Beverage of the Week: Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka is the next step in the logical hard tea end game

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

Yes, it's still hard tea season. It's summer, isn't it? And as I mentioned last time when we talked about Lipton's successful foray into its logical boozy expansion, we're still trying very hard to make alcoholic iced tea a thing.

I feel like we're close to a breakthrough, too. Surfside is proof. The brand is an offshoot of Stateside Vodka, who saw a crowded market and said "us too." It's also a little more reassuring than your standard Twisted Tea; you're not getting nebulous "neutral spirits" or "malt beverage" here. It's an established, mid-tier vodka gassing up these teas, much like you might add a few shots to your insulated tumbler before headed out to the pool on a hot Tuesday morning.

They're light, uncarbonated and ready for lazy, humid days. Do they taste any better than the Crystal Light monstrosities you made in college?

Iced Tea \u0026amp; Lemonade + Vodka: A-

It pours without carbonation and smells like a can of Arizona Iced Tea's Arnold Palmer. The lemon is crisp and the vodka shows up just enough to make it remind me, just a little, of cleaning spray.

The taste itself is light and crisp. Where Lipton's hard teas come in with syrupy sweetness and Twisted Tea is acidic to the point of tasting like bile, this is a canned cocktail that operates on a different level. Neither the tea nor lemonade are overbearing, instead working together to create a solid Arnold Palmer that's balanced between sweet and tart.

The vodka taste here is minimal. While I'm not familiar with Stateline vodka, it comes through soft and sippable when it does show up toward the end. Since there aren't any bubbles here, I imagine I should have shaken the can up before opening. Ah, well. All in all, this is a simple cocktail but one that's very easy to like.

Iced Tea + Vodka: B+

This pours a little darker than I'd expected; without the minor ring of white foam around the top, you could convince me this was a big ol' pour of whiskey. It smells like canned, sweetened iced tea, bringing me back to the Brisk of it all.

The vodka comes through a little more clearly here, but it's a pleasant pour that blends nicely with the artificial sweetener inside. There's no burn here, just a gentle reminder this isn't a typical tea. That and the slim can, I suppose.

The tea on its own is missing the citrus sharpness that some lemon would easily impart. As a result, the regular tea is a little basic. But it's not supposed to be complex. It's a 100 calorie canned cocktail that promises a light sip and a light buzz. It comes through on both counts, giving you a crushable summer cocktail that isn't as sweet as others in the field but is a little easier to drink.

Lemonade + Vodka: B

It smells tart and sugary, which, good. The vodka inside isn't obvious from the top of the pour.

It's a little more apparent on the first sip. It's not overwhelming, but it does serve to water down that lemonade taste, which is light to begin with. It tastes like lemonade and vodka, which is the kind of basic cocktail we all wind up trying in college and drinking because it's there, not because we want to.

This works inside those low expectations. It's got a bit of a Crystal Light feel to it, a watery lemonade that tastes fine in an uninteresting way. It's easy to drink and not especially boozy, which makes it a nice poolside beverage or other hot day staple. It's boring. It's fine.

Peach Tea + Vodka: B

There's an acerbic peach smell that wafts off the top of this. It smells artificial and harsh. It doesn't have the gummy ring flavor that comes with mostly boozy peach flavors, which is a little unexpected.

It doesn't taste like much. The sweet tea and peach are there, as is a little bit of vodka. But none are particularly strong. That means it's easy to drink, if a little underwhelming.

Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh. It's totally fine out of the can, if minorly reflective of the aluminum from which it came. It's a good enough cookout drink, which as a hard iced tea, is probably right where Surfside was aiming.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?

This is a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I’m drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That’s the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm’s. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Surfside Tea + Vodka over a cold can of Hamm’s?

Yeah, count me in on the iced tea and lemonade version. That might just be my drink of the summer. I'll pass on the peach and lemonade, though.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Beverage of the Week: Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka is the next step in the logical hard tea end game