NOPE is a line of premium sparkling non-alcoholic cocktail alternatives that are designed to be consumed over ice or straight up from the can. The product line includes four flavors packaged in slim 12 ounce cans.

Those flavors include Mango Margarita with Jalapeno, Raspberry Lime Ginger Beer, Strawberry Basil Smash, and Rosemary Vanilla Lemonade. All feature fruit juice, although the amount ranges from 11% to 47% depending on the SKU, while cane sugar is the sweetener of choice. The end result is products that have 90 calories and between 22 and 23 grams of sugar per 12 ounce can.

When it comes to flavor, these are all very palatable. We particularly enjoyed Mango Margarita with Jalapeno and Raspberry Lime Ginger Beer; Both have flavors that are on par with premium sodas and could certainly be used as mixers, too. The other two flavors, Rosemary Vanilla Lemonade and Strawberry Basil Smash, are also good and have a fruitier slant to their flavor profiles at 17% and 47% juice, respectively. 

While we really do think that they’ve created some tasty flavor profiles, it’s honestly slightly hard to see these as alcoholic alternatives. For starters, we think that consumers will focus on the calories and sugar contained in these products whereas they probably don’t when they consume an alcoholic beverage that doesn’t have a nutrition facts panel. And we think that the lines are a bit too blurred between their formulations and a soda. 

As for the packaging and messaging, the word “NOPE” is one that certainly catches the eye both because of its large size and the intrigue of what this brand is all about.  The NOPE logo runs from top to bottom while near the top of the label there’s a ring of text that repeats “alt cocktail” and “0% alcohol.” Down at the bottom, you’ll find a slightly abstract illustration of a female face. This image is slightly different from flavor to flavor as is their choice of color for it. One constant is that the faces all feature glasses and the right lens is where the flavor name is written in rather small font.

While there are some technical things that we’d change, such as making the flavor name larger, making “alt cocktail” a more integrated part of the mix, and perhaps making the can smaller, we otherwise like the abstract and playful vibe.

Beyond that, we suspect that consumers will be somewhat surprised to find liquid that tastes like a soda inside this can. The promise of an alt-cocktail implies something that’s new and unique and to achieve this we think that NOPE should consider tweaking the flavor so it tastes less like a soda. Perhaps reduce the sweetness and add something that mimics the burn of alcohol and slows you down a bit. These products are pretty crushable, which is a weird problem to have but it’s an important nuance that we think will matter to those who are looking for alcohol alternatives.

Overall, this is a nice first effort from NOPE and we definitely think there could be legs to the “alt cocktail” idea with some further development.