Surfside Iced Tea + Vodka
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Brewed tea and vodka in a can at 4.5%, made by Stateside in Philadelphia. Two grams of sugar, which is remarkable for something that tastes like sweet tea.
- Congeners
- Very Low
- Histamines
- Very Low
- Polyphenols
- Low
- Sulfites
- Very Low
- Tannins
- Low
- Sugar
- Very Low
- Additives
- Low
- Calories
- 96
- Sugar
- 2g
12.6g ethanol at 4.5% ABV. 88 from alcohol, 8 from carbohydrate.
In its favor
- ✓Distilled vodka base
- ✓2g of sugar in a drink most people would assume carries twenty
- ✓Gluten-free
What to watch
- !Tea brings a little tannin and polyphenol the plain seltzers lack
- !Tastes like iced tea, which is the point and also the hazard
Factor by factor
Congeners Very Low ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Very Low ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols Low ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Very Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins Low ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar Very Low ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Low ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Surfside is the interesting one here because it should be worse than it is. It tastes like sweetened iced tea, the flavour profile that usually signals ten to twenty grams of sugar, and it carries two. At 4.5% in a 12oz can that comes to roughly 96 calories.
It scores a 3 rather than a 2 for one reason: it is made with real brewed tea, and tea brings polyphenols and a trace of tannin that carbonated water does not. That is a small, honest penalty, and it is the same mechanism that separates a fruit mead from a plain one.
The real caution is not chemical. A drink that tastes like iced tea at breakfast strength, sold cold in cans, removes every signal that would normally tell you to slow down. Nothing about the chemistry of this can is a problem. The fourth one is.