Say what you will about hard soda—that it is dangerous to market since it could be aimed at kids, that it’s sugary and tacky, that it is a sign of our declining times—but it tastes good. That said, there’s not that much of it anymore. (Maybe because of that whole danger to kids thing.) Around a decade ago, there was a hard soda boom with company’s like Henry’s Hard Soda, Not Your Father’s, Jed’s, and Crabbie’s releasing new bottled hard sodas all the time. Then hard seltzers started to take over and no one looked back at the bottles of hard cherry cola and hard orange soda they left behind. But now, hard sodas are starting to creep back onto the market with big brands like Mtn Dew and Coca-Cola and Jarritos getting in on the fun.
It’s still not easy to find hard soda everywhere—we can’t seem to track down the new spiked Mtn Dew but we will, I promise—but we tasted everything we could find in order to determine the very best hard sodas out there. We looked for hard sodas that taste like soda, for those who simply want to get buzzed off of a can of pop. But we also looked for hard sodas that actually taste like booze, for those who enjoy knowing they’re sipping alcohol. Here are the best hard sodas to buy right now.
- Reed’s Zero Sugar Craft Ginger Mule
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Reed’s has teased Reed’s Hard Ginger Ale, but the website still says “coming soon.” So, until they release the flavored, spiked cans of ginger ale to the world, we’ll have to make do with their canned Mule. It’s drier than a standard bottle of Reed’s ginger beer, which makes sense as it is zero sugar. But it still has a ton of that fresh ginger bite that tickles your nose. It also doesn’t taste like alcohol too much. It’s the best hard ginger beer we tasted so far—but we’re holding out for the Hard Ginger Ale, Reed’s!
Credit: Merc / Target
- Jameson Cola
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I did not expect to like this Jameson Cola as much as I did. I expected a rough around the edges, whiskey-forward canned cocktail. I’m sorry, Jameson, I don’t know why I doubted you! It tastes like more of a craft cola than straight up Coke. It tastes like spices—winter spices. And it doesn’t really taste like whiskey at all. If you poured this hard cola into a glass with some fancy ice, I think you’d fool someone into thinking they’re getting a fancy, artisanal cola cocktail.
Credit: Merc / Target
- Fresca Mixed Grapefruit Citrus
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Wish Fresca could take the edge off after a hard day at work? Now it can, thanks to the new Fresca Mixed. We tasted all the Fresca Mixed flavors and while they are all okay, only the Fresca Mixed Grapefruit Citrus tastes like an actual Fresca—plus a little bit of vodka. It’s bright and crisp and zesty. And it’s only 100 calories per can, which is on par with most hard seltzers. If you like Fresca, go ahead and grab this ASAP.
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- Jarritos Cantaritos Pineapple
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You would NEVER guess that this was 5% ABV. Out of all the hard sodas we tried, this one tastes the least like alcohol. You taste a ton of pineapple—like the pineapple syrup from canned pineapples. It is very, very sweet. But what else do you want from a hard pineapple soda? It’s the best fruity hard soda we tried, for sure. And it comes in tall boys. I don’t think anyone should ever drink a full tall boy of this hard soda (mostly because of the sugar), but you get a lot of bang for your buck!
Credit: Merc / Target
- Jack Daniels Coca-Cola
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We tasted both this Jack Daniels Coca-Cola and Jack Daniels Coca-Cola Zero, and the difference is shocking. This hard cola is so good, it ranked as one of the best canned cocktails as well as best hard sodas. But the Coke Zero version is just rough. It tastes like canned whiskey. And while that might be how managing editor Gwynedd Stuart likes her Whiskey Cokes to taste, it’s not what we were looking for in this ranking. The standard Jack Daniels Coca-Cola has the pure sweetness of real Coke and just the right amount of Jack Daniels flavor. You should still probably pour it over ice because it is strong, but it’s one heck of a hard soda.
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- Not Your Father’s Root Beer
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I have loved this hard root beer for years. It tastes like the best root beer—sweet and spiced but not overly spiced. It tastes like someone put a lot of love into it. Honestly, I wish non-alcoholic root beer tasted more like this. And it would make an incredible dessert with vanilla ice cream. But it’s such a treat on its own, you really don’t even need the ice cream to make it special. Not Your Father’s used to make an even boozier version of this hard root beer, which is 5.9% ABV, and I’d really appreciate it if they brought that one back.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
Best Hard Ginger Beer
Best Cola (Runner-Up)
Best Hard Citrus Soda
Best Hard Fruit Soda
Best Hard Cola
Best Hard Root Beer
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!