There’s a new White Claw in town. Actually, there are four new White Claw flavors in town—and they’re made with tequila! Should you invite them over and get to know these new additions to our fair city of White Claw? Or should you stick with your usual Black Cherry? We tried all four of the new White Claw Tequila Smash flavors to find out.
But before we dig into these new White Claw flavors, let me just address the White Claw Tequila Smash category as a whole. If you’re interested in these new White Claw flavors because you’re a big agave head, looking to satisfy your craving for that grassy blanco tequila flavor, you’re barking up the wrong canned cocktail. These White Claws do not taste like tequila—at all. Even though every single one is advertised as being made with real tequila, you really wouldn’t know it if you were blindfolded. But that doesn’t mean these new White Claw flavors don’t have a place in your cookout cooler. Let’s break down each new White Claw Tequila Smash flavor.
- White Claw Tequila Smash Lime Prickly Pear
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The Lime Prickly Pear tasted the most like tequila out of all these new White Claws. Essentially, if you wish White Claw made a Margarita, this is for you.
Pros: I expected this to taste like a limey White Claw Tequila Seltzer. But instead it tastes more like Margarita mix with a hint of sweet prickly pear. If you typically eschew the lime-flavored seltzers because they’re too tart, this is the sweet, just-limey-enough White Claw flavor for you.
Cons: It’s very sweet. Personally, I like a lot of acidity in my cocktail-inspired beverages. I’d add a squeeze of lime if I was presented with one of these again.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- White Claw Tequila Smash Pineapple Passion Fruit
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While the Lime Prickly Pear nodded to tequila, this White Claw Tequila Smash does not. It’s tropical White Claw, end of story.
Pros: It kinda tastes like a sweet, tropical, sparkling iced tea. And it smells like fresh passion fruit, which is a great smell. It’s not quite as sweet as the Lime Prickly Pear—maybe because of the tang of the tropical fruit—so it’s a good pick if you want to tone down the sweetness a bit.
Cons: Even though this new White Claw flavor isn’t as sweet as the previous one, it’s still pretty sweet and it tastes like fake sugar rather than real sugar. Plus, even though the aroma is packed full of passion fruit, the flavor is generic tropical. I would have loved some real passion fruit notes in the mix.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- White Claw Tequila Smash Mango Tamarind
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Ignore the “tamarind” because this is pretty much just mango. That said, it tastes different from the classic Mango White Claw. Like melted mango sorbet in sparkling water. No tequila flavor.
Pros: It’s sweeter than the usual Mango White Claw (the best White Claw flavor) and more like a mango dessert than fresh mango.
Cons: That artificial sweetener flavor distracts from the fruity flavor. And I wish there was actual tangy tamarind flavor in there.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- White Claw Tequila Smash Strawberry Guava
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One of our taste testers said that all of these White Claw Tequila smash flavors remind them of Capri-Sun. And I think this one is especially reminiscent of the juice pouch.
Pros: Do you miss the days when kiwi strawberry was the flavor? Then White Claw Tequila Smash Strawberry Guava is your dream-come-true boozy beverage. It’s also the least tequila-y of all these new White Claw flavors (even though none of them taste like tequila, this one really doesn’t taste like tequila).
Cons: It’s a very specific, very sweet flavor. If you don’t like artificial strawberry flavor, you will not like this new White Claw.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!