LaCroix

Hi-Biscus!

Aloha from Hi-Biscus!

This LaCroix offering was the first new flavor for the brand in two years when it debuted in 2019, and the internet was not a fan. They wanted watermelon! The people wanted watermelon!

Okay, we can kind of understand that. But let’s see how this stands on its own, away from the angry millennial mobs, now that they’ve been subdued by 2020’s Pasteque.

First of all, why does the Hi-Biscus! have a dash and an explanation point here? We don’t know, but it’s certainly a friendly flourish! It exudes a warm holiday welcome, as if a luau awaits your mouth, and a hula dancer lulls you into a Hi-blissful state. Just us?

We love the over-the-top pink of this can, the neon swoops and dramatically rendered hibiscus flower, seen here in full bloom, ready to burst off the can and into your hi-hole.

But what is the hibiscus flavor and why is it so popular? If you’re not familiar with this exuberant, tropical flower we recommend you plop some hibiscus syrup into your morning glass of Prosecco and settle in.

Btw, the combination of dry, effervescent sparkling wine with a tinge of tangy, yet decadent hibiscus syrup is even better than a mimosa, and infinitely more chic. Especially if you have the hibiscus flower on the bottom. Romantique!

And that’s not all: hibiscus flowers have also been used as a tea for centuries, not just for that pleasantly tangy flavor, but because consuming hibiscus has health benefits!

We’re sure these benefits don’t extend to the LaCroix sparkling water, despite its “natural” tagline, but just in case you’re curious about the perennial lure of ingesting hibiscus: it turns out hibiscus is packed with antioxidants. And it can potentially help lower blood pressure and boost liver health.  So make sure to drink hibiscus tea after drinking your hibiscus mimosa.

Anyway. Getting back to the Hi-biscus!  Let’s pop open this friendly hot pink paradise, shall we?

What greets us upon first opening? Wafting heavenwards towards your nose is the slightest hint of tangy candy. Is that a Sweetart we detect??

Tasting Notes

🌺🤔🍬💦😳

We never knew that our beloved childhood candy could be a drink, but wow, this is certainly exactly that. And thank god it is.

The sharp familiar sour lands on the palate first, softening into that pink (cherry-ish?) sweetness that we associate with those addictively melty sugar patties. Sometimes the joys of childhood transform and take on new forms in adulthood. We relish these small bright spots in a dark world.

Beyond the overarching and unmistakable sweetart flavor, a rich combination of tangy and sweet, there lingers a floral herbaciousness to remind you that you’re drinking a flower.

It’s slightly off balance, veering wildly from candy to a tart, dry finish.  It somehow manages to be both a cartoon of hibiscus, a plastic lei woven from the bargain bin at Michael’s, and a delicately rendered watercolor still-life, crystal vase backgrounded by a misty tropical waterfall.

We don’t mind the sort of chaotic, whimsical and ridiculous flavor profile. It emulates and replicates the spirit of the can art. And every time we pop one open, we know we’re in for some “innocent” fun.

Mahalo, LaCroix, for giving us this Hawaiian-inspired sparkling magic.