I’ve been craving something a little different lately on my Hard Seltzer Summer journey. The crystal clear, smash and dash Hard Seltzers are starting to get a little old. Don’t get me wrong. Hard Seltzers hit the spot on a hot day, but I’ve been looking for something refreshing with substance. Luckily, I recently picked up a few cans of Troobado’s Smooj Hard Seltzer Smoothie, and they did just the trick.
Dani reviewed Troobado’s STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOJ close to the end of 2020. While it sounded delicious, I’m not one to be reaching for a Hard Seltzer in December. To me, Hard Seltzers are summer beverages, so I waited until this summer to locate and enjoy Troobado’s creations.
The STRAWBERRY BANANA flavor of Smooj was my introduction into the Hard Seltzer Smoothie style. I enjoyed one at a HopCat earlier this summer. I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for more in the wild ever since my first encounter.
When I found more at a bottle shop, I kept myself from buying them all. I’m sure other customers thanked me later, but my wallet did in the moment. I’m sure there is a lot of wizardry that goes into making a Hard Seltzer Smoothie, but three cans of Smooj put me over $12 before deposit and taxes. I’m not sure if that’s the established price point from Troobado, the distributor, and/or the bottle shop, but it’s worth noting if you’re interested in buying Smooj.
On a recent hot and sticky July day, I was parched, so I reached for those three cans of Smooj. To begin, I reunited with a STRAWBERRY BANANA then enjoyed the PIÑA COLADA. The one that I enjoyed the most was TROPICAL VACATION.
The side of the can had a tag for SMOOJ LAB and read, “This is trial batch released for your input as we explore new flavors.” A quick scan through Untappd indicates that there have been more than the three flavors already mentioned above created and tested out. The three mentioned, STRAWBERRY BANANA, PINA COLADA, and TROPICAL VACATION have made it into a wider distribution footprint.
If Troobado was trying to mimic what an actual tropical vacation entails – a lot going on at once – then they nailed it. The can boasted that real fruits are used, including passion fruit, mango, guava, pineapple, tangerine, banana, and coconut. The Hard Seltzer Smoothie was blended well as it was difficult to pinpoint exact fruits and notes, but it was damn good.
Per 12 oz of TROPICAL VACATION there were 0 g fat, 29 g carbs, 17 g of sugar with 9 g being added, and 0 g protein. TROPICAL VACATION had 240 calories, was 5% ABV, and was both gluten- and dairy-free. Initially, a sip has the smoothie texture that suddenly melted into a seltzer. It was bizarre and yet so good. It was what I needed to change things up with Hard Seltzer Summer.
The aftermath of the Troobado TROPICAL VACATION Hard Seltzer Smoothie
If you’re looking to take the plunge into Hard Seltzer Smoothies with Troobado’s Smooj, pick it up when you see it. Smooj’s website offers a locator if you want to pinpoint an exact store. Even though Hard Seltzer sales are flattening out, the Smoothie style of the Hard Seltzers are just taking off and worth the hype.
Cheers!
Disclaimer: Ed purchased Smooj for this review.
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