Suntory Looks To Temperature To Innovate The Seltzer Game

Written By: The Gnarly Gnome
Photography: Provided

I was definitely critical of seltzers for a very long time. It wasn’t the actual concept of seltzer that turned me off – it was that all the seltzers that were popping up just kinda tasted, well… lousy. I felt like I was screaming at a wall. Why were people going into a bar and ordering these lackluster canned drinks when there was a perfectly good bottle of vodka and soda water right there?

Then, folks started canning vodka seltzers, and I haven’t looked back.

I might be a beer drinker at heart, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to what’s happening in the RTD and spirit scene. In fact… a month or so ago, I was walking through my local beer shop and situated right in an aisle next to the local beers was a representative from a distributor pouring samples of something that I couldn’t help but try…

I tried every Suntory -196 flavor, and I remembered that seltzer can be great.

What Is -196?

This new seltzer is launching from Suntory, and doing it in a big way via a nationwide release. It’s pronounced “minus one-nine-six,” and it uses a pretty interesting technique to get the fruit flavors into the beverage. They’re clearly looking to separate themselves from the other cans on the shelf.

This innovative process is known as their “Freeze Crush Infusion Process,” which involves taking whole fruit and flash-freezing it at -196 degrees Celsius using liquid nitrogen. They then take the frozen fruit, crush it, and infuse it into vodka.

Fresh fruit, bright flavors, crisp-bodied, and easy-drinking seltzers.

Image Provided

The Flavors

There are four different flavors for you to choose from, depending on what you’re looking for.

  • Lemon
  • Grapefruit
  • Peach
  • Strawberry
    The press release goes through a lot of detail to try to describe these flavors for you, which is insane… if you’ve ever had the fruits in question: that’s what the freaking seltzer tastes like.

This is nothing if not a high five for the brand that figured out how to make a seltzer that actually tastes good… something that many brands before them failed to achieve.

Try It For Yourself

While it’s important for you to know that I don’t put things in writing that I don’t believe in, it’s also important to note that I don’t ever want you to just take my word for it. At the end of the day, the goal is for you to head out and try it for yourself.

The good news is that you can get what I’d call “far and wide” with this big rollout. They have a locator on their website that will show you all the places near you where you can snag them for yourself. At $10.99 for a four-pack and $19.99 for the 8-can variety pack, it’s hard to argue that it’s not a good deal either.

Seriously, try it for yourself.

Image Provided

Why All Of This Matters

The entire landscape of drinks is changing rapidly and dramatically at times. It’s challenging to keep up with it all, but in the end, good products always stand out from mediocre ones. I’m a firm believer that there is a time and a place for a variety of beverages, and a great, clean vodka seltzer that is fruit-forward will always have many opportunities to fit into my life.

Everyone wants to innovate, and when fun things happen, they deserve to be recognized when we see them. This is a good beverage, and that’s why I talk about it, here.

I encourage you to visit your favorite retailer and try it for yourself. Even better, report back and let me know if you’re as game for something like this as I am heading into the summer season.

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