Non-alcoholic review: Bellwoods Jelly King Tangerine Grapefruit Seltzer

I won’t usually review a seltzer but with Bellwoods Brewing doing deliveries to Manitoba - I had to pick up a can of Bellwoods’ new Jelly King Real Fruit Seltzer, with this being their tangerine grapefruit variety. 

From the website: Juicy tangerine shines through, balanced by crisp grapefruit, lemon, and lime. With 100% real fruit and 0.0% alcohol, this bright and zesty blend is crisp and refreshing.

Carbonated water, 100% real fruit including tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, and lime. 0.0% ABV

Appearance: This looks like a typical Jelly King NA Sour to me, which shocked me as I poured this - I was expecting a very carbonated and clear beverage that looks like a 7-UP. Nope, this is a very opaque and dark orange-bodied beverage that looks like no seltzer you’ve ever had - but that being said, as I was pouring it, it had a good amount of fizzy carbonation that you’d expect in a typical seltzer/soft drink. 

Aroma: I’m getting grapefruit first and foremost, which is a tad bit surprising as it’s the second fruit on the billing. There’s a bit of tangerine as well to give the seltzer some sweetness, and to give it a bit of a snap.. there’s a bit of a lemon/lime presence at the end. So far, this reminds me of my mom’s boozy slushes that she has made since a long time before I was born - definite tartness, sweetness, citrus elements.

Taste: For a seltzer, yeah - you get that “soda water” taste to it but the fruitiness give off notes of grapefruit for a good amount of tartness, a moderate amount of tangerine that gives a sweetness to it, and lemon/lime to compliment both the sweetness/tartness of all the fruit. It’s decently smooth.

Overall Thoughts: This is an adult “soft drink” - it’s got a vibe that’s between a sour but also a soda. This is also only 40 calories so it makes it a bit healthier than a Fanta or Orange Crush (RIP C’Plus). The ingredients are simply: carbonated water, tangerines, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. I was going to completely write this off as I don’t like seltzers, but this not only fits in the with the Jelly King series, but also could compete with grocery brands. How will this compete against grocery brands? I have no idea but this had serious flavour to it, something I don’t see from seltzers usually.. so I’ll try out their other flavours one of these days.