This is my third of these hard iced teas from Lipton, and I think I have a good idea of what I'm in for. The real question is whether or not they started with sweetened tea before adding the strawberry. I've had strawberry ice tea in restaurants before, and the allure is that the sweetness is coming from the strawberries rather than some sugar that's been added to the tea. If you start off with a tea that already has sugar added to it, then you may wind up with something way too sweet. As it is, I have found the previous two to be a little too sweet for my taste.
I think I've said that the first sip on all of these has been pretty good, and this doesn't deviate from that progression. It is sweet, strawberry, tea, and that's about it. As I write this, I just came in from doing some yard work, so I really could use a nice, easy drinking beverage that will cool me down, quench my thirst, and isn't particularly challenging to drink. This first sip makes me think that I've chosen the right beverage to review.
Tip-in is strawberries on top of tea leaves with only slightly added sweetness (it's not overdone). The middle shows where the problem is with the mix on these, again. The alcohol seems to come forward as a little too much sweetness follows, and I could see this getting both cloying and overly alcohol-laden very quickly. The finish is a hit of strawberries and tea before tea and sugar go off into the trail off.
Bottom Line: These all seem to have hard edge, but they're all still pretty good.
2.75/5
