Over the past year or so, I’ve tried many varieties of hard seltzer since I learned about it being a lower-carb alternative to mixed drinks that still give me a good flavor. Most of the time.

The latest brand I decided to try is under the Bud Light umbrella. I decided to try all 11 of the flavors available across 3 types of hard seltzer and rank them from the one I liked the least to the one I liked the most.

Grapefruit

Bud Light put out a Remix Edition of their Variety Pack and the first flavor I tried was the grapefruit. I’m not a grapefruit eater by nature so this viewpoint may be a little bit biased, but I think the grapefruit is the least appealing flavor of Bud Light’s hard seltzer. And it also is probably the least appetizing grapefruit hard seltzer I’ve ever tasted because 

Lemon Lime Seltzer

This was the first of these drinks that I tried. When I first took a sip of the lemon lime Bud Light hard seltzer, it took a minute to realize the flavor profile. Upon a second, third and fourth sip, it really came off as a sugar-free lemon lime sports drink. It was very unusual since I hadn’t had a Gatorade or Powerade in a long time, certainly not a lower-sugar version.

Blood Orange Platinum

Although it’s technically a citrus, it’s so special that it gets its own flavor unlike its comrade ahead of it on my list. But the flavor isn’t too special since blood orange has its own distinct taste and it’s not that great. But at least it’s 8% alcohol by volume (ABV).

Citrus Platinum

The circus Platinum seltzer gives a similar vibe to the lemon lime, except I can definitely tell it’s an alcoholic beverage. That’s because the Platinum seltzer line offer 8% alcohol by volume ABV, whereas the regular offers just 5.0 ABV. It’s also made with agave, so that sounds a little exotic.

Watermelon Mojito

The watermelon mojito flavor is part of Bud Light’s Out Of Office limited-edition case along with some other cocktail-inspired drinks. I hate the artificial watermelon flavor that you generally get because you can’t replicate it and it definitely shines through in this beverage. What saves it is the fact that it’s refreshing like a mojito.

Black Cherry

The black cherry Bud Light was more of an authentic-tasting hard seltzer that I’m used to. Its flavor is very similar to other black cherry-flavored drinks of the same ilk from brands the White Claw and Truly.

Strawberry

I’ve never seen a straight-up strawberry hard seltzer and Bud Light made it taste pretty good. It’s got a nice smooth flavor that definitely tastes like strawberry. It is a bit sweeter, which is something I personally enjoy.

Original Lemonade

I personally have a bias towards lemonade, with pink lemonade being my cheat beverage when I’m on a road trip or at the movies getting a fountain drink. Out of the 4 Bud Light lemonade seltzer flavors, this one is the least appealing only because of how good the others are.

Wild Berry Platinum

This flavor was definitely the best of the Bud Light Platinum hard seltzer line and that’s because it gave a nice combination of a harder kick in the pants with a very nice wild berry taste. It’s a shame it’s only available lumped in with citrus & blood orange.

Classic Lime Margarita

Crook and Marker makes the standard bearer of canned margaritas in my opinion. And the classic lime margarita that Bud Light produces falls short of that mark, though it’s very good. It comes across maybe a little bit too strong for my liking, but is very authentic of drinking an actual margarita.

Cranberry

Originally a part of the Bud Light Ugly Sweater pack that I didn’t get to try because I started this after that pack was no longer available, cranberry makes a comeback for the Variety Pack Remix Edition. And I’m glad it did because it gives a very authentic full cranberry flavor with a nice ratio of alcohol and fizz.

Mango

Mango is a common flavor of hard seltzer and Bud Light does it justice. I can’t say I like it any more or less than brands like White Claw and Truly. But it’s definitely the best one that Bud Light puts out.

Mango Mai Tai

This is similar to the mango Bud Light seltzer right above, except the mango mai tai has more of a cocktail feel. It’s a very distinctive version of the mango flavor and probably my favorite mango hard seltzer I’ve ever had.

Strawberry Lemonade

I’ve had a couple of strawberry lemonade hard seltzers and the Bud Light version didn’t really taste any different, except that it was a bit sweeter than the others. And it’s a bit too sweet compared to the other 2 below, possibly because of the 5% ABV.

Black Cherry Lemonade

I think the Bud Light black cherry lemonade seltzer is a great balance of flavor, similar to the Truly version. Surprisingly, the black cherry just edged out the strawberry even though it’s the opposite for Truly.

Strawberry Daiquiri

I must say that the strawberry daiquiri Bud Light hard seltzer floored me when I tried it. It tasted as if they were about to bottle up the taste & feel of this frozen cocktail and present it as if I was having a drink on the beach or on a hot summer day. Kudos.

Peach Lemonade

The most unique and best variety of Bud Light hard seltzer is the peach lemonade. It’s a refreshing blend of alcohol, lemonade and peach flavor that I always save for last when drinking these 4 lemonade seltzers together.

In my research for this blog post, I found a Bud Light Ugly Sweater seltzer pack with Ginger Snap, Peppermint Pattie & Apple Pie varieties that I did not try since I only started drinking this brand after this limited-edition offering was no longer in stock.

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Chipotle has been a restaurant I’ve eaten at for a long while now, though I stopped for a period of time 5 years ago after outbreaks of E. coli, salmonella and the norovirus in their food.

I detailed it a bit in an old blog post, which definitely did not age well. I remember tweeting it out and getting a snarky response from the Chipotle account.

I usually get a salad with chicken and other accompaniments, but was curious when I saw that Chipotle introduced their cilantro-lime cauliflower rice since I love creative ways of getting your vegetables & reducing the amount of carbs I eat. And seeing a keto bowl on the menu truly excited me.

Upon first looking at the Chipotle keto bowl, it looked just like a regular bowl except the ingredients were specifically picked out to help support ketosis. They are comprised of:

• The aforementioned cilantro-lime cauliflower rice
• Chicken
• Tomatillo-red chili salsa (the hot stuff)
• Cheese
• Guacamole

I was excited to try the Chipotle cilantro-lime cauliflower rice keto bowl and the reality was mixed with a combination of goodness and disappointment. Here’s why.

As you can tell, this keto bowl looks different than the picture, as it would since the food gets modeled to look its best & showcase all of the ingredients.

The most noticeable difference is the seemingly lack of cauliflower rice. I had to do some digging to actually find it in order to get it in my bite. It definitely did not feel like a full bowl because of the lack of rice.

As a result, I did not feeling completely filled after eating it. I’m a 6’4, 260-lbs male who usually feels more full after eating a salad (granted it also has lettuce & beans not found in this bowl). Perhaps with some appetite control (which I’m working on in my life), I’ll feel more full after I lose some weight (which I’m also working on).

With that being said, the flavor of Chipotle’s cauliflower rice keto bowl was quite good. In fact, it was probably the best thing I’ve ever had at the restaurant and I’ve eaten it twice since the dish was unveiled in early January 2021.

Another noticeable flaw (probably the most noticeable flaw) is the price. Chipotle’s keto bowl costs $12.95 plus tax since they include an extra $2.50 charge for the guacamole and an extra $2 charge for the cauliflower rice.

Final Judgment: $13 and change for something that’s not exactly filling but tastes good is only worth it once in a while, but I’ll probably wind up ordering it again. It’s sad that healthier ingredients have to be so expensive because the alternative is so much easier & cheaper to make.

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Right around this time, I first met my now significant other and we went on our first date. As you can tell from the title of my blog post, I won’t be talking about that.

I’ll be talking about my second date with her that took place at the Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant that used to be in business in Woodbridge NJ. That location has since closed down and become an Xfinity store and a Popeye’s restaurant.

Just because a business has closed doesn’t mean it didn’t leave an impact on people. I remember suggesting my now significant other at this particular Bertucci’s since there was another location I’d normally go to and it was a nice place in between our houses.

I remember us drinking cocktails and talking for about 2 hours on this particular night. We shared appetizers and the bread, which I remember the small round rolls and loving to dip them in the olive oil/herb/red pepper combination.

She looked so beautiful that night and I knew it wasn’t just a fluke the first time around. And as I can tell from being with her for 5 years now, she’s just beautiful in general and she always radiates whenever she enters a room or I enter the room she’s in.

I had such nervous energy on our first date and I feel like that dissipated by the time our second date happened a couple of weeks later. We spoke to each other more, got to know one another and I genuinely felt more like myself.

At the end of it, I’m not one to kiss and tell. But it was sad to figuratively kiss the Bertucci’s in Woodbridge goodbye as they closed their doors. Now the nearest one is over the border in Pennsylvania since the one down in North Brunswick NJ permanently closed also, as I found out by searching in Google.

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