Like a lot of people earlier this year, I was temporarily laid off from my job. Once I got over my initial shock, I found myself enjoying my forced furlough and kept busy by taking long walks, sunbathing, reading, drinking, and cooking. It was a pretty hot summer. After having a few of Troobado‘s SMOOJs recently, I kept wondering where the heck they were when it was 95 degrees out!

When I began seeing images of this delicious treat from Troobado all over my Instagram feed – it somehow seemed like I was somehow the only person around who hadn’t yet tried it. When it became available at my local take-home beverage hotspot (thank you, Holiday Market), I snatched up some immediately.

The first taste of this drink transported me right back to June when I spent afternoons in my hammock with a book on my lap and one of the neighborhood cats next to me. The hot sun and sweaty glass of water on a side table flashed through my mind.

STRAWBERRY BANANA SMOOJ turned out to be thick. The overall texture was like a watered down smoothie. I supposed that’s how and why it is a hard seltzer instead of a smoothie beer. I’ve never been a huge fan of hard seltzer though I do see the appeal: light flavor, lots of bubbles, and not feeling terrible the next morning. The banana was more pronounced than the strawberry making it taste even thicker and cutting the sweetness. There was a bit of chewiness that was satisfying and at 5% ABV, it was more fun to drink than a kale smoothie. I would give this flavor of SMOOJ an 8 out of 10.

Troobado is a sister/sibling company of HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor. According to the nano brewery, Troobado was started as a side hustle for non-beer experimentation that shares space and equipment in HOMES. Having such close knit connections to an established place like HOMES, I know any future SMOOJ flavors will be delicious and fun. I look forward to tasting them.

Disclaimer: Dani purchased her SMOOJ for this review at Holiday Market.