News Every Day | 13 December 2024, 17:00

‘Why did you mess with a good thing?’: Customer demands answers after High Noon makes this change to the recipe

Terming her complaint an "unimportant Tuesday white girl rant," a woman claims that High Noon has changed its recipe. She claims it's to knock it down from 150 to 100 calories. However, it has added sweeteners that make it less palatable to her.

The claim comes from creator Ali Hormann (@alihormann), a photographer and comedian hailing from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Her clip posted on Nov. 26 got more than 39,300 views as of Friday. In it, she asked, "Why did you mess with a good thing?" In the caption, she makes her case in a video that's about a minute long.

What happened?

She begins, "High Noon changed their formula, and I'm mad about it." While she grants that it's "not the biggest thing in the world," she is upset as it was a reliable go-to for mixing drinks. She claims that's now been scuttled in the company's effort to shave 50 calories off a single can's contents.

"Up until recently, High Noon seltzers, hard seltzers, said on the cans and on the boxes that there was no artificial sweeteners and real juice and vodka. And they were like, 150 calories or something," she attests. "Now they say no added sugar, real juice, vodka and soda. And there are 100 calories, and they're bragging about how they're 100 calories. But that means that there's like sucralose or stevia in there, and they taste like trash."

She argues that if she's committing to drinking one, she doesn't care about the extra 50 calories at the expense of taste.

"Change it back," she implores the company at the end of the video.

Unpacking the mystery

While there's nothing online to suggest that High Noon made such a dramatic shift, it's possible to assemble a better picture of what High Noon is with a bit of research.

High Noon itself boasts via its website, "High Noon uses real vodka and real fruit juice for 100 calories of easy-drinking, take-anywhere deliciousness." It lists its carbohydrate range per can as anywhere from 4.1 grams for its watermelon flavor to 5.3 grams for black cherry and cranberry.

The Is It Bad for You site noted, "High Noon Sun Sips, a popular hard seltzer brand, markets itself as a refreshing alternative to traditional alcoholic drinks. It is touted for its use of real fruit juice and no added sugars."

It then points out, "Alcohol contains approximately 7 calories per gram, which makes it calorie-dense considering it lacks essential nutrients. That said, High Noon Sun Sips claim to be gluten-free and low in added sugars, which could be a positive aspect for those counting their sugar intake or those with gluten sensitivities."

One Redditor claims to have dug into this further, posting on the r/alcohol forum, "High Noon contains 'non-nutritive sweeteners' and they refuse to tell me which ones."

That person contacted the company, where it reportedly responded, "While the ingredients for our High Noon Vodka Ice Teas are proprietary, we do use non-nutritive sweeteners to allow for great taste with no added sugar."

The discussion led to one recommending a High Noon alternative called Mom Water.

Commenters chime in

People came to the comments section with their thoughts.

"Stevia is the bane of my existence," one offered. "I’ve started checking labels and if stevia is used, I don’t buy. It’s naaaaasty."

"We check ingredients on all seltzers to make sure there is no stevia!" another contributed. "Glad to see we're not alone in our quest."

Hormann responded, "And that’s the worst part—they don’t even put it on the ingredients. It’s not on the box. It’s not on the can. And even when you go online, you have to request the information."

"High Noons were like the only seltzers that didn’t kill my stomach," someone else kvetched. "Hope they don’t suck now."

She also was challenged by one person claiming to have called corporate, saying that High Noon disputed her claims, leading to a follow-up video in which she said, "Your defense of High Noon makes me think that you aren't quite really a person," then advancing a theory that that person is with High Noon itself.

@alihormann Hey @highnoonhardseltzer change the formula back! It tastes awful. Why did you mess with a good thing? Is this important? Not really. But I’m annoyed and at home and one of those planes with the High Noon banner just flew by. #highnoon #hardseltzer #sucralose #stevia #baddecision @highnoonspirits.com ♬ original sound - Ali

The Daily Dot has reached out to Hormann via TikTok direct message and online contact form and to High Noon via online contact form.

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