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One of the more interesting aspects of this can is when I tried to figure out the name of the brewery. All of these hard versions of popular beverages are inevitably actually brewed or distilled by a third party, and they license the brand. This was Hornell Brewing. More interesting than that is the fact that this was brewed in New Jersey, Florida, Wisconsin, California, or Pennsylvania. They don't appear to know where it came from, or they didn't bother to put it on the can. More importantly, none of the locations are in Arizona.
This pours a dirty brown, and it looks a lot more like the tea that I'm used to drinking. All of the other hard teas are too dark and too sweet for my taste, but this is at least starting out the right way. If there is an aroma, it is akin to Play-Doh. I'm trying really hard to smell lemons, and I smell nothing. It's a bit unsettling. Maybe I shouldn't have added the ice for authenticity.
First sip is odd. It tastes like the usual iced tea with alcohol added, but the alcohol is more... meaty? I mean, this doesn't taste more than the 5% it says on the can, but I guess it's the difference between a medium lager about where it should be and the other iced tea's watered down vodka. It's not bad, but it would take the whole evening to really tease it out this way. No one has time for that.
Tip-in is very nice, not overly sweet (but just sweet enough) tea that has the feeling of coming from a cardboard box instead of a can (that's the way I used to drink it). The middle is more of the same, but alcohol peeks in to give a slight bite with the meaty way I noticed before. The finish is slightly dry and sweet as the tea leaves is flavor across the mouth for the whole trail off.
Bottom Line: I don't know that hard iced teas can get better.
4.75/5
