Fable THC cocktails are unique, a little weird and, importantly, pretty dang good

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 that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

Thanks to the legality of hemp-derived THC, the cannabis world is speedrunning its way through the lessons learned by the hard seltzer boom of a decade ago. While simple flavors like lime or black cherry would have been perfectly solid sellers years earlier, the market is evolving toward more complex tastes. You can't just slap bubbles, citric acid and THC in a can now and expect it to stay afloat in an increasingly crowded market.

Fable is one of the brands who has jumped in to elevate the state of cannabis drinks. With lovely, warm packaging and all the hallmarks of a $20 cocktail mixed by a pair of dead eyes behind a handlebar mustache, it aims to take the logical next step in a world where alcohol consumption is declining and THC consumption is rising. Can it be the bespoke option in a market where there isn't yet a clearly defined leader?

Night Flight: B+

This appears to be Fable's flagship drink. Tinged with hibiscus, ginger and mint it seems like... a lot. But when you're offering an "infused botanical cocktail" extra is effectively the standard.

It pours bloody Mary red. It smells slightly herbal. That hibiscus flower is the headliner here and, admittedly, it doesn't smell like something I want to drink. The ginger and mint are nowhere to be found.

Fortunately it tastes better than it smells. It's still floral, but the ginger and mint are handled with an firm but balanced touch. That gives way to a low-key current of sweetness that washes everything down. It's a sloppy finish -- the ginger would make you think it would be a bit drier -- but it's not an overpowering or annoying aftertaste that lingers.

You also get a bit of berry here that helps swing the balance away from feeling like cold soup. It covers up the THC in a drink that never feels weed-y. It's a little thick for my liking, but the flavor is densely packed and each sip feels like its own experience. For an end-of-night, calm-me-down beverage, it hits just right.

Best Zest: A

This flavor promises citrus, pepper and spice which... huh. But it pours like a well balanced mimosa, fizzy and orange. The smell off the top is orange juice mixed with the kind of spices you'd expect from a Christmas ale.

Indeed, there's a little cinnamon here. There's also two forms of pepper involved with the orange and grapefruit juices, which gives the whole affair the kind of bespoke background for which Fable is going. You'd expect this to be mixed up in front of you, then served your way by a man with a newsie hat and suspenders. Personally, I prefer the can.

There is a lot going on here. The first sip runs through a few different permutations, from juicy to tangy to sweet to spicy to a lingering holiday season helping of cinnamon that lingers long after it leaves your tongue. It's got a thinner texture than the Night Flight, though that cinnamon taste does leave it with a slightly bready, ginger beer-ish feel.

This is not a drink like any other I've had, cocktail, mocktail or THC infused. It's weird and kinda great and, again, weird. It's rich and complex and really, truly, very nice to sit and sip with while watching TV. The carbonation is just about perfect, a low simmer of bubbles that lets this unorthodox combination of flavors shine. As far as I can tell, *this* should be the flagship Fable uses to draw folks in, because it rules.

Into the Woods: A

Again, the flavors on the can are unorthodox and not super appealing; stone fruit, pine and rosemary. OK.

It pours like a heavier version of Red Bull, foaming slightly more than the energy drink. It smells citrusy and sour. It's a familiar scent but I can't put my finger on it. Dig your nose in too deep and that rosemary comes out, which gives you a little "I could marinate a steak in this" feel as well.

Despite the big smell, the taste is slightly muted compared to the other two Fable cans. That gives it more of a thirst quenching vibe, and the finish is drier than the other flavors in the portfolio. The stone fruit here is peach, but even alongside some cane sugar it's kept from being dramatically sweet thanks to a little tart lemon and the herbal breezes of rosemary and a little bit of hop-adjacent pine that work as a tertiary factor and fortunately don't go any harder than that.

This is the easiest to drink of the bunch, thinner and crisper and, while not quite up to Best Zest's weird beautiful standard, still pretty dang good. I should all note all three of these put me in a good place where I was able to fall asleep without anxiety. So, all in all, wins on every corner here.

Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?

This 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 Fable THC cocktails over a cold can of Hamm’s?

The purpose behind the two drinks is two different forms of intoxication. But Fable tastes great and got me to the pleasant pre-sleep buzz I'm looking for one can at a time. It won't replace my beers, but it'll get drank.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Fable THC cocktail review: Unique, weird and, importantly, pretty dang good