Fruitsecco Mode: The Gauntlet reviews summer drinks

By Troy Hasselman, July 15 2019 —

Summer is the best season for beverages. Sure, winter offers hot chocolate and eggnog and fall has warm cider and pumpkin spice-flavoured drinks but the sheer number of drinks that go along with summer weather simply can’t be matched. Between the sweet-tasting wines, ice cream floats, sangria and McDonald’s Dollar Drink Days, the options are nearly endless. 

BC Tree Cider Company has released a sparkling beverage by the name of M.O Fruitsecco and sent samples to my apartment for review. The alcoholic sparkling beverage will be available in three flavours — Sparkling Basil, Sparkling Rosé, Sparkling Dry and I sampled all three and have reviewed them accordingly.

Sparkling Rosé

Illustration courtesy of M.O Fruitsecco

According to the press release that came with the drinks, the Sparkling Rosé flavour contains three-and-a-half apples, nine cherries, soda water, has 110 calories and contains five per cent alcohol. This is easily the sweetest of the three drinks and the one that bears the closest resemblance to a traditional cider beverage like Strongbow or Okanagan Apple. Despite using fewer apples than any of the other drinks, it is the beverage where the apple flavour comes through the strongest and manages to overpower the taste of cherries, which remains very faint aside from a slight aftertaste. It has a fairly sour taste, but is overall refreshing. It is has nowhere near the overpowering sweetness of many cider beverages. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Sparkling Dry

Illustration courtesy of M.O Fruitsecco

The sparkling dry flavour is made of four apples, one lavender sprig, soda water and is 118 calories and five per cent alcohol. The lavender sprig balances out the taste of the apples and the two flavours work together nicely, with neither overpowering the other and creating a new, interesting taste. The apple taste of the drink gives it a sourness while the slight mint taste of the lavender balances well with the apple and adds a new texture to the sourness. The sweetness of the beverage isn’t particularly noticeable and keeps the focus of the drink on its flavour. The light taste adds to the summeriness of it and doesn’t taste heavy or make you feel lethargic or weighted down after having one in the way that some beers can. 

Rating: 8.5/10

Sparkling Basil

Illustration courtesy of M.O Fruitsecco

The sparkling basil flavour contains four apples, one basil leaf, 118 calories and five-point-zero percent alcohol. The basil leaf combines with the apple to give the beverage a taste that is similar to the Sparkling Dry beverage. The basil contrasts well with the apple and has the same slight mintiness of the lavender with more of a savouriness than the lavender that can almost come across as spicy at certain points. These flavours overall work well together and don’t overpower one another but will come at you in stages with the apple taste giving way to the taste of the basil soon after. Again, this one isn’t overtly sweet and has a light taste that is refreshing without being overpowering. While I personally prefer the lavender flavour, I would rank the sparkling basil flavour a close runner-up.

Rating: 8/10

Overall, I found all three of these sparkling beverage flavours to be enjoyable. All held a light, summery taste that would work perfectly with any seasonal activities, be it having drinks on a patio, going to a backyard barbecue or staying home watching Shark Week. The three complement the warmest season quite nicely.