OUTvoices Phoenix July 2021 Issue

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER August Issue

It’s almost August, we’re midway through summer, and less than a month away from the Aequalitas Content Creators Conference in welcoming Cedar Rapids Iowa. We have been planning and organizing what is sure to be an amazing event. The folks at Cedar Rapids Tourism, The Airport Authority, and many other city leaders and businesses have shown their authentic commitment to bringing LGBTQ+ visitors and organizations to this hidden gem of the Midwest.

This conference is about unity. We want to bring LGBTQ+ content creators together during two days of networking, learning, and fun designed to help each attendee up their game when it comes to the content they are creating.

With a line-up of speakers that are leaders in LGBTQ+ media, business and technology like Orlando Reece (former CEO of Pride Media), Andrea Breanna (transgender CEO of Rebel Mouse), Bob Witeck (CEO Witeck Communications), John Finco (Towleroad), Will Seccombe (President Connect Travel), Merryn Johns (former Editor in Chief of Curve Magazine and now Director of Content for OUTvoices), and many more — you will have an opportunity to listen to what they have done to achieve success and learn from their experience.

After the last year of COVID and not being able to gather and draw energy from in-person networking this is an opportunity to re-establish connections and make new ones. The city of Cedar Rapids and all of the other businesses and organizations that have worked hard to bring this conference to their city are rolling out the red carpet to welcome us and make this event a memorable one for everyone.

These are crazy times and I know that the conference organizers, hotel, and everyone else involved have worked tirelessly to make sure the venue is safe for all attendees. We have complied with the strict COVID protocols as set forth by Linn County and are monitoring any potential changes on a daily basis.

The theme of the conference is “Unite & Ignite, we are stronger together.” If you would like to learn more or register to attend go to: eventcreate.com/e/acca2021 I look forward to seeing old friends and making new ones!

I hope that you will join me and the many others in LGBTQ+ media, business and content creation that are gathering in Cedar Rapids this year to unite with each other and ignite new passions for creating amazing content.

For more details go to page 13.

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LGBTQ+ healthcare and wellness Services including: Primary care for men and women HIV/STI Testing and treatment Mental and Social Health Now accepting new patients!

All insurances accepted + affordable self-pay options available 602.307.5330

swcenter.org

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Contents 04 Publisher’s Letter

Welcome to OUTvoices Phoenix, formerly Echo Magazine. We look forward to supplying you with all that is fresh and fabulous about LGBTQ+ life in Arizona and beyond.

11

News In Brief

A roundup of monthly local events and community news.

14 Music

Meet Tucson music duo Glacier.WAV

16 Cover Story

Out and proud YouTube star and Arizona native Max Miller helps us taste history

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Joe Eats World

It’s hot out there. Here are the 5 best canned cocktails to beat the heat.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH AT 6:00PM.

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Thelma Houston

RESERVE YOUR SEATS AND SPONSORSHIPS AT

RedIsTheNight.org

The Phoenix Art Museum | 1625 N. Central Avenue

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OPPORTUNITIES

3023 N Clark St #278 Chicago, IL 60657 Phone 602-266-0550 phoenix.outvoices.us STAFF

Publisher: DJ Doran CEO/Publisher, Aequalitas Media Bill Gemmill, VP Operations Founder and Publisher Emeritus: Bill Orovan Group Editor: Merryn Johns merryn@outvoices.us

OUTvoices Phoenix welcomes volunteer writers, photographers and videographers throughout the year. If you’re interested in contributing to our publication, send an email to merryn@outvoices.us with a resume, contact information and samples of your work if available. Our volunteer staff is unpaid, but contributors do receive credit for their work in our print publication and online. Those seeking an internship in journalism or mass communications are strongly encouraged to apply.

LEGAL OUTvoices Phoenix strives to be a credible community news organization by engaging and educating our readers. All content of OUTvoices Phoenix is copyrighted 2017 by OUTvoices Phoenix, Inc. and is protected by federal copyright law and shall not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. All photography is licensed stock imagery or has been supplied unless otherwise credited to a photographer and may not be reproduced without permission. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The ap-

Sales & Marketing: Kris Radtke kris@outvoices.us

pearance of names or pictorial representations does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation

Design, Layout and Production: Saul Santos fsdemianhades3@gmail.com

ity for its return. The editor reserves the right to accept, reject or edit submissions. All rights revert to

Accounting and IT: Joe Morales

in the editor’s notes as determined by the editor. Other opinions are those of writers and do not nec-

CONTRIBUTORS

Writers: Merryn Johns, Laura Latzko, Joe Morales

of the person or persons. OUTvoices Phoenix accepts unsolicited material but cannot take responsibilauthors upon publication. The editorial positions of OUTvoices Phoenix are expressed in editorials and essarily represent the opinion of OUTvoices Phoenix or its staff. Letters to the editor are encouraged but may be edited for clarity and length. There is no guarantee that letters will be published. OUTvoices Phoenix only accepts adult advertising within set guidelines and on a case-by-case basis.

Photographers: Riker Brothers, Sin Bros Cover: Max Miller by Riker Brothers National Advertising Representative: Aequalitas Media 3023 N Clark St #732, Chicago IL 60657 312-600-8823

Register for

FALL CLASSES • • • •

Certificate and Degree Programs Ten Colleges University Transfer Affordable Tuition

maricopa.edu/learn-safe

Chandler-Gilbert | Estrella Mountain | GateWay | Glendale | Mesa | Paradise Valley | Phoenix | Rio Salado | Scottsdale | South Mountain The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is an EEO/AA institution and an equal opportunity employer of protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or national origin. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of the District.

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Out & About

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News In Brief

Arizona podcaster and ASU grad killed in Los Angeles hit-and-run

By Merryn Johns Mat George, who co-hosted the podcast "She Rates Dogs," was killed in a hit-and-run in Los Angeles early on Saturday morning, July 17, his co-host Michaela Okland confirmed on Twitter on the Sunday after.

According to CBS Los Angeles, a male pedestrian was struck by a BMW in the Beverly Grove community at around 2:20 a.m, and the Los Angeles County coroner's office identified that person as Matthew Thomas George, 26. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The New York Times reported that George was struck as he crossed a street at an unmarked crosswalk.

After co-host and friend Okland announced his death on Twitter tributes praised George for his vibrant personality, humor and outspokenness, discussing issues of dating and his identity as a gay man, which made him popular with listeners of "She Rates Dogs.”

Co-host Okland posted on the "She Rates Dogs" Twitter account that one more episode featuring George was recorded before his death but has been put on hold, however.

In an interview with Shoutout Arizona last year, George mentioned being an out gay man, and the risk he took in moving to L.A. from Arizona. "Growing up and being in the closet, I never knew anyone or heard about anyone who had similar experiences and fears that I had," George said.

"Before switching from a life that was going towards medicine to a life in entertainment there were a lot of questions going through my mind. Some questions included was it worth it? Am I sure this is what I really wanted? Could I really do this and still make enough money to support a family one day. After a long 2 weeks of thinking about it 24/7, I ultimately decided that I was going to make the switch. I knew it was risky but I also knew that if I didn’t try I would never stop wondering what could’ve been."

By doing the podcast George wanted to share his own experiences "and make LGBTQ+ people all across the world feel like they're not alone. The most rewarding moments are when members of the LGBTQ+ community reach out to me and tell me what a difference I've made in their lives," George said.

It was while studying at ASU that George discovered his talent for storytelling: "Towards the end of my college days at Arizona State University I started to share my experiences as a gay man with different people I was close to. Their reactions made me realize that a lot of these stories were funny to others, which then gave me more confidence to start sharing them with even more people.”

George graduated from Arizona State University in 2017, according to his LinkedIn page.

Supporters of the podcaster have encouraged anyone wanting to honor George's memory to make a donation to the national LGBTQ inclusion nonprofit GLSEN. August 2021

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Interview

CATCHING

UP WITH…

Andrea Breanna 12

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Interview

By Merryn Johns This past year many of us have spent more time in front of screens and on our devices than ever before, endlessly scrolling through content. But who is creating content that matters? And what is the future for LGBTQ content creators? The inaugural Aequalitas Content Creators Association convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa August 22 - 25. One of the featured speakers at ACCA will be Andrea Breanna, Founder and CEO of Rebel Mouse.

What do you think you will be speaking about at the Aequalitas Content Creators Association convention in Cedar Rapids?

This is an important moment for independent media. Google has realized that the open web became a pretty bad place for consumers in comparison to the highly optimized and well thought out products that social media offers. But having a web property is more important than ever. This was the founding principal of RebelMouse: to make websites as fast, clean and usable as the social products like Facebook and Twitter that they not only feed off, depend on — but compete against. With Google's Core Web Vitals update, websites that are slow, have bad ads, have bad experiences are going to drop out of rankings. Savvy indy media is going to not only survive this but use it as a David and Goliath moment against the big media which can't get out of its own legacy problems to solve this.

The idea of content creation is somewhat new compared to the history of publishing — and it is rapidly evolving. What do you see as the main challenges today for anyone in this space, which some people say is already oversaturated and highly competitive.

There is this huge arch in history from a scarcity of information (so people would pay for good information) to an abundance of information (so people didn't need to pay for information — it’s all free!!) to an overabundance of information (people pay for good information they can trust again). Smart media companies are collecting membership revenue in exchange for giving information from a particular perspective on a particular topic and it's a thriving revenue source. The narratives of "fake news" are resonating because people are unsure what they can trust. And it turns out they are willing to pay for streams of content they can trust.

We also see a huge opportunity for innovation in ads that the Google Web Vitals update requires. There are better ways of advertising — how Facebook, Twitter and Instagram do it. Not with a takeover and pop-ups but by being smart about how the sponsored content is promoted within a stream. We are helping our clients at RebelMouse make the most of this trend and opportunity, which does require a great product to make happen.

Any trends in this space that you think will take off? For example, blogging was once hot but has been left behind by influencers, YouTubers and podcasters; what will come after these content creators or are they here to stay?

just unbelievable so ideas (and websites, and content) can spread faster and more efficiently than ever before.

You are part of the LGBTQ community (trans, non-binary). Our community is known as being early-adopters and creative people.

Do you believe that content creation plays a political role in the protection and advancement of our community?

YES. I believe the queer community holds the keys to using technology for good instead of just putting profits first and ignoring evil. We have every native, natural reason in the world to use media to help society progress to a more kind, empathetic, and beautiful culture. Our own lives and happiness depend on it. And we are more powerful, more connected and more united than ever.

What digital media content platforms do you most enjoy these days?

I am very impressed by TikTok, obsessed with Twitter, in love with Chess.com, and very long on Facebook/Instagram being here forever (like it or not).

Find out more at facebook.com/aequalitasmedia

Trusted news sources that aggregate highly valuable audiences for advertisers and that collect direct consumer revenue from memberships. Legacy media brands are absolutely in crisis because of their own legacy and it's a dream innovator's dilemma for savvy new media companies.

You have an incredible career in digital media and content, building HuffPost, The Dodo, Axios, Avaaz and other ventures. What drew you to this sector originally and what do you consider to be your major achievement?

I have always loved where the right content is, in the right product, at the right time and becomes something that is massively popular and a household name and topic. There has never been a better age to build these things — the distribution channels we have now are August 2021

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Music

TUCSON

DESERT DUO

GLACIER.WAV .

By Laura Latzko Glacier.Wav combines Jaime Soto’s pop sensibility with Frank Anzaldua’s rock foundation to create something unique. The Tucson duo has kept busy recently, releasing their first album in February.

The self-titled Glacier.Wav album is made up of ten tracks that speak on issues such as global warming, life during a pandemic, and the challenges of trying to make it in Tucson as electronic musicians.

“Glacier” explores the topic of climate change; “Never Gonna Make It” is about Soto’s experiences as a gay artist; “We Live, part I” by Anzaldua, who is an LGBTQ ally, features spoken word from his cousin Nicolas Anzaldua; and “Vine” is about the push-pull nature of romantic relationships.

Frank Anzaldua and Jaime Soto bring a blend of darkwave, shoegaze, synthwave and ’80s ballad sounds

“I feel like it’s not as common anymore to write albums like this.

It used to be common. If you just think about Purple Rain. Those songs are really different,” Anzaldua says. “It goes from punk to ballad. In that nostalgic vein, not just in particular per song but also for the album as a whole, I wanted to capture that feeling of what albums were like in that era.”

ON MAKING AN ALBUM DURING A PANDEMIC “I think our process is: Frank makes something beautiful, and he sends it to me, and then I just try to remain really really open to whatever lyrics pop into my head. I think Frank does such a good job of coming up with melodies and musical parts that if I use the track as a guide, I can come up with a vocal melody that follows it,” Soto says. “On my end, my process is to just be open, to not think too hard and to let whatever words come to me as they come to me. For this project especially, I tried not to edit myself too much and say what I had to say.”

Anzaldua says creating an album with such different songs was a satisfying process. “I particularly like this project because I don’t like writing the same song over and over again. It keeps things interesting for me and hopefully translates to the audience.”

Part of their ramp up for their album was a release of their video for “I Want to Feel the Sun.” The video was shot in Tucson at

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Music Saguaro National Park last December, with help from Sin Bros Dan and Gabe Singleton.

Musicians and crew wore masks and socially distanced. They also were tested for Covid-19 prior to shooting. The video captures the feelings of isolation and loneliness experienced during the pandemic, and touches on the social issue of how the pandemic was handled as a health crisis.

“The verses talk more politically about the government and how it just felt like it was another moment where people were allowed to die essentially. It made me think about the AIDS epidemic and things in the past, situations where it feels like the government maybe doesn’t really care about people,” Soto says.

“I tried to write a storyline that could be interpreted symbolically and could be applied to any sort of crisis,” Anzaldua said.

HOW THEY MET They first met in the early 2000s at a battle of the bands competition at Club Congress. Soto performed as a solo pop artist, and Anzaldua was in electro punk, metal and post rock groups.

They both have a long history in the Tucson music scene but only recently began collaborating on “Glacier.” The file name for the song inspired the name of their group.

They recorded that first song at Anzaldua’s house, with Soto singing in a closet using a mic covered with a sock.

“Being broke for so long and working on music, you get creative,” says Anzaldua, who began playing the guitar and writing songs around age 20. Growing up, he liked underground groups such as Neurosis and Isis.

“I feel like my tastes are pretty eclectic. This project combines ’80-ish electro funk, new jack swing and R&B combined with post rock…some atmospheric elements, some synthwave elements,” Anzuldua says.

Soto, who was part of his school’s orchestra and mariachi programs, would always sing along to music by The Judds , K.T. Oslin, Gwen Stefani and Selena growing up. He first got onstage in a kindergarten show, singing “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” and performed a Selena song during an eighth-grade talent show.

“I remember walking out being terrified. I don’t know what came over me. I dropped to my knees. I’m belting this Selena mariachi song. Then, I was the most popular kid in eighth grade for the last two weeks. After that experience, I had to keep doing it.”

WHAT’S NEXT Anzaldua and Soto had just started to perform together live before the pandemic began.

In February, the two appeared on Freddy Prinze Charming’s and Felicia Minor’s livestreamed podcast “Let’s Have a Fefe.”

They recently started to do shows, when it became safer to perform before crowds: a drive-in show on May 22, then a show at Thunder Canyon Brewery on July 16.

Soto says while he is nervous to start performing again for crowds, he is ready to get back onstage. “I keep picturing it as being a really wild experience. Things will go wrong. Things will go right. That’s the beauty of live performance. Like life, it’s so unpredictable, which is terrifying for me, but it’s really really exciting.”

For more information go to glacierwav.com.

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Cover Story

Making History

In The Kitchen 16

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Cover Story

4,000-year-old Babylonian stew known as Tuh'u

By Merryn Johns Who didn’t spend more time than usual playing around with food during the pandemic? YouTube star Max Miller went from barely being able to boil an egg to becoming a culinary star who delights a captive audience.

Miller, creator and host of the wildly popular food and history show, Tasting History on YouTube, grew his audience to almost 820,000 subscribers during the Covid pandemic. The charming and out former entertainment executive and musical theater actor also happens to be the perfect small screen host.

Miller is a native of Phoenix, and went to ASU before moving to LA to pursue a career in film distribution for Disney. Inspired by The Great British Bake Off's historical segments, and also by his own interest in ancient times, Miller devised a show that explores the origins, ingredients, and methods of putting together dishes such as pirate guacamole circa 1697, or the hamburgers of Ancient Rome known as Talking Cows. And did you know there was a Medieval predecessor to Turducken known as Cockentrice? It’s all utterly fascinating if not always appetizing — but it often is!

Miller puts around 40-80 hours research and work into each episode and it’s a wonderful way to escape current times via 20 minutes of tasty and sometimes titillating time travel. Do you know what kind of snacks the ancient world served in its brothels? Miller does!

Tasting History has been profiled in America's Test Kitchen, Chowhound, Digital Trends, PopCulture.com, Foodsided, New York Post, Rachael Ray Show, Today.com, UPROXX, plus Miller has a recurring regional segment with Arizona Midday and will release a cookbook in 2022. We caught up for a chat about how it all came together.

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Cover Story

The legendary Medieval Cockentrice

How did Tasting History happen?

Max Miller: I’ve always loved history since I was a little kid and I learned to love cooking and baking, specifically after watching The Great British Bake Off and just absorbing that show about seven years ago. And once I did that, I would start to bring in my baking trials to work with me, I couldn't have them at home because I would just eat them. So I’d bring them in to work. And I would tell my coworkers a little bit about the history of whatever I baked, little lectures. And some of them actually found it really kind of interesting. And one of them said, You should put this up on YouTube, people will enjoy it. And I had been thinking a little while about wanting to do a YouTube channel and a couple of months later I put out my first episode. And I stick with it because people would be mad if I didn't. I really enjoy the research especially, I get to do what I would kind of be doing anyway. Now I just have to do it on a schedule.

If you could time travel and really go back and have one of these dishes, what period would you be drawn to?

MM: Anglo-Saxon England is probably my favorite period in history.

However, I don't think the food would be particularly good. It was basically just big chunks of meat being roasted and fairly dull bread. So I think when it comes to food, I would like to go back to the Regency period, Jane Austen, that kind of 1790s-1800s time period. The food was starting to be more international. The flavors that were affecting at least England's food were starting to come from India and from the Americas. And they were really big into the French influence at the time. And France at this time was the cuisine capital. This is the birth of that time period in France. So in England, you're getting a little bit of everything. And everything was very ostentatious, so I only want to go back in time if I could be rich.

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Do you ever worry about grossing out viewers with some of the ingredients such as the Cockentrice, the pig and the rooster sewn together?

MM: Yes! That was definitely one where I was like, Oh, people aren’t going to like this. But for the most part, I feel like people are very understanding. The people who watch my channel have a higher education level. You know, it's not their first foray into history. And so they come into it with a bit of understanding that this is not what we would eat today. But it was a different time when there was no concept of animal rights, except in some parts of the Far East. There was no concept of veganism. When I do say four or five episodes in a row that are all meat I'll start getting people like, Hey, throw us a vegetarian dish. And so I do think there's plenty a vegetarian dishes out there. But what's funny is they tend not to make it into history’s cookbooks. If you find a cookbook written before 1800, it's going to be 95 percent meat or at least have meat in it. Vegetables were poor people food. They didn't typically get eaten by the upper crust.

And if they did it was just, you know, grilling an item on the plate.

You don't really need a recipe for that. So it's hard to find those older recipes. But I do have an old Russian recipe for beets coming up, so I am looking forward to that one.

You're a Phoenix native. Did that influence your view of history?

MM: I did love Arizona history, I was obsessed with cowboys growing up and I was also obsessed with the Civil War especially, but Europe was always my draw and I think that's actually just due to my mother. My mother was an English and humanities teacher at a high school in Scottsdale. And so what she tended to teach was English history, English literature, English architecture and music.

And so that's kind of what I latched on to. So then my father loves Japan and so I also got a big helping of Japanese history and culture.

Cover Story What was it like growing up in Phoenix and coming out as LGBTQ? MM: Growing up in Phoenix was great. I was in the Phoenix Boys Choir for a long time and always involved in theater. I had a very accepting community but I didn't come out until college. I went to Arizona State and after my freshman year, I came out to my parents and they didn't care, they knew. I was so fortunate in that I was never confronted with any real homophobia. I mean, it's everywhere, of course, but not like someone who really has to struggle with it in their family or their community. I was very, very fortunate. And so I was always involved in some way in the gay community, in Phoenix, though mostly simply because of the people that I was around, I was in musical theater and classical music. So a large portion of the people that I were around were gay. So I was always part of the community.

I understand you left Disney to make Tasting History full-time?

MM: I was working in the Walt Disney Studio, specifically the movie studio, and I was working in distribution, getting our movies into movie theaters and all the things that go with that. And I loved it so, so much. I loved every minute of my job, the people that I worked with. So leaving it was actually a tough decision. But I was furloughed last year when the pandemic struck. So that's one reason why I was able to really double down Tasting History and get an episode out each week. I had nothing to do for the last year otherwise. And so when Disney called to say, Hey, time to come back, I had to make that decision. There is no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision.

Arabic candy, or Makshufa

Ancient Roman cheesecake bites, or Globi You started the show two weeks before the pandemic happened.

What have you learned during that time?

MM: What I've learned most in the in the last year is: you can plan all you want, but it's not going to turn out that way. You know, whatever plans you end up making in your life are just that. Plans are almost never what actually ends up happening. I mean, years ago, I would have never thought that I would be cooking for a living because I barely boiled an egg. I guess I would say I would never have imagined that I could make a living doing it. I had my whole life planned out the next 30 years at Disney and then retire. I'm very much a planner. And at almost every turn in my life, those plans are not what actually happens. And this year, more than any I think in the recent past, that's been the case with absolutely everyone in the world. Nobody planned for this. And, you know, good or bad, whatever happened, it surely wasn't what they expected.

To be delightfully surprised, and even learn something about food and history, tune into Tasting History with Max Miller on YouTube.

Semlor, the dessert that killed a king

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Food & Drink Lifestyle

T H E T O P 5 C A N N E D C O C K TA IL S YO U S H O U LD B E D R IN K IN G

By Joe Morales Summer isn’t over yet. If you haven’t heard, there is another heatwave that is about to strike the U.S., and this time, it’s going to be nationwide. That means near record-breaking temperatures and finding ways to stay cool and refreshed. Some will retreat to air-conditioned rooms while others will head to the nearest beach or swimming pool.

No matter where you decide to hang out to beat the summer heat, you’re going to need to stay hydrated. Yes, drink plenty of water.

However, should you choose to grab something a bit stronger, here's a list of the best canned cocktails out there.

You don’t have to worry about mixing anything together because they’re premade! They’re easy, they’re portable, and they are delicious. All you have to do is grab a cooler, put them on ice, and go. Just make sure you have a koozie

CANTINA ESPECIAL TEQUILA SODA These drinks come in a 4-pack and are 5.6% ABV which is about 11 Proof per can. These carbonated tequila cocktails come in 3 flavors: Grapefruit Paloma, Watermelon Margarita, and Ranch Water. If you’re not familiar with Ranch Water, it’s tequila, soda water, and a squeeze of lime. The best part besides the taste? They are only 99 Calories, 0 Sugars, and 1 Gram Carbs! They are made with blanco

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Food & Lifestyle Drink

BACARDI MOJITO Who doesn’t love a Mojito? The mint, the soda water, the sweetness…it’s so refreshing. These are also found in a 4-pack and are slightly more potent with 5.9% ABV which is about 12 Proof per 12-ounce can. Made with Bacardi Superior Rum, these cocktails come in five different flavors: Rum Punch, Mojito, Bahama Mama, Limon & Lemonade, Lime & Soda, Sunset Punch. The Mojito, Rum Punch, and Sunset punch are available in a variety pack if you can’t decide what you like best. These ready-to-drink cocktails are Gluten Free, 19 grams Sugar, 19.2 grams Carbs, and 198 calories.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GIN AND TONIC Gin. You either love it or you hate it. Bombay Sapphire makes a pretty good cocktail. They’re relatively new to the market but they’re definitely catching up. This 4-pack is ready for some ice and a slice of lime! It’s the Bombay Gin you have come to know and love, the same botanical and citrus flavor, now in a can. The G&T regular is 5.9% which is 12 Proof while the light tonic version is 98 calories and 0 sugars.

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Food & Drink Lifestyle

KETEL ONE BOTANICAL SPRITZ PEACH ORANGE BLOSSOM I do love a good Ketel and soda. This cocktail in a can is pretty good.

You get the peach orange blossom flavor mixed in with the sparkling water. This non-GMO vodka is only 3.6% ABV which is around 7 Proof it’s also only 73 calories. Seems there’s a theme with the 4-packs because you guessed it, it comes in a 4-pack. You can also find Ketel One in Cucumber and Mint or Grapefruit and Rose, all flavors are 0 Carbs, no added sugar or artificial flavors.

MONACO VODKA & SODA LEMON LIME If you haven’t heard of the Monaco line, you definitely need to check them out. They are available in vodka or tequila and they have so many flavors to choose from. I’ll talk about my two favorites: the Lemon Lime and the Mango Peach. First, let me tell you that each Monaco has 2 shots of vodka or tequila in it. They have 9% ABV and is about 18 Proof. That’s quite the amount of alcohol compared to the rest of the premixed cocktails I told you about.

The Mango Peach is sweeter and has more calories and carbs because of the sugar. The Lemon Lime is a Keto-friendly drink because it has 0 sugar and 0 carbs. All in all, there are about 12 different flavors; some come in “light” versions with only 69 Calories but still 0 carbs and 0 sugars. Pretty good if you’re a little more calorie-conscious.

Most of the Monacos are available through alcohol delivery as well.

Really, the only question that is left unanswered is which are you going to choose? Or, you could buy them all and put them into the ice chest or refrigerator. Each 4-pack is under $15.00 excluding any delivery but I’d say the next time you’re at the grocery store or a liquor warehouse, pick some up. You won’t be disappointed.

The best part about it is that you don’t have to get up from your chair by the pool or stand up from the blanket on the beach. All you have to do is reach over to the cooler and grab a drink and quite possibly a cup filled with ice. Imagine sitting there listening to the waves crash as you hear that unmistakable crack of the tab and the hiss from the fizz being released; the can ice cold and you take that first sip and realize how amazing it tastes and how it’s refreshing in this sweltering summer heat.

Don’t worry, if you don’t make to the beach or that swimming pool.

You’ll be able to enjoy these canned cocktails year-round!

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