Howdy, Seltzer: Here Are 11 Flavors of High Noon, Ranked

While a lot of other brands were out chasing standard hard seltzers that more or less taste exactly the same, High Noon peeked its head into the arena and went a different direction. The Modesto, California-based spirits company got hot for vodka-based hard seltzers, and now that High Noon has moved into the world of tequila, there are even more fresh flavors to add to the lineup. 

Bar prices can be brutal, so grabbing some of these cans for some makeshift cocktails is a lot easier on your bank account. And, following in the footsteps of other hard seltzers, High Noon seltzers are 100 calories, gluten-free, and feature no added sugar. But which ones are worth your money? I grabbed 11 different flavors and ranked them from best to worst, based on taste and drinkability. And a healthy dose of personal preference.

This story was updated in August 2023. Select samples were provided by High Noon. Prices and availability are subject to change.

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Yeah, this is great. It’s a paloma, basically, and there ain’t a thing wrong with that. This is about as easy to drink as any hard seltzer I’ve ever tasted, and by easy to drink, I mean that I finished an entire can in an embarrassingly short amount of time. These things go quickly. If High Noon ever drops a mezcal-based seltzer, I’m praying they’ll keep the grapefruit flavors flowing.

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This, much like its tequila counterpart, is delicious. It’s a negligible difference between first and second place, but I simply believe grapefruit pairs better with tequila than vodka. 

Overall, I find vodka to be stupid. It seems like the only spirit where its own natural flavor is discouraged. With whiskey, for example, the complex flavors are celebrated. With vodka, you have luxury brands bragging about how little their vodka tastes like vodka. So dumb.

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Dainty — that’s the word I’d use to describe this. It’s just like a real strawberry, like a fresh smack of fruitiness on a breezy spring day. Pack these for a picnic. Or crush them while you watch the NBA playoffs. I intend to do both.

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I would not have expected a flavor like passion fruit to be this subtle. I’m really impressed with High Noon’s balance, pretty much across the board. There always seems to be the exact, perfect amount of flavor. I don’t even care about passion fruit, but sure, I’ll drink two, three, four, eight cans of this, no problem.

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The difference between High Noon's passion fruit vodka seltzer and its tequila counterpart is negligible. In both cases, the beverage is tame, easy-to-drink, and refreshing. I'll continue to stress the point: High Noon has done a really good job here. It's rare to get me to care about a flavor like passion fruit.

Ultimately, I prefer tequila to vodka. That's all that separates these two.

Related: I Tried 8 Topo Chico Hard Seltzer Flavors — This Is the Best

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When I was in my early 20s, I did that thing where you stick a bottle of vodka into a watermelon, let it soak overnight, and then eat it. I assume most people in their early 20s have done some variation of this. If you want to return to the days of getting drunk off a slice of watermelon, here’s a far less insane way to do it.

Related: I Tried 8 Vizzy Hard Seltzer Flavors, and This Is the Best

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Unlike the tequila seltzer, High Noon's lime flavor doesn't seem to be missing anything. This has more bite than your typical lime hard seltzer, but the essence of vodka never actually comes through. This is a good thing for somebody like me who (see above) simply doesn't care about the stuff. I appreciate that quite a bit.

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Because High Noon tastes so much like real tequila, the lime flavor here sends your brain straight to margarita land. However, because a margarita is not just tequila and lime juice, it’s almost like there’s a little something missing, like ground beef and cheese on a cracker rather than a burger bun. Still, at the end of it all, it tastes like an actual cocktail. Isn’t that what we want from something like this?

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Black cherry is a solid flave, but it’s easily the most powerful. For the most part, High Noons taste like real vodka mixed with real fruit juice. This is the only one that tastes artificial, and for that, I have no choice but to dock some points.Heri

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Peach High Noon is undeniably weird. It sort of tastes like you melted down a bunch of Haribo peach gummy rings and let them dissolve into vodka for a few weeks. That's sort of how I imagine a seven-year-old would make moonshine. 

We're in the land of artificial flavors pretty heavily here, in other words, and that's not where High Noon succeeds.

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This is quite a punch of pineapple. But again, I must admit, it tastes real. Like actual pineapple juice, mixed with vodka and sparkling water. All I want in the world is a pellet ice machine for situations like this.

With fresh pineapple flavor like this, where's High Noon rum when you need it?