Every Suncruiser Canned Cocktail, Ranked Worst To Best

I don't know about you, but when it starts to warm up outside, I'm suddenly unable to say no to any refreshing drink. I may have just chugged a gallon of lemonade, but I'll totally take some of that iced tea (unsweetened, please!) sitting in the fridge. Bonus points if it's happy hour on a Friday, all my work is done for the week, and I can unwind with something a little boozy to celebrate. Triple bonus points if the chilled, vodka-laced concoction is already made and ready to crack open.

To that end, I had to take a moment to put the spotlight on Sun Cruiser, a canned cocktail brand that's made spiked tea and lemonade solely its business. There's no shortage of canned cocktails on the market, and by leaning into tea and lemonade profiles, Sun Cruiser has carved out a respectable niche for itself in the industry — but how do its drinks stack up? I tried and ranked each based on the overall strength of the flavor and how "natural" it tasted, and I'm happy to report that I found most of the cans to be incredibly approachable. I think there's a little something for everyone in Sun Cruiser's canned cocktail lineup. Wondering which you're most likely to favor? Keep reading to get some insight. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Here's my personal take — while I don't dislike iced tea, I tend to not be the biggest fan of sweet iced tea, and that's why Sun Cruiser's Classic Iced Tea cocktail ultimately landed in last place here. Now, to its credit, this can wasn't overly sweet at all; however, I could tell that it was artificially sweetened. I don't typically mind artificial sweeteners, but it took away from the experience a bit with this can. 

On the flip side, the iced tea definitely comes through, and the vodka is incredibly subtle. Fans of iced tea who don't mind the flavor of artificial sweeteners will likely find this one incredibly approachable, and it checks that "refreshing" box that you'd expect such a drink to fulfill. I just wasn't the biggest fan of its flavor profile. The following drinks were all more endearing to me, but again, don't knock this one if refreshing iced tea is your drink of choice. 

I wanted to love Sun Cruiser's Peach Iced Tea. Peach is one of my absolute favorite flavor profiles in anything, so I may have judged this can more harshly than the average consumer would; still, I expect a lot from peach iced tea. This can wasn't a total miss by any means, but unfortunately, one flaw kept it from taking a higher spot on this list. 

I'll start with the good things I have to say about this can: The peach flavor comes through loud and proud at the front of the sip, and I initially thought this would be a winner. However, it was quickly followed by a little bitterness at the end of the sip that took it down a notch for me. That left me pretty torn on this flavor — on the one hand, I liked what the peach brought into the equation, but I didn't like what followed at the end of the sip. 

Here's a question that's plagued me since I was old enough to wonder such things: What even is pink lemonade, anyway? It's supposedly the same exact drink as regular lemonade, dyed pink with natural or artificial coloring. It shouldn't taste any different from its yellow sibling, and yet somehow I swear I've always found a slight discrepancy between the two. I feel like I could easily tell the difference between them in a blind taste test.

Indeed, I got that "pink" flavor here, and I liked this one quite a bit — which may have you wondering why it only got sixth place here. I simply liked the following cans more, and found them to have stronger, more identifiable flavors. One thing working in this can's favor is that it's particularly tart, which I always appreciate in a lemonade, and once again the vodka sat in the background here, making this a very smooth sipper. 

Earning a middling spot on this list is, unsurprisingly, Sun Cruiser's Classic Lemonade. This can does neither too much nor too little in any respect — it's exactly what you'd expect from such a drink, and I appreciated that nothing took me by surprise here. That said, it couldn't earn a higher ranking than number five, simply because Sun Cruiser's following flavors packed more of a zippy punch. If all you're feeling on a warm afternoon is a cold glass of lemonade, this will certainly fit the bill. 

The flavor profile here is everything I look for in a classic lemonade: bright, zingy, and not too sweet. There's no denying it's lemonade, and even though it's not dressed up with any other flavors, the vodka still sits pleasantly in the background. Cracking open this can will evoke all the nostalgia of downing a glass of cold lemonade after a long pool day as a kid, but with that grown-up appeal of being a spiked beverage — it's an easy choice and a certain crowd pleaser. 

Now, here's a fruity iced tea concoction that I can really get behind: Sun Cruiser's Raspberry Iced Tea. If you can't get enough of whatever favorite berry tea you're currently drinking, this is definitely the can for you. I was wholly pleased with this flavor, which delivered everything I'd hoped to get from the peach iced tea, but in raspberry form. It was quite good.

Raspberry takes up most of the sip, with the iced tea gently finishing off the sip — and this time, I didn't get any bitterness at the end of the sip. That may be because the raspberry flavor is super juicy, leaving no room for any bitter notes to come through. Whatever the reason, it's why this can made it all the way up to the fourth spot here. Judging between these top few flavors was difficult, and the only reason I couldn't rank this one any higher is because I found the following to be more punchy and balanced — still, I'd drink this again in a heartbeat. 

Sitting in stark contrast to Sun Cruiser's Classic and Pink Lemonades are two flavored lemonades from the company, each of which pack a huge punch of flavor and are delightful in their own ways. The first I'm going to talk about is Sun Cruiser's Blueberry Lemonade. I tried this can first, and I liked it so much that I expected it to easily get the number one spot on this list. The fact that it only came in third should be a testament to how great the following cans are. 

Still, this was absolutely an enviable lemonade, and the fact that it's spiked is just a bonus. The blueberry flavor is stronger than the lemonade flavor, but I didn't mind that one bit — I still got enough of a lemony tang that this didn't taste like straight blueberry juice. Moreover, it was effortlessly summery in its appeal, and the blueberry flavor lingered for a while after the sip. Any blueberry-lemon fans will appreciate this drink. The real question is, would you like it more than my top two picks?

Iced tea and lemonade is a classic combination by now, one that Arnold Palmer fans can't get enough of — and I don't blame them in the slightest, especially after trying Sun Cruiser's Half & Half. I'm an occasional drinker of the hybrid summertime favorite, but I haven't ever really sought it out. For better or for worse, this can is about to change that.

The proportions here were absolutely *chef's kiss* perfect. I have no notes for the Sun Cruiser team on this one. It will scratch any Arnold Palmer itch, and when I was drinking this, I nearly forgot it was spiked — I couldn't taste the vodka at all. Iced tea and lemonade each came through in equal measure, making for an ultra-refreshing drink that's tasty to boot. You can bet I'll be reaching for this one again (and I'm very glad there's a few more sitting in my fridge). Given the high praise, you may be wondering what could possibly surpass Sun Cruiser's Half & Half? 

As always, I've saved the best for last: Sun Cruiser's Strawberry Lemonade. Sure, I'm biased. I'll reach for strawberry lemonade anything in the warmer months, and had I been presented Sun Cruiser's full lineup without trying them before, I'd have chosen the strawberry lemonade can without a second thought. Fortunately, my instincts with this one would have been spot on. I found this to be the most flavorful of any of the cans I tried for this taste test.

Strawberry came through abundantly, and though it was sweet, the lemonade was a great foil to the flavor, bringing in enough tangy appeal to make for a very well-rounded drink. I called it a "home run" in the notes I took while taste testing — the depth of flavor is there, it's bright and punchy, and each sip left me wanting another one. Honestly, I'm a little tempted to pour this can and the previous into one big glass for what I assume would be a flavor explosion. Do yourself a favor and keep a stockpile of this bad boy in your fridge when warmer months roll around — there's no way you'll regret it. 

I tried all eight of Sun Cruiser's canned cocktails for this taste test, and each had been refrigerated for a few days prior to the taste test. I tried them all back to back, sipping some water in between to cleanse my palate.

When considering what order to put these in, I took into account how balanced and natural the flavor profile of each was. This knocked the Classic Iced Tea down to last place for having an identifiable artificial sweetener taste, and knocked the Peach Iced Tea down for having a bitter aftertaste. The remaining teas weren't the easiest to rank, so the strength of each flavor was particularly important when ordering them, which especially came into play when placing Strawberry Lemonade in the top spot.