Every Twisted Tea Flavor Ranked Worst To Best
In an era long, long ago, before the rise of the hard seltzer, there was an alcoholic canned drink that beach-goers and casual partiers took with them everywhere. It wasn't a $12 canned craft cocktail or even a watery domestic beer. Oh no — it was Twisted Tea. Back in 2001, the company started selling its hard iced tea, and it's never looked back. And these days, even though there are plenty of other canned alcoholic beverages on the market, it doesn't look like Twisted Tea is going away anytime soon. It's easy, it's delicious, and it's widely available. What's not to love?
However, too many people out there have only tried the original Twisted Tea. To be fair, the original flavor is great, but there are so, so many other options to choose from. And if you want to expand your horizons and experience a new flavor the next time you decide to indulge in this drink, you'd better know what you're getting yourself into. Because while we love some of the Twisted Tea flavors out there, others leave a lot to be desired.
We've decided to take a closer look at every flavor of Twisted Tea on the market to give you the scoop about which are amazing and which you're better off leaving on the shelf. This is every Twisted Tea flavor, ranked from worst to best.
12. Peach
Is it really surprising that the peach flavor of Twisted Tea ended up in the lowest spot on our list? Although we love fresh peaches, as it turns out, a lot of peach-flavored products just aren't that good. While Twisted Tea says that this flavoring is natural, it tastes anything but. Rather, you get a hint of artificiality that makes every sip just slightly less appetizing. And it's not a subtle flavor, either — the peach notes here are quite strong. If you love that peach product flavor, then there's a good chance that you'll actually like this tea. But otherwise, there are better options available on the Twisted Tea lineup.
We wouldn't say the peach flavor is particularly bad, because it's not like we would throw the stuff down the sink if we just happened to get one that was peach flavored. However, since there are much better flavors available from the brand, there's no need to go out of your way to purchase the peach variety — that's just our take!
11. Light
One thing to know about Twisted Tea is the fact that it contains a lot of sugar. Of course, if you're just drinking one, that may not be a big deal. But if you plan on consuming more than that, then it's easy to see how these things could give you a stomachache — or worse — in no time at all. That's why some may opt for the light version instead of the original. That's actually not a bad idea, as the light flavor has fewer calories, less sugar, and is lighter on the alcohol. Therefore, you can have more than one without feeling like you're going to get a hangover from the sugar alone.
But when it comes to taste? We just can't totally get on board with Twisted Tea light. Here's the thing: The appeal of this drink is its sweetness and flavor — not the health factor. So although we appreciate the push to make it healthier, we'd rather just have a different drink than opt for the light version of Twisted Tea. It's watery, and there's way less flavor than the original. It doesn't taste bad, but it also doesn't really taste like anything at all.
Of course, if you're trying to make a better decision for your health and don't mind the watered-down taste of the light variety, then you should totally go for it. But if you're like us and are actually indulging because of the taste, then there are better flavors to opt for.
10. Mango
We know, we know. Mango-flavored Twisted Tea actually sounds really good, right? Well, we wish it tasted as good as we thought it would before we tried it for the first time, because the mango flavor kind of fell flat for us. First of all, we should start off by saying that this drink didn't actually taste bad. But if you made us try to guess what fruit flavor the brand was trying to capture here, we couldn't have told you. It doesn't taste like mango in the slightest. There may be a hint of orange in the mix, but most of all, it just tastes generically sweet and fruity. The drink has a definite lemony hint to it, but it doesn't seem related to the mango at all. It's nothing too interesting, but if you like sweet drinks, you're likely to appreciate this one.
It's disappointing that this drink didn't have the mango flavor we were craving from it, but overall, it's not a bad option if you can't find any of the other, better flavors of Twisted Tea.
9. Blueberry
If you're looking for a drink that truly tastes like blueberries, you'd better just buy a container of berries and muddle them yourself. This flavor is especially hard to capture, so pretty much every blueberry-flavored beverage we've ever had tastes artificial. And when you go for the blueberry flavor of Twisted Tea, that's exactly what you can expect. It's far from the taste you'd get from actual fresh blueberries, but that's probably not what you expected from this drink anyway.
The flavor, apart from tasting artificial, definitely isn't bad. There's a lightness to it that makes it rather refreshing, even despite the alcohol content. That being said, it's not our favorite flavor of the bunch. It's somewhat boring, with only a slightly perceptible fruitiness to it. The drink isn't offensive, so we doubt most people would actively hate it, but there are better Twisted Tea flavors out there for you to enjoy.
8. Blackberry
Let's just be honest: If you're comparing blueberries and blackberries, blackberries are always going to come out on top. They're tarter, they have a better texture, and they're just overall more interesting than blueberries. Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the blackberry flavor of Twisted Tea ranks higher than the blueberry one. Although this still isn't our favorite flavor of the bunch, we have to admit that it tastes pretty good. The bland fruitiness of the blueberry flavor is slightly tarter here, which balances the sweetness of the drink nicely.
It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that this drink also has a rather artificial flavor to it, but that's just what we'd expect from a mass-produced canned alcoholic beverage. We wouldn't turn this stuff down if we were at a party, although it's unlikely that we would actively seek it out over the other available flavors.
7. Mangonada
If you've ever tried a mangonada, the Mexican sweet and spicy mango refresher, you might be excited to try Twisted Tea's take on the drink. On the surface, this flavor has the ingredients of a mangonada: mango, chili lime salt, and chamoy seasoning, a popular Mexican condiment that originated in China. While chamoy resembles ketchup, it's made of salted, dried fruit (usually some mixture of plums, apricots, mango, and tamarind) and chiles, sometimes with lime juice added. It also comes in a powder for rimming cocktail glasses or to sprinkle over fresh fruit.
We found that while the mangonada Twisted Tea has an authentic flavor, it lacks the charm of the traditional drink you'd buy at a Mexican market (or even at your local Baskin-Robbins). For one thing, mangonadas are often made with frozen mangoes, giving them a frosty smoothie-like consistency. The beautiful swirled colors in a mangonada dazzle the senses, while the Twisted Tea flavor looks like iced tea. Speaking of which, we believe mangonadas are perfect on their own, so adding tea to the mix muddles the flavor. This flavor doesn't taste bad, but if you love Twisted Tea for the sweetness that the other flavors have as much as we do, the spicy, salty flavors don't work.
6. Sweet Cherry Lime
Cherry lime is a classic flavor for a good reason: sharp, bright lime cuts through the heavier flavor of cherries for a complementary combination of sweet and tart with a hint of sourness. Twisted Tea decided it was high time to bring the popular combo to its limited edition Sweet Cherry Lime hard tea, and we are big fans. The cherry flavor is stronger than the lime and blends nicely with the tea, but the lime is definitely there, and since citrus is always lovely with iced tea, it works well.
Twisted Tea created this flavor to pay homage to the Boston Red Sox and their fans, whose favorite 8th-inning song is Barry Manilow's "Sweet Caroline." Sweet Cherry Lime is a limited edition flavor exclusively sold in New England, which is the only reason it doesn't score higher on our list. While there's no word on how long it will be available, starting a consumer campaign to bring it national could be worth it. Fans of cherry lime, unite!
5. Original
Sometimes, simpler is better. And that's why the original flavor of Twisted Tea ranks toward the top of our list. After all, why mess with a good thing? The main flavor you're getting from this drink comes from the tea. It's not overwhelmingly strong, but you still get enough flavor to keep things interesting. Anyone who likes iced tea on its own is likely to enjoy this beverage.
However, they didn't stop there. They also decided to add plenty of lemon flavor, which gives the drink a tart dimension that you may not expect. It's basically an alcoholic, tea-heavy version of an Arnold Palmer, and how could you possibly go wrong with that? It's true that there are flavors of Twisted Tea that we enjoy more, but the original flavor is definitely worth a try — especially if you're not already well-acquainted with this drink. Give it a try before you go for the other flavors so you know what the brand is working with as its base flavor.
4. Slightly Sweet
These days, it seems like so many of the drinks we consume are ultra-sugary. If you have a hyper-active sweet tooth, then you may love this phenomenon. But for those of us who don't love exceptionally sweet drinks, too many of these pre-canned beverages can be cloying and unpleasant, especially if you're going in for seconds. That's why we're big fans of Twisted Tea's slightly sweet flavor. It has all the charm and deliciousness of the original flavor, but with half the sugar. Of course, this is a great option if you're looking for something that's not quite as packed with calories as the original, but we prefer it simply because of the taste.
This drink still has that strong tea flavor that you're undoubtedly looking for in this drink, but the sweetness is toned down quite a bit. You still get that twist of lemon, though, which makes things taste more refreshing. If you don't like drinks that are very flavored, this one is likely to be your favorite of the bunch.
3. Pineapple
Fans of tropical cocktails should keep an eye out for Twisted Tea's pineapple flavor. It has the sweetness of perfectly ripe, fresh pineapple but still lets the iced tea goodness shine through. Our favorite Twisted varieties balance tea with realistic fruity flavor; what's the point of the drink if you don't like iced tea? The Twisted Tea flavors we like least need to get the right proportions of tea and fruit flavors or are too fake and syrupy sweet. Pineapple balances fruit and tea for a smooth, light drink that isn't as cloying as some other flavors.
Anyone who loved the now-discontinued passionfruit Twisted Tea might have a twinge of dèjá vu. Please don't misunderstand; we aren't trying to say that the two flavors taste the same. Maybe it's the tropical fruitiness or because some people describe passionfruit as a mix of pineapple, mango, and peach. Whatever the reason, drinking pineapple Twisted Tea brought us back to the passionfruit days. If you're looking for summer vacation vibes, you can't go wrong with pineapple.
2. Half & Half
If you like the taste of tea but only in limited quantities, you're probably going to want to try Twisted Tea's half and half variety. You can definitely taste the tea in this flavor, but it's not quite as strong. That's because it's tempered with half lemonade. The lemonade has more of the sweetness sugar-lovers are looking for, but it's not cloyingly sweet. It's a well-balanced drink with plenty of acidity too, which balances out that sweetness nicely. For all those who want a summery drink that goes down well in the hot sun, the half and half is just what you're looking for.
This drink is seriously delicious, which is why it snags the second place spot on our list. Tea and lemonade together is a classic combo that almost always tastes delicious. Adding alcohol just makes it even more fun. If you're not sure which flavor to try and you want something that you're almost certainly going to enjoy, the half and half may just be the way to go.
1. Raspberry
Finally, we come to our favorite Twisted Tea flavor of the bunch: raspberry. This juicy, delicious drink is hard not to love. It has a distinct fruitiness to it, just like what you'll get with the blueberry and blackberry flavors. However, the main difference here is that this flavor tastes much more like the real thing. Although some of the other fruity flavors on this list taste quite artificial, you won't have that problem when you choose the raspberry instead. Rather, you'll get the juicy, refreshing flavor you love. This drink is sweet but not too sweet, and the raspberry plays exceptionally well with the tea. There is some tartness to this drink as well, but it's not super pronounced — it's just enough to give you the zip of flavor you're looking for.
We'll venture to say that this drink will be an absolute crowd pleaser. With its light but pleasing flavor and refreshing quality, it's no wonder the raspberry flavor comes in first place.