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This is mild, plain, crushable, and honestly, a forgettable drinking experience. I think that’s a good thing, though, because when you’re throwing back seltzers at the beach, you don’t want to be thinking about what you’re drinking. You’re trying to focus on frisbee.

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There’s a definite booze flavor that’s going on in many of Truly’s hard seltzers, but I have to tell you, I don’t mind it. It actually makes it feel more like a drink, rather than something to chug and smash against your face at a barbecue. Wild berry is fruity, light, and not bad at all.

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This tastes the least like a gummy ring candy of any peach seltzer I’ve cracked open. Tangerine is definitely just as strong, and just like the cherry lime, I could drink a few of these despite the sweetness. Though these are not the standard 100 calorie beverage (the vodka seltzers sit at 110), it’s a minuscule difference, and better than many other canned cocktails.

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I didn’t expect to taste as much lime as I did here, and I’m so glad I did. It’s actually the best part, and I haven’t had a strawberry flavor with lime this well balanced. Nice work on this one, y’all.

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I’m not quite sure what’s going wrong for me here, but something isn’t right. Though I generally prefer less sweet flavors, and blackberry lemon is the least sweet of the vodka pack, I’m still not quite loving this guy. There’s an odd bitterness at the end; as for the origin of that bitterness, your guess is as good as mine.

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Pineapple, man. I swear, sometimes pineapple is just too much. What business does pineapple have in a vodka cranberry? Naturally, pineapple is the only thing you can taste here, and it’s unwelcome. A plain, ‘ole cranberry flavor would have been just fine.

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OK, so, Truly did in fact make a seltzer that tastes just like a real piece of pineapple. Unfortunately, the part of the pineapple that’s been captured is the upper, crunchy part where it’s dry and juiceless. The only person I know who likes this part is my dad, so unless you are him, I don’t think this is what you want.

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I don’t really know what’s going on here, but it’s not for me. I think this is supposed to be watermelon and mint? There are a lot of odd flavors going on at once, but none of them are discernibly watermelon.

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Didn’t expect the bitterness here. I’m actually a fan of bitter flavors, but why is lemon one of them? Though I don’t love this on its own, I could see this as a great mixer in a cocktail. A very high ABV cocktail.