Tasting Three New Polar Seltzer’ade Flavors
Starfruit, Strawberry, and Blood Orange join the lineup of calorie-free lemonade cans.
Photo by Madeline Bilis
Polar Seltzer’s fruity new trio of lemonade-tinged flavors would certainly be refreshing on a hot summer’s day. But fizz lovers, no need to stockpile: Starfruit Lemonade, Strawberry Lemonade, and Blood Orange Lemonade have joined the year-round Seltzer’ade lineup.
Like regular Polar Seltzer—and the company’s cult favorite limited-release and seasonal flavors, like Seltzerbrate, Yeti Mischief, and Unicorn Kisses—Seltzer’ade is free of any sweeteners. The products are made with just triple-filtered water; Polar’s signature zippy, C02-derived bubbles; and highly concentrated flavor “essences,” distilled from natural ingredients. With the Seltzer’ade line, first released last year, lemon zest is a star ingredient.
As is tradition here at Boston magazine, we scored some cans of these new flavors and gathered the troops to try them out. Here’s our latest roundtable taste test for you, dear seltzer-loving, properly hydrated readers.
Starfruit Lemonade
- I get pineapple.
- Pez! It tastes like Pez. Total Pez.
- It has a sweeter aftertaste than regular seltzer.
- Blue Kool-Aid Jammer. [For the uninitiated, like the author: This is a Capri Sun-like drink pouch, with a clear back.]
- Not sure I would know the flavor of starfruit. To me, it’s a light, tropical taste.
- It tastes like a tropical Starburst.
Strawberry Lemonade
- Strong smells of pink Starburst on the nose.
- Trident Gum that’s strawberry flavor.
- I actually think it’s a little bland.
- It tastes a lot like lemonade, and there’s no aftertaste at all.
- Bubble gum.
Blood Orange Lemonade
- This smells like Orange Crush.
- This is very flavorful.
- It has a plastic aftertaste to me.
A coworker who is not participating in the taste test enters the area of the office where we have cracked these cans. “It smells sweet over here. Like melted Starbust.”
- A little creamsicle on the nose, like a little bit of vanilla flavor almost.
- It smells more like Orange Crush than it tastes like it. The taste is more subtle, but this is my favorite.
- It’s not as sweet [as Starfruit was]. This is juicier.
- I would not know that this is “blood” orange specifically. Blood oranges are typically a little sweeter.
These three new recipes join Raspberry Pink Lemonade, Watermelon Lemonade, Tart Cherry Limeade, Blueberry Lemonade and Mango Limeade in the Seltzer’ade family. They’re on shelves now.
