We had several cans of Flying Embers hard kombucha lying around from a shindig my Frau threw last year and I figured there's no use in having them take up space in the refrigerator when that space could be occupied by beer. So I sifted and winnowed looking to try a hard kombucha for the first time.
The coconut stuff had to go. I am just not a big coconut person. I think my older brother tortured me with that coconut-scented tan oil one time after he'd made a couch cushion sandwich out of me and I've just had a mental block on the innocent fruit. The passion fruit, mango, guava stuff went too because they just sounded like they were mimicking an NE IPA.
That left me with the prickly pear variety.
Now, kombucha I'd had before - just not the hard variety. Kombucha is fermented black tea and I know you're shocked to learn that it probably originated in China. It's good stuff. A bit fizzy, a bit tangy, and with whatever other flavors the kombucha maker decided to throw in there.
Looking at all of the cans, I got the impression that Flying Embers was trying to cash in on the "healthier" alcoholic drink market and capture some hard seltzer territory by adding booze to a drink associated with the wisdom of ancient China and supposedly imbued with various and sundry health benefits. I suppose I should qualify "healthier" here and note that this drink has no carbohydrates and some vitamin C but nothing much else.
The pricky pear is the fruit of a particular genus of cacti. I would swear I've had it before somewhere but cannot recall if it was a cocktail or a meal or perhaps a Mexican candy. I don't recall liking it but I also don't recall disliking it.
In the interest of fairness, I will admit that I didn't notice the small print here until I was opening the can to sample: in addition to prickly pear, there's also blue agave. Agave is an ingredient in tequila and I am not a fan of tequila.
And so this drink had a couple strikes against it from the beginning. It seemed to basically be gimmickry and to contain flavors that are distinctly unappealing to me. Still, I endeavor to be fair.
This kombucha was a lovely light orangish brown. My pour produced quite a bit of effervescence as I got a big, white head and I could hear the bubbles popping just like soda. And it went away very quickly just like soda as well. There were a lot of bubbles inside. In addition to prickly pear and blue agave, there is also lime here and the aroma had a large 7-UP component to it. There was some tequila smell as well as what I figured was the prickly pear, a moderately sweet pear-melon kind of scent.
As expected, I tasted all that fizz from the get-go and it was light-bodied. Much to my dismay, the blue agave was right up front with lime and a hint of the kombucha tucked way back. The agave lingered after I swallowed and I tasted some bitterness which I think was the monk fruit, a type of natural sweetener. I have had it before and find it superior to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, though still not as tasty as sugar.
The ingredients list is almost without fruit, per se. There's prickly pair flavor, blue agave essence, and black lime flavor. Oh, and purple plum and something called an "Adaptogen Root Blend" that consisted of ginger, turmeric, and ginseng. These spices may have combined with the fizz and tea to give this drink its bracing kick.
I did not care for this stuff because of the blue agave, mainly. Just not to my taste. But I can certainly see tequila fans enjoying it. Another thing that turned me off was that I could discern little to no kombucha. It's like this gimmick whose only job is to purvey booze and fruity sweetness rather than help out much in the flavoring department.
Junk food pairing: for an authentic food pairing, find a bag of Sabritas Adobadas potato chips. They will complement the zing of the kombucha but add nicely contrasting spicy flavors such as cumin.
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