Square One, a pioneer of organic spirits, has expanded its offerings into the ready to drink space. The new line of sparkling vodka cocktails features four flavors packaged in slim 12 oz. cans that come in at 7.5% ABV each. 

The product lineup features four flavors: Pear of Roses, Basil Berry Fizz, Mediterranean Pearl and Cucumber Therapy. We sampled three of the four (Cucumber Therapy being the exception) and were quite pleased with what we tasted. 

All of the products are slightly sweet, but balanced, and the flavors, which come from juices and added flavorings, taste accurate and fresh. The vodka doesn’t add much to the flavor but it does add a slight burn to let you definitely know it’s there. Last, but not least, is the carbonation, which adds some crispness to the drink but it’s less pronounced than what you’d find in a hard seltzer.

We particularly liked the basil, strawberry and lemon flavors of Basil Berry Fizz and the bergamot, orange, pomegranate, lime and spice notes of Mediterranean pearl. Pear of Roses was enjoyable, but, as with most rose flavored drinks, it will likely bly be somewhat polarizing. But the execution is just as solid as the others.

On the outside, the product has been decorated with a shrink sleeve label that has a white background that fades into an accent color along the lower half. At the top of the can are some outline illustrations of the fruit ingredients contained in each flavor.

The rest of the front panel consists of copy to describe the product. “Organic. Botanic.” is the first element followed by a large front and center callout for the flavor name. Below that it reads “Sparkling Vodka Cocktail,” which is a straight and to the point product description.  The lower third of the label features the logo as well as a list of ingredients.

We’ll be honest -- we didn’t like seeing the Square One logo down at the bottom. Not only is it hard to find on the can, but  if you’re holding it in your hand the logo is covered -- thereby keeping anyone else from seeing what brand is behind the product you are drinking.  The placement has the vibe of a collaboration -- as in the drink features, but is not produced by, Square One -- which isn’t the case. The bottom line is that we’d love to see the logo be a more prominent part of the label. 

Beyond that, we have two other suggestions for the package. First, we think stating the calories and sugar content per can would be a good choice. This is something that’s becoming more common in RTD beverage alcohol and we suspect that the type of consumer that cares about organic products will also care about calories and sugar -- might as well get ahead of it. Second, and on that same note, we’d love to see the USDA Certified Organic seal on the front of the can.

Overall, this is a really strong first effort from Square One. The products taste great and being USDA Organic is a unique point of differentiation. We think there’s still some packaging work to be done, but these drinks definitely fill some white space in the category.