Ranking and Reviewing Kylie Jenner’s Coachella-Inspired Vodka Seltzer Drop

(Photo: Sprinter)

Days ahead of Coachella, Kylie Jenner expanded her popular range of Sprinter Vodka Seltzers with four new flavors. Launched nationwide in Pink Lemonade, Mango, Strawberry and Pineapple varieties, the quartet was affectionately dubbed the “Palm Springs Pack.”

Keen-eyed fans will be quick to tell you that Kylie owns a vacation home in the eponymous California town, which also happens to be a stone’s throw away from the Coachella Music Festival at which the influencer/celebrity was recently spotted dancing in the crowd alongside eminently famous heartthrob Timothee Chalamet.

All of that’s to say, the Palm Springs Pack benefits from a heck of a lot of built-in promotion. Kylie goes to Coachella, Kylie drinks Sprinter; you go to Coachella, you drink Sprinter! Or, perhaps more likely — you’re inundated with Coachella coverage across Instagram, TikTok and Reddit and maybe you drink Sprinter. Maybe.

We figured we’d get to the bottom of the question and see whether or not these flavors are worth picking up. Originally launched last year in Lime, Grapefruit, Peach and Black Cherry varieties, Sprinter clocks in at 100 calories per canned vodka soda. Each is purportedly made using real fruit juice and costs around $16.99 per eight-pack.

This is our first time trying anything from the Sprinter lineup, but it looks like we might be in the minority. Within a month of its debut, Sprinter reportedly sold 140,000 cases at over 10,000 retailers across the U.S., making it the kind of blockbuster name that competes directly against the likes of White Claw and High Noon. But can it stand up to the heat?

4. Sprinter Mango

The only can in the pack I couldn’t totally wrap my head around was the mango. Though I believe it’s made from real fruit, there was an oddly synthetic flavor that felt a hint more mango candy than mango juice. Especially in the aftertaste.

However, for most occasions, this should do fine. It goes down super easy, giving it that “crushable” quality that every vodka seltzer brand goes on and on about in their marketing materials. Its mango flavor is delivered in hints, not gobs, avoiding that all-too-familiar memory of a canned cocktail that tastes like a melted Jolly Rancher. Whatever my reservations about the aftertaste, this is miles better than most of the mango-flavored competition.

And to give credit where credit is due, Kylie and co. knocked it out of the park when it came to packaging. I keep my pre-mixed cocktails in a dedicated cabinet above my fridge and, frankly, it’s often impossible to distinguish one lime vodka seltzer from another. No such issue with Sprinter. The cans have a bubbly, Y2K-inspired label that pops off the shelf with bright pastel hues, a nice change of pace from the black-and-white color scheme that startlingly many of its competitors are still rocking with. I can only imagine how easy these are to show off in a beachside Instagram post.

3. Sprinter Pink Lemonade

Pink lemonade is an odd flavor of choice for a brand advertising itself around the inclusion of real fruit juice. It belongs in that nebulous echelon of color-inspired flavors like blue raspberry and green apple — usually more vibe than authentic fruit. On second thought, I’m not even sure what pink lemonade actually is.

Skepticism aside, I was quite impressed by how laid-back Sprinter’s take on the concept was. It smelled just like a LaCroix, packing in a smidge of lemon and raspberry without veering into cloyingly sweet territory. It tasted exactly the same: super light and effervescent with a tickle of fruit flavor and plenty of carbonation. It’s a little inoffensive, sure, but it goes down great after an hour in the fridge. Can’t imagine anyone not liking this.

2. Sprinter Pineapple

These flavors really start hitting their stride with Pineapple. Forgive the advertiser-friendly comparison, but here we go: this tastes like fresh-squeezed juice mixed with seltzer and vodka at home.

There’s a nibble of acidity, tart sweetness and a welcome aftertaste that lingers for longer than expected. The only thing missing is that astringent bite on the roof of the mouth you sometimes get from fresh pineapple, but I assure you it’s not missed in the slightest. If I had to give a guess-timation, I’d say this clocks in at around 30% pineapple and 70% seltzer. A good ratio for a pre-mixed cocktail if there ever was one.

1. Sprinter Strawberry

Sprinter Strawberry hits you up front with a big authentic whiff of its namesake fruit. And it tastes just like it smells! This is easily the most fully flavored cocktail in the pack, and I kept going back for more. The seltzer is fresh, sweet and a little grassy, far removed from the saccharine mouthfeel you get from most red-hued alcoholic drinks on the market. Dare I say this is one of the best renditions of strawberry available at your local convenience store?

The question brings to mind an obvious comparison. After all, Sprinter competes directly against High Noon, the other big brand that proudly touts its real fruit juice and vodka recipe. No doubt that Kylie is aware of the similarity, especially given that High Noon regularly clocks in as the best-selling pre-mixed cocktail in the country year after year after year. I suspect that Sprinter and High Noon are probably even placed next to each other on the shelf. Right alongside recent contenders like White Claw Vodka + Soda and Truly Vodka Seltzer.

The truth of the matter is that the spiked seltzer category is stuffed to the brim with far too many brands. So many brands that I’m tempted to say a newcomer could never succeed.

But a newcomer backed by the Kardashian-Jenner empire is wholly unlike any other. In years to come, we’ll see if Sprinter can manage to outpace the competition.