Review: Crook & Marker Spiked Lemonade – Classic, Watermelon, Raspberry, and Blueberry
We already walked you through Crook & Marker’s spiked tea offerings earlier this summer, so now here’s a look at their line of hard lemonades. As with their boozy teas, this lineup from the health-conscious makers of Bai is about as wholesome and natural as alcohol in a can gets. Each is 4% abv, sugar free, with less than one carb per can, so Mike’s Hard Lemonade this is most definitely not. These are available in a variety pack featuring classic lemonade, watermelon, raspberry, and blueberry flavors. Let’s pop the top and see how they taste!
Crook & Marker Classic Lemonade – It definitely smells like lemonade, fresh and pulpy and not too sweet. The palate is crisp but a little light on the actual lemon. Sweet lemon candy up front turns tart with a quick burst of sour but just as quickly shifts gears in reverse, returning to a slowly fading candy sweetness, like the end of a Lemonhead. A touch on the sweet side and a bit watered down, but it’s refreshing enough for those looking for a low-calorie boozy lemonade. B+
Crook & Marker Watermelon Lemonade – Watermelon and lemonade seems like a bit of an odd combo — and it is. The aroma is strangely fruity, a slightly sour version of a watermelon AirHead. The flavors are all over the place beginning with candied lemon peel and ending with watermelon Jolly Rancher, but who knows where things are going in between. And it’s sweet. Really sweet. So sweet that I can’t tell if the finish is lemon sour or so saccharine that my face contorts. Candy in a can, if that’s your thing. C+
Crook & Marker Raspberry Lemonade – The aroma is bright and balanced, equal parts fresh raspberry and lemonade. The palate isn’t overly sweet, perhaps the driest of the lineup, with lots of big raspberry flavor and a reasonable amount of sweet and sour from the lemonade. Like the lemonade, that sour hits in the middle and fades quickly. The winner of the bunch. A-
Crook & Marker Blueberry Lemonade – Another strange combo (but less strange than watermelon). The blueberry is actually pretty authentic in the aroma until the lemonade and Stevia catch up to it. On the palate, it’s all Fun Dip and cotton candy up front with very little sign of actual blueberry. It’s the least tart of the line-up, but that actually makes it a bit difficult to find the lemonade notes. A bit of blueberry pie filling finally arrives on the finish. B
$15 per 8-pack / crookandmarker.com
Crook & Marker Classic Lemonade
$15
