Review: White Claw Tequila Smash Seltzers Deliver A Refreshing Twist On The Beloved Canned Cocktails

What screams summer more than a cold can of boozy seltzer on the beach, at the bar, or even on your couch? White Claw Tequila Smash is the brand's innovation on a beloved classic. With four flavors, 5% alcohol by volume, no added sugar, and 100 calories per can, the popular brand's new product might give competing summer seltzers a run for their money.

Tequila is one of the more popular spirits out there, either as a straight shot chased with the bite of lime or mixed into a spritzer and buried in artificial flavors. White Claw seemingly wanted to create a beverage that would make tequila the social drink it's meant to be. Its four new flavors are Lime Prickly Pear, Mango Tamarind, Pineapple Passionfruit, and Strawberry Guava. 

When we attended a tasting in New York City's West Village, the brand shared how the team began curating this project a couple of years before the March 2024 release, taking on the challenge of mixing tequila's signature and often smoky taste with fruit juice. As a result, the White Claw team told us that they wanted to create a product that's light, delicious, and refreshing — the perfect summer social drink. We tried all the tequila-based flavors to judge for ourselves. 

White Claw distills its tequila from non-GMO blue Weber agave that's grown on an organic family farm in Jalisco, Mexico. The tequila is aged six years before use, and each can contain the fruit juices of its designated flavors. The brand focuses on mouthfeel in its products, so using two flavors per can add complexity to each drink's taste profile.

Blue Weber agave is the only variety that can be used to make tequila in Mexico, as set in stone by a law enacted in 2012. Blue Weber is a relatively sweet agave, different from its more earthy or herbal counterparts. Jalisco contains two regions, with the Tequila Region of Origin (otherwise known as Tequila Valley) producing sweeter agave.

The agave is then blended with fruit juice, seltzer, and something the brand calls "Agua Dulce." This ingredient bonds well with the fruit flavors and captures all of the best parts of tequila, including the fresh, almost vegetable-like taste. Agua Dulce is the brand's secret weapon in its tequila drinks. The brand claims that the taste of this iteration is unique within the seltzer market because it's considered an "ultra-pure" seltzer, which refers to its proprietary filtration process. Other specific ingredients not listed on the can include carbonated water, natural flavors, citric acid, sodium citrate, and concentrated lime juice.

White Claw Tequila Smash will be sold in packs of eight, with each pack containing two cans of each flavor. The new tequila seltzer will be available in three stores upon its initial release: Kroger, Target, and 7-Eleven. According to the brand, the suggested retail price will be anywhere from $18.49 to $18.99, depending on location. This is just about the same price as White Claw Hard Seltzer variety packs, which retail anywhere from $18 to $20 at both Target and Kroger, but also come in packs of 12 cans.

Compared to competing tequila seltzer brands, White Claw's price for its tequila seltzer sits between steep and typical. Popular tequila soda brand Onda sells an eight-pack of its classic collection of tequila seltzers for $12.49 (depending on your location), whereas brands like High Noon retail an eight-pack for close to $25. Like the flavors in its Tequila Smash, White Claw's price point may have struck just the right balance.

From Betty Booze to Onda, there's no shortage of tequila-based seltzers for revelers to enjoy. High Noon is another popular hard seltzer brand on the market, which saw a 64% hike in sales during the pandemic's peak from April to May 2020, according to ABC Fine Wine & Spirits. For my comparison, I tasted High Noon Lime Tequila Seltzer against White Claw's Lime Prickly Pear.

Both beverages include real tequila and juice with no high-fructose corn syrup, and both are gluten-free with natural flavors and 100 calories per can. High Noon is 4.5% alcohol by volume to White Claw's 5%, and High Noon contains 2.6 grams of added sugar, while White Claw has none. Even so, High Noon Tequila Seltzer is no sweeter than its competitor. The lime flavor is evident even through the heavy carbonation; White Claw's fizziness, on the other hand, is more akin to a bottle of San Pellegrino than a can of Sprite.

High Noon's tequila flavor is barely present, so the seltzer tastes non-alcoholic with the faintest hint of lime. I found that White Claw's flavor is more prominent and it strikes the perfect balance of sweetness and spirit. The scent of lime is quite noticeable with the High Noon can, though, and it's quite tangy. It's a good scent for summer, but the taste doesn't hold up to the more robust combination of flavors in the White Claw Tequila Smash Lime Prickly Pear.

As soon as I poped open a can of Strawberry Guava Tequila Smash, the strawberry's sweet aroma filled the room. While the drink is quite fragrant, its marketing claims the combined flavors mean one note doesn't linger too long, despite the strawberry's dominance.

The addition of guava does lessen that sweet strawberry aroma, and while the taste doesn't become unsweet by any means, it's evident that the guava is working overtime to calm the other flavors. Still, the sweetness is prevalent, and combined with the drink's fragrant aroma, this flavor does seem a bit proud of itself — which, for a tequila spritzer that's new to the market, is probably a good thing.

The taste doesn't linger too long in the mouth, vanishing after just a few seconds. Plus, I didn't notice any strong hints of alcohol or burning in the back of my throat that would indicate the presence of low-quality tequila. If you don't like to taste your alcohol, this may be the perfect flavor for you.

White Claw's Pineapple Passion Fruit flavor is interesting because I couldn't notice notes from either fruit overpowering the other. Even as we inhaled the aroma of a freshly opened can, it was hard to decipher what exactly the smell was. Since the brand says the goal is to mix these flavors and add complexity to the seltzer, it's fair to say that the company did its job.

In this can, the top-billed flavor is specifically grilled fresh pineapple. Something about the charred fruit's heat mixed with the coldness of a refrigerated Tequila Smash makes for an incredibly balanced contrast — this flavor is just as refreshing as I want a White Claw to be. It tastes like opening a cold drink on a hot summer day. Compared to the other flavors on this list, I found the Pineapple Passion Fruit's ability to completely combine two distinct tastes into one standout flavor profile to be an impressive feat. If you're looking for the distinct taste of either pineapple or passion fruit, however, this probably isn't the tequila seltzer for you.

Tamarind can be savory or sweet depending on how ripe it is. If you're unfamiliar, tamarind is a common spice in Mexican cuisine. I got a bit of that spice just from taking a whiff — the scent made my nose wiggle just enough to realize there was something more to this flavor. The tamarind leans savory, while the mango comes in to provide a speck of sweetness on the back end. It's just a speck, though. Overall, this flavor is much less saccharine than the other seltzers on this list; so if you like your tequila doused in sweetness, this particular flavor likely isn't for you.

Apparently, creating a whole new line of canned drinks wasn't enough for White Claw — the brand wanted to be even more bold and create a flavor using an ingredient that's barely on the rise in the States.

The White Claw team told us that lime is a risky flavor to work with because it can quickly overtake the palate. This can be proven very easily by cracking open a can of the brand's Lime Prickly Pear Tequila Smash. Like the Strawberry Guava flavor, the smell can't wait to make its presence known. Seeing that the brand wants these drinks to be refreshing for summertime fun, we find this 12-ounce can certainly deliver. The lime's sharp aroma mixed with the pear's subtle sweetness creates a scent that made me do a double take.

Prickly pear is a fruit that grows on a species of cacti and is both sweet and smooth on the inside. While "pear" is in the name, it may be more accurately compared to a kiwi, a watermelon, or a tart strawberry. With these flavors combined, this drink goes down like a lighter version of a margarita. The seltzer certainly doesn't have a strong alcoholic aftertaste like some margaritas since the tequila taste is well-hidden. This flavor features more of the tequila's freshness than the others.

I found the Lime Prickly Pear seltzer to be zesty and crisp, but also created a sourness that remained refreshing. The first sip almost tastes as though the salt rim of a margarita has been mixed into the drink, and since I find the rim is the best part of any margarita, this flavor is pretty perfect.

If you're looking for a light, refreshing drink you can buy in a variety pack (so each of your friends can have a flavor that suits them), there's no better place to look than the White Claw Tequila Smash seltzers. With the smooth carbonation of the brand's classic hard seltzer and the subtle tequila taste that doesn't overwhelm its fruity flavors, White Claw Tequila Smash is the perfect drink to share in summer — or just as soon as you can get it.

You should keep in mind that White Claw's tequila drinks will set you back more than its original seltzers made with malted alcohol. We do love these drinks are still gluten-free and are priced competitively compared to other brands in the market selling tequila-based seltzers.

If White Claw's goal was to make a hard seltzer that's perfect for socializing and not too strong, this tequila-based seltzer hits the perfect sweet spot for me. The four flavor offerings ensure that there's something for everyone at your next gathering: Strawberry Guava for an aromatic sweetness, Mango Tamarind for a surprising savory flavor, Pineapple Passion Fruit for a pleasurable balance on your palate, or Lime Prickly Pear for the ultimate refresher.