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The Mike & Carla Morning Show

The Mike & Carla Morning Show

The Mike & Carla Morning Show

Maybe It Is Time To Rename Drinks

Author Mike O'Brian
Young girl sitting on an inner tube sipping on a non-alcoholic drink

What better time than at the beginning of the year to think about renaming so of your drinks! What kind of drinks we’re talking about? We’re talking about those that contain NO alcohol! You know the ones, Shirley Temple, Roy Rogers, Arnold Palmer, and so on.

Now keep in mind that the reason this came up on The Mike & Carla Morning Show is that we thought a lot of young people don’t even realize who these people are! Think about it…do your kids really know who Shirley Temple is? That she was a child actor who grew up to become a U.S. Ambassador?

Or Roy Rogers for that matter? A singing cowboy and a T.V. star with his wife Dale Evans! Or does this even matter? What The M&C Morning Show wanted to know is that maybe we need new updated names for these non-alcoholic drinks!

It’s Time To Change The Names Of Drinks!

A “Justin Bieber” or maybe a young lady would like to order a refreshing “Taylor Swift”? Names of those that are more relatable to the younger generation!

Or are these names stuck in our culture to a point that we would never ever consider changing them? It’s something to think about and at the start of a new year, why not now?

It was interesting the text the show received from listeners and the phone calls. A lot of people were in favor of the name changes, but they weren’t sure to what. That is still up for debate. However, we are very opened minded on the morning show and if you have a suggestion, please let us know.

Heck, we even thought there might be a chance that some of the names have changed and we just didn’t know about it. All in all, listen to the segment, see what you think and enjoy!

Mike O’Brian is the Program Director and Morning Show host on 96.3 KKLZ in Las Vegas, along with Carla Rea. He has been with the Beasley Media Group for almost 23 years. Mike was named one of the “Best Program Directors In America” by Radio Ink magazine. Over the years, “The Mike & Carla Morning Show” have been presented with a number of proclamations for their work in the community and numerous awards. Having lived in Las Vegas for over 35 years, he writes articles on living in Las Vegas, sports, and odd stories happening within the state of Nevada. Mike is the host of the morning show and program director of 96.3 KKLZ/Las Vegas. He has been doing mornings in Las Vegas for the past 38 years. Over the years, he has hosted a numerous amount of community events and has been the P.A. announcer for a number of sports teams in Las Vegas. He has written on living in Las Vegas, the sports teams here, as well as odd & little-known facts about Las Vegas & Nevada.

Ranking The 4 Best Hard Seltzers

Since Memorial Day I have been fortunate enough to attend a wedding, beachside barbeques, and neighborhood get-togethers. Though food options varied, I did notice hard seltzers were a common beverage. There were multiple brands, so I decided to rank the ones that I tried.

Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer can be credited as the first official can to hit the shelves in 2013. Or you can go back to Zima as being a pioneer in this carbonated alcohol space. Nowadays, it seems like every brand has their own variation of spiked seltzer. With limited creativity in terms of flavor options (most people would prefer a simple pineapple flavor to a green apple, cherry, celery mashup any time), now certain beverage companies are swapping out the vodka mix for tequila. Furthermore, funny commercials and vibrant cans allow different marketing angles on seemingly similar drinks.

Speaking of marketing, a thinner can is often associated with containing a lower-calorie drink. A CNN  op-ed speculates that most hard seltzers are displayed in these taller, skinny cans to distinguish themselves in a crowded liquor store.

My Methodology

In creating this ranking of the best hard seltzers, there were certain criteria that I considered to be most important. Taste is a broad category. It was imperative here that the drink was smooth, did not contain a syrupy aftertaste and actually tasked like the flavor it suggests. Then, I looked at the overall “nutrition” facts. Finally, I’d ask myself a question: “Would I drink another one, or would I buy a case of this repeatedly?”

It’s important to note that I disqualified top beer brands. While I applaud their efforts for the attempt at entering the hip space, I have yet to find one where their best product was not actually their beer. Lastly, I am not a big fruit juice person. Nor do I typically like citrus mixed with alcohol. In this case, however, there are four hard seltzers where I find the fruit flavor enjoyable. My top choice here is now a brand that I do keep stocked in my cooler.

  • #4 Truly

    What I liked most about Truly is that they are accessible. Many festivals, concerts and sporting events carry Truly. So there is consistency. They seem to stay in their lane and always deliver on their flavors the distribute at mass-events, as opposed to trying to reinvent their options. There are 100 calories in a Truly and it’s 5% alcohol by volume. Selected flavor: Wild Berry.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Truly LA Tasting Room (@trulyla_)

  • #3 Wild Basin

    This is my favorite can of the bunch, but looks aren’t everything. Wild Basin certainly knows who they are visually, as their logo perfectly encapsulates the outdoor and chill vibe of hard seltzer. What holds them back is that they are not always easy to find in New England. Various liquor stores carry them, but not a ton of restaurants do. There are 100 calories in a Truly and it’s 5% alcohol by volume. Selected flavor: Lime Coconut (there’s good reason why this is part of their “paradise” mix pack.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by Wild Basin (@wildbasinhardseltzer)

  • #2 White Claw

    This is my hard seltzer OG. Fun fact: when I google “White Claw” a sponsored Truly option is the first result to pop up. I love a little friendly seltzer competition. In full disclosure, I am a surfer and White Claw has done a tremendous job inserting their brand into that community. Their tagline of “those who bring the wave,” has worked well. They say they are “inspired by the power, purity and potential of ocean waves,” and so am I. This is a simple explanation that centers around the fact that when I drink a White Claw I always enjoy it. There are 100 calories in a Truly and it’s 5% alcohol by volume. Selected flavor: Black Cherry.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by White Claw (@whiteclaw)

  • #1 High Noon

    There’s no complicated answer here. It has the best taste, is refreshing, and the brand I select when given the option. I like how you feel like carbonation base as opposed to fruit flavor completely taking over. That’s when I get suspicious of artificial additives. High Noon seems to have mastered the recipe of a natural fruit juice percentage to alcohol. Their new tequila seltzers are consistently enjoyable as well. There’s a slight dip in alcohol volume at 4.5%, but it too has 100 calories. Selected flavor: Watermelon.

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