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Roxy Reviews Flip Flop Fizzy Sangria #CHEAPDATE

9/6/2018

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Sooo…I’m sick. The summer cold has come to roost and I’m not having a good time. All the sore throats and sneezes are inhabiting my head right now.
 
I’m holding off on the cold meds tonight to bring you this sick cheap date. I found these Flip Flop Fizzy Sangria cans on sale at my local Kroger down ten bucks from $14.99 to just $4.99. It was like the cheap date gods wanted me to have these on hand.
 
Fizzy drinks always feel good on a sore throat to me. So I figured this was the perfect night to try them. And alcohol kills germs, right? Sure. We’ll go with that.


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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
 
The graphic art on these is adorable. They are the size of a small Redbull and could be mistaken for a kids drink with all the cartoon drawings.
 
The nice thing about these is they actually include nutrition information on the box and can, so anyone who is counting calories or sugars can keep track.
 
If you happen to be on the diet wagon, you probably won’t want this though. 8.5 oz has 160 calories and 15 grams of sugar. But since most wine doesn’t have this info on the bottles, I’m not sure how that stacks up.
 
Obviously this is a can, so there’s no cork to pop, but like the box says, this could be a good wine to take camping or tailgating. For my non-beer drinking sisters out there, this might be nice for you.
 

FIRST SNIFF
 
I’m sick. Refer to the beginning of this blog. I can’t smell much.
 
But it does possess the alcohol-like burn in the back of my sinuses, and it’s a bright magenta color. Make sure you’re not getting drunk on these in white clothes. You’re gonna stain your shirt.

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THE POUR
 
Normally, I’d leave this in a can, but for the purpose of this blog, I’ll pour it into a glass too.
 
Obviously, this is carbonated. So there’s lots of bubbles. It slightly coats the glass when I swirl it, but the layer of wine falls right back to the bottom of the glass and there is no drag.
 
There’s a faint hint of artificial flavor when I stick my face in the glass, but again…sick, so this part of the review is kind of a wash.
 

FIRST SIP
 
It tastes like spiked carbonated Kool-aid. I’m not saying it’s bad, but that fruit punch flavor is definitely there. No…wait. (takes another sip) Not Kool-aid…Hawaiian Punch. Definitely tastes reminiscent of the red Hawaiian Punch.
 
Considering it contains 0% juice…it’s pretty obvious the flavor profile is pretty similar to the artificial powder mixes of my child hood.
 
Let’s try it out of a can and see if it’s any different. It does. I like it better out of the glass. The syrupy taste seems stronger from the can. It’s got a taste similar to that fake champagne we used to get on New Year’s Eve as kids.
 
Here’s the thing. I don’t hate it. Not even a little. It’s a super sweet treat, but has enough wine notes that I’m not completely overwhelmed by the sugar. Although the flavor isn’t one I’d wind down with at the end of the night, I can see sipping on one of these babies while the surrounding kids are enjoying a popsicle at a BBQ.
 
It’s 6.5% alcohol, so it’s not a super heavy buzz either, but if you like fruit punch style drinks this would go down easy, and you’d be likely to consume more than you think because the grape juice concentrate in it makes it pretty darn refreshing.
 

FINAL VERDICT
 
I’d buy this again if I was in the mood for a syrupy sweet dessert-style drink. It reminds me of soda, and so occasions where I’d drink soda are the same one’s I’d probably consume this drink in.
 
For a nightcap, I wouldn’t grab this, but I wouldn’t turn one away at a party. As for a sore throat helper, this felt awesome. I would recommend this for sick consumption. Just not with cold meds.
 
Would buy again, just wouldn’t stock the wine fridge with it.

​~Roxy

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cheap date with fisheye pinot grigio

3/9/2018

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​FishEye Pinot Grigio 2016
 
This bad boy was on sale for $4.99 at Kroger (my second fav wine spot next to Aldi). I picked it up because I liked the packaging, I was in the mood for a white wine, and it was made in Australia which makes me think of Tim Tams. Nom.

This wine has a great FAQ page on their website that talks about how long their wines will keep and what temperature to store them at. Who are all these people who have "leftover wine"? The site says this wine should be stored at 52 degrees. My wine fridge only goes to 54, so that is going to have to be close enough.


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​First Impressions
 
Screw on cap. Yes, please. I have learned that corks do not always equal quality, and since I have expanded my horizons, I was in the mood to not have to plop a cork out of the bottle and do all of the foil peal nonsense.
 
This also has a handy dandy bar on the back that tells me this wine is smack dab in the middle between sweet and dry, which is usually where my wine preferences lie.
 
The bright blue label says this wine will have a peach flavor. Sounds awesome. I love peaches. Memories of that song from the nineties are blasting through my brain as I say that. Damn that was a fun song...
 
And because that song is now overtaking me, you get the earworm too.

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The 90's were awesome. But back to the wine.

First Sniff
 
Very fruity burst in the nose holes. This one definitely smells like peach, but more of a peach punch vibe with a little bite. Doesn’t smell artificial, just like really ripe fruit. (Still singing in my head. "Millions of peaches...")
 
Weird thing about this bottle is that the initial level of liquid is well above the seal on the top of the bottle, so it looks like it’s not really moving when I start to pour it. If I couldn’t smell it, I would wonder if it was an empty slightly yellow bottle. Which would make me sad, because this is the only wine in the house right now.
 
FishEye…you’d better come through for me.
 
First Pour
 
No fizzy bubbles on this one, and aside from the glug bubbles at the top due to my bad pouring technique, it sits perfectly smooth in the glass. And when I swirl this one it drags down the sides nicely. This bitch has some legs.
 
 
First Taste!
 
Now to the important part. The taste. I haven’t had anything funky to eat in the past hour or so, so my palette is clean. Aside from the slight nap mouth, but hey…I’m about to drink alcohol. That should kill off any dragon breath germs from my afternoon snooze.
 
If I had to pick one word to describe this wine, it would be smooth. It coated my mouth, but didn’t leave any funky aftertaste or give me the pucker face I get from wine that’s too dry for me.
 
The flavor is more of a hint than a shot to the tastebuds, but when I breathe in and out after a good drink I have the nice warm glow in my sinuses that lets me know fruit happened somewhere along the line here. Kind of like if I’d snorted a white peach before eating it. It makes me flex my nostrils a little and I know that I’m consuming the fruit, but the smell is more powerful than the action on the tastebuds.
 
This is a drinking wine instead of a sipping wine. This shit will go down almost a little too easy. Which suits this wino just fine-o. Yes. I made that pun. No. I’m not taking it out. In fact, I think I need a t-shirt that reads, “A big glass would suit this wino just fine-o”. Yeah. I need that. Or if it already exists, shoot your girl a link. Or buy me one. So I can spend my cash on more wine. While singing 90's songs about peaches.
 
This is one of those really good non-offensive wines. This is one you could probably hand most any wine drinker and they wouldn’t turn you down. Not too sweet, not too dry, and would mesh well with most any food, because although the fruit taste is there, it’s more of an aromatic, and you’ll get enjoyment out of it even with a strongly seasoned dish.
 
Final Verdict

Will I add it to my Kroger bag to get it at 10% off when it’s on sale? Yup. It’s going into my “when it’s on sale rotation”, but it won’t be something I go out of my way to grab.
 
What am I pairing it with tonight? Chicken nuggets and fries. Because I’m a classy bitch on the look for a great bargain. No shame over here. What wine have you seen under $5? Let me know in the comments below so I can keep my eyes peeled for my next cheap date.

~Roxy

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Cheap Date with a Naked Grape

6/24/2017

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Gotta admit. I’ve passed this bad boy a few times in the wine aisles and thought, “I should try that one.” I mean…come on. It says “naked” on the bottle.
 
The labels of The Naked Grape also have a little saying on each of the labels. This one says,
 
Naked Truth #4: Good deeds are eventually rewarded.
 
Aww. So the wine has uplifting words and alcohol. Good job.
 
Normally this wine would be out of my $5 limit, but it was ON SALE

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This bottle retails for $9.99 at my Kroger, but was on sale for $4.99 this week. YAHHHS. (**NOTE: This is why you're seeing an early post here instead of Lust With a Laugh.)

So needless to say, this wine better meet some high expectations. We got some fancy shit in the wine cooler today.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This is a Moscato with a light yellow color. From the label, it says we can expect a bit of fizz, along with some peach and orange blossom. 

Considering tropical storm Cindy blew into town the night I'm drinking this, and the sky has been nothing but clouds and rain, I could use a little sunny fruit to make up for it.

The back of the bottle tells you to “BARE IT ALL.” The bottle puts this in all caps. This wine must be for nudists. 

The cork also says to bare it all. This  wine really wants you to get naked. They also have a FaceBook page. Hold up. What are they sharing on this page?

HA! They have the wine I am about to try in a box next to a dancing watermelon wearing sunglasses. Technically the watermelon is wearing glasses. No, the watermelon didn’t bare it all. 

No naked people either. There are lots of wine recipes and some crafty things. I think they confused FB with Pinterest. They need a Pinterest page. Also, while doing crafts with wine is super fun, I don’t think it’s conducive to following recipes and instructions.

And the comments all seem to be people bitching about not getting a rebate. 

Hold up. You can get rebates on wine?!?! Why did no one fill this cheap ass chick in on that shit?

Then some chick talking about trying to fit her wine charms on red solo cups. That chick is awesome and I want to be her friend.

Then there was this guy. 

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I feel you, man. I feel you.
 
FIRST SNIFF
 
Strong aroma of fruit, but with enough tartness to be enjoyable. Not too sweet. At least it doesn’t smell like it. I’ve been fooled before.
 
THE POUR
 
While it’s not a champagne-style bubble fest, there are some bubbles in this wine. They line the edge of the glass when you swirl it around.
 


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FIRST SIP
 
This is more than “light fizz”. While it doesn’t look like sparkling wine, it does almost taste like it. It has bubbles against my tongue and gives that same delightful bite nipping at my tastebuds.
 
It is a very sweet wine, BUT it tastes like a sweetness that comes from more natural sugars than some of the awful wines I’ve tried.
 
TBH, this doesn’t taste like booze. This almost tastes like that sparkling grape juice you got as a kid so you could toast with the grownups at fancy events. I loved that stuff. I was known to take down multiple bottles when my cousins didn’t like it.
 
HUBBY TEST
 
In case you’re new here, my hubby is now required to taste wines with me. He is my full-sugar soda/dark beer loving guy. Basically he likes all the things I don't.

​I handed the glass to him and didn’t tell him anything about what I thought because I was pretty sure he’d like this one, but I didn’t want him to be influenced by my thoughts.

 
He gave me the usual shit about how I “Use him” to further my blog. I gave him the usual command to shut up and just try it.
 
I was so proud when he sniffed the glass like a real wine reviewer.
 
Then he drank it, and wrinkled his brow for a few before declaring it tasted like slightly flat champagne. I went to take the glass away and he let me know (as he took another sip) that’s not a bad thing at all.
 
He took one more sip before I went back inside.
 
This one gets the sweet drinker hubby’s seal of approval, y’all!

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FINAL VERDICT
 
This one lived up to my expectations. It’s light and fruity, without tasting like it was drowned in corn syrup to make it sweet.
 
The fizzy aspect makes it a blend between wine and champagne that works well, and would be a hell of a mixer for some homemade sangria or other mixed drinks.
 
I can see why they have recipes on their FB. But I still think they need to move that ish to Pinterest where it belongs.
 
If this is still on sale, I’m grabbing a few more for the wine fridge. Because this one probably won’t last the night.

~Roxy

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