Don your frat boy caps, White Claw is coming to Aotearoa. In a statement to Newshub, DB Breweries, official partner of the American RTD, confirmed that “the rumours are true” – they’ll be hitting shelves nationwide from April 19.
For those not in the know, White Claw is probably the world’s biggest RTD brand, renowned for quenching the thirst of the Kyles and Rachels of the US’s frats and sororities since its origin in 2016. Critic Te Ārohi got in touch with Kyle*, an influencer who was at the White Claw launch in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland a couple weeks ago.
Speaking about the event, Kyle* told Critic Te Ārohi “it was mainly an influencer event in the 18-34 age range. So they had radio hosts, singers, fucking TikTok personalities and stuff, so they’re really pushing that younger age group […] They had a claw machine there, that was kinda fucking cool.”
“They’re definitely trying to push into the student area. At the event they had a bunch of people who were like, frat boy as [...] In the States, it’s like frat party, sorority house, they all drink White Claws. It’s like the most drunk RTD in the world.”
Kyle described the taste as “like Pals, ten percent sweeter, you can’t taste the alcohol at all, and the cans are quite big. Like 30ml bigger than a normal can, which is kind of shit when it’s a lot of liquid.” Allegedly, there are three flavours that White Claw are looking to introduce in the market: mango, raspberry, and lime. Kyle didn’t rate the lime flavour (neither did comments on their website, with reviews repeatedly hating on it) but apparently mango is pretty good.
“Overall I would give it a 8.5 out of 10. It was a good drink, I’d gladly buy it,” Kyle said. To the best of our knowledge, they’ll be coming in packs of four, which might be enough for our American pals, but perhaps won’t cut the mustard for you coffin-sinking breathas. For Kyle, though? “Two was enough for a good buzz [...] I'm a lightweight.”
The owner of Leith Liquor told Critic that, while they plan to stock the drink, it's “a lot of hype” for a 4-pack with an above average price point. Asked if he reckoned it’ll be popular among students, he said, “Price point may hold them back.”
Critic got a vibe check from some Radio One market-goers and stall-owners last week on the arrival of the RTD. “I don’t really care, I don’t drink,” said one student, Jordan. “I’ve heard it’s a Kyle drink, though.” Stall-owner ‘Batty Witch’ was similarly apathetic: “We probably don’t need any more RTDs for students [...] Don’t be a pussy, buy a bottle of whiskey – you’ll fucking need it for winter in Dunedin!” Don’t remind me.
*Name changed.