By Sandy Caetano
From blue raspberry lemonade and spiked iced tea to a vodka soda inspired by childhood freezies, these easy sippers are giving us one more reason to hold onto summer.
I know September is technically trying to tell us that summer is winding down, but I’m choosing not to listen.
There are still plenty of warm afternoons ahead, and when the temperature drops at night, that’s what hoodies and blankets are for. Patio season isn’t over until we say it is.
And neither is cooler season.
Ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) have come a long way, and this summer my fridge has been filled with everything from lemonade and spiked iced tea to cider and vodka sodas. No mixing, measuring or bartending required. Just get them cold and you’re ready to go.
These five have earned repeat appearances in my cooler this summer, and I have a feeling they’ll be sticking around well into fall. Bonus: you can find them all at the LCBO.
3 Lakes Spirits Co. Blue Raspberry Vodka Lemonade
5% ABV | 355 mL | $3.40
If I’m choosing favourites, I have to start here.
Lemonade is my summer drink. Always has been. So when you take real lemon juice, add nostalgic blue raspberry flavour and vodka, you’ve pretty much made this one specifically for me.
The 3 Lakes Spirits Co. Blue Raspberry Vodka Lemonade is tart, fruity, crisp and dangerously easy to sip because it doesn’t taste overly strong. And yes, the fact that it matches my blue hair earns it a few extra points. Blue hair. Blue drink. It was meant to be.
If blue isn’t your colour, there’s also a Pink Gin Lemonade with grapefruit and hints of rosemary. Both flavours are also available in 0% alcohol versions.
Snapple Spiked Original Tea
7% ABV | 458 mL | $3.25
Next up: iced tea, another drink that practically screams summer.
Snapple Spiked Original Tea takes the familiar tea-and-lemon flavour and gives it a decidedly grown-up spin with 7% ABV.
Made in Ontario with real tea leaves, lemon and natural flavours, it’s bold, refreshing and ridiculously easy to serve. Personally, I think it’s best straight from the fridge and ice cold. Original is the classic, but Peach Tea and Strawberry Tea are also part of the lineup if you want something a little fruitier.
Stock & Row Slow & Low + Cold Tea Black Raspberry
Slow & Low: 5% ABV | 355 mL | $3.55 per can
Cold Tea Black Raspberry: 4% ABV | 355 mL | $3.55 per can
My friend Ricky (@yourpalrick) introduced me to Stock & Row, and since he knows a thing or two about drinks, I took his advice.
For cider fans, Slow & Low is made with 100 per cent Ontario apples and comes in at 5% ABV. It’s dry, crisp and light with 4-5 grams of sugar per can, a nice option if super-sweet cider isn’t your thing.
Cold Tea Black Raspberry changes things up by combining Ontario apples with black raspberry tea. It has that refreshing iced-tea quality with a cider base, 4% ABV, zero grams of sugar and around 99 calories per can.
Want to get out of the backyard? Slow & Low is also on tap at Everyside – Social Eatery & Taphouse (120 Adelaide St. W.) in Toronto. And if Ricky happens to be there, tell him I sent you.
Simply Spiked BOLD Cherry Limeade + Signature Lemonade
7% ABV | 473 mL | $3.20 per can or $16.50 for an 8-pack
Apparently there’s a lemonade theme happening here. I regret nothing.
Simply Lemonade is already one of my favourites, second only to homemade, so Simply Spiked BOLD was an easy addition to the summer rotation.
BOLD Cherry Limeade combines tangy cherry with zesty lime for a tart, juicy sip, while BOLD Signature Lemonade sticks closer to the classic with bright citrus flavour and a little extra attitude.
Both are 7% ABV and made with 5% real fruit juice. There’s also an eight-can mixer pack featuring both flavours, eliminating the need to make the very difficult decision of choosing just one.
Problem solved.
Cottage Springs Vodka Soda Freezie Mixed Pack
5% ABV | 355 mL | 0g sugar | 0g carbs | $21.95 per 8-pack
Remember opening the freezer as a kid and deciding which colour freezie you wanted?
Cottage Springs apparently remembers too.
Its Vodka Soda Freezie Mixed Pack comes in Blue, White, Red and Orange, and the nostalgia starts the second you crack a can. The smell alone takes you back.
They’re crisp, lightly carbonated and surprisingly true to those familiar freezie flavours, with 5% ABV and zero grams of sugar or carbs.
It’s basically your childhood freezer stash reimagined for adulthood. Vodka included.
One More Round
September may be here, but I see no reason to rush into pumpkin-spice season quite yet.
Give me another sunny afternoon, something sizzling on the BBQ, a hoodie waiting for when the sun goes down and a cooler stocked with a few favourites.
Lemonade, iced tea, cider or freezies with a grown-up twist – take your pick.
The calendar can say fall. I’m squeezing every last sip out of summer.