Powell & Mahoney feel an affinity towards Moscow Mules so this blood orange variety marks an attempt to expand horizons and offer variety on that front.  The can draws eyes to this bold step with its wrought iron logo, rough-hewn type and hand drawn illustrations of ginger root and sliced blood oranges.  There’s a personality to it, classy but fun, and it communicates an expected level of quality.

The can declares an absence of preservatives, artificial ingredients and high fructose corn syrup but citric acid is present.  While it primarily imparts a bit of citrus tang, it also possesses a preservative effect so there’s a bit of a gray area on this one.  Either way there’s a best-by date on the bottom of the can so it can’t be doing much.  It’s worth overlooking.

In addition to citric acid, there’s filtered water and cane sugar for sweetness.  Blood orange juice from concentrate and natural orange extract give the signature flavor while ascorbic acid adds tang.  Vegetable juice imparts color.  The ginger flavor comes from ginger extract and capsaicin adds a degree (or a few degrees) of heat.  There’s 130 calories in the 12 ounces of liquid, ten less than their Original Ginger Beer.

In a glass it appears a soft salmony pink color not unlike a rosé or a pink lemonade.  On the nose is a strong scent of sweet orange with a bit of ginger.  A moment of sweetness precedes the arrival of the blood orange flavor and a bright burst of tart acid.  A ginger weaves its way through, prickling the tongue and back of the throat.  The capsaicin brings a moderate burn throughout the mouth, building with further sips.  The tart carries on through to the finish, gradually fading away until only the heat is left.

Like the original, the heat is strong if not sincere, carrying a different character because of the capsaicin.  The blood orange comes through brilliantly but the ginger is not quite so flamboyant, needing a bit of a boost.  However the result is another solid entry for Powell & Mahoney, a nice change of pace from the standard ginger beer.  There’s an elegance to it with its rich flavors and bright tartness, great for an afternoon in the sun or as a mixer in the evening.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased locally at: Total Wine. | Available online at: Powell & Mahoney

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Inspired by a love of Moscow Mules, their ginger beer wears a dapper can, looking both upscale and accessible. The wrought iron logo feels vintage and quality while the soft frame of ginger root illustrations offsets its formality.  The typeface choices look spot-on and the eye flow from top-left to bottom-right is smooth.

Turn to the back and the ingredient list for this 140-calorie beverage offers comfort.  Everything listed is either water or flavor.  Cane sugar provides sweetening while both juice and extract contribute the ginger flavor.  Capsaisin adds a touch of heat.  The foundation is filtered water, not the more common carbonated water.  Perhaps this ginger beer’s bubbles appear through fermentation? (An email including the question went unanswered.)

Pouring reveals a mild carbonation to this pale gold liquid.  The nose is clean, giving off only the slightest hint of ginger. In tasting, we’re greeted by a dry note before an earthy ginger smoothly slides in, landing mid-tongue.  The appearance of tart adds a bit of sparkle.  Prickles pitter-pat the tongue while heat drifts into the throat.  There’s a clean finish with dim echoes of tartness.  Then they’re gone and only the heat remains.  It builds slowly in the mouth but never overpowers.

The capsaisin provides an interesting touch.  It emanates a different heat than that of the ginger, yet integrates seamlessly.  There’s a fullness to it, occupying the mouth.  It’s less active, lacking the dynamic tingle of ginger which allows it to lie just beneath, filling in space like a picnic blanket.

There’s a reassurance when dealing with a concise list of ingredients.  Extremely rarely do complicated-sounding ingredients ever require concern, but their absence is not missed.  Water and flavor.  That’s all there is in this excellent ginger beer. And excellent it is.  Dry and earthy, with outstanding balance, it’s wonderful as both a drink and a mixer and would make a fine guest at your next party.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased locally at: Target | Online availability at: Powell and Mahoney, Amazon, Target

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Since locals look for local fare, where there’s a niche there’s an opportunity.  Pennyback, founded in 2018, looked at a lack of locally made mixers in a town full of locally made liquors and ventured to pack tonic and soda into that lack.  Mixing up a Moscow Mule?  Why not pair Pennyback ginger beer with your Tito’s vodka for fun Austin flair?

The clear glass 9.3 ounce bottle (275ml) is ensconced in an elegant label, cut away at 45 degrees and tracing the Pennyback crest, giving the impression that the liquid itself is part of the branding. A pair of unique details implying an artisanal product with careful oversight: there’s a field for the batch number (mine was 001) and a stamp over the stock number in a table low on the label (mine was 08).

This stunning packaging ports a near-clear liquid with just a tinge of ginger color, built on a foundation of carbonated artesian water.  While there’s no sediment, natural ginger root extract delivers flavor here along with agave and cinchona bark (a source of quinine).  Sweetening comes by way of the agave syrup and pure cane sugar.  100 calories dwell within.  For comparison concerns, 129 calories occupy 12 ounces of this ginger beer, extremely efficient indeed.

A quiet sweetness touches the tip of the tongue before the ginger sings its song.  A pleasant, peppery prickle dances about the mouth and tickles the back of the throat as the sides of the tongue detect notes of agave.  There’s a gentle salt surprise on the finish of this dry ginger beer that tacks a sophisticated coda onto Pennyback’s eloquent verse. 

If there’s an issue, it’s that Pennyback is a bit reserved, dampened a bit.  The flavor is fantastic, but it lacks a climactic intensity as the sensations play out in the mouth.

An experienced ginger beer drinker seeking something new and challenging will appreciate the care and skill taken to make Pennyback.  Anyone looking to mix a drink that escapes a rut should look here too.  It presses the bounds of convention, cruising to the horizon but never traveling so far as to become unrecognizable.  This is an engaging experience and one I anticipate experiencing again.

Final Decision: Second Tier – Alluring

Purchased at: Twin Liquors in the Austin area | Also available there at: Total Wine  |  Online availability at:  Maybe Amazon

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