Golden Road's Spiked Agua Fresca ∙ Mango
Cold Hard Facts
Available in 12 oz. skinny cans sold within 12-can variety packs
9g sugar
110 calories
37 calories from sugar, 73 calories from alcohol*
Flavor Profile
This mango seltzer isn’t the best mango hard seltzer available, but it will certainly do. It is very light and easy, and there’s not too much flavor. If you like a bold mango, pass on this one, but if you like your seltzer to be tasteless (in a good way!), check out all of the flavors in this variety pack. Curiously, this Mango seltzer, despite being on the mild side, is made with 10% fruit juice, which could account for the whopping 9.4 grams of carbs listed in fine print on the label. It was a little shocking to learn that it’s made with real fruit juice because from the nose to the aftertaste, it seems artificial.
Drinkability
At 4%, all the Agua Fresca seltzers are approved for day drinking, but with all this sugar you might not want to drink this the whole day. Because of the mild flavor and aftertaste, the more of these you drink, the easier they go down. Because Agua Fresca is on the milder side flavor-wise, all seltzers in this line are very easy to drink and may end up going down a little too easily a few rounds in. If you’re packing a cooler, make sure to include some lower-sugar drinks to pepper in. You’ll thank us in the morning.
Price
Agua Fresca brand seltzers are relatively new, so it’s tough to say what pricing will be like as they travel farther from the source and as their production gains economies of scale. Given that Golden Road’s Agua Fresca has barely made it to our regional HQ, here is the HardSeltzerReviews.com price index estimate:
Dive Bar
$3-5 for a 12 oz. can
Bar/Restaurant
$4-6 for a 12 oz. can
Store
$16 for a 12-pack of 12 oz. cans
Recommendations
Drink Mango Agua Fresca by itself, and make sure to rehydrate with low-sugar drinks every few rounds. Garnish with a slice of juice orange or lemon to reawaken its natural fruit flavor.
Summary
Taste
3/5
Price
$$$
Drinkability
4/5
Hangover Ease
2/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
You might like it
For a relatively new seltzer made by a craft beer company, the price is much lower than you can usually hope for, and at 4%, Agua Fresca shows us that they understand people might like to drink five of these and live to tell the tale. The sugar content is a little tone-deaf, but there’s hope they’ll figure it out. The perfect version of this seltzer has 50-100% less sugar and relies more on smell than taste in its flavor journey. If you love supporting local &/ craft breweries, a case of Agua Fresca is definitely worth a try. If you’re outside of the west coast, and Agua Fresca is $3 more per case than something else you want to try, we recommend waiting until prices are more competitive.
*Calorie breakdown based on estimates