I’ve always been a fan of Bud Light Limes. This is mostly because they used to feature my initials on the bottle, singing a siren song to me from the cooler in the liquor store. Also, they taste good.
Their funky lil’ cousin, the Bud Light Lime-a-Rita, stirs up more mixed feelings. Sure, they are bombs of sugar covered in splashy neon colors, so my reptilian brain loves them. But they are also hot trash, like Four Loko, so I love them even more. I once rolled into work saying I’d had a Four Loko the night before, but actually meant a Bud Light Lime-a-Rita. My co-workers looked relieved but still judgmental when I clarified. That’s the vibe with these puppies.
In the spirit of America’s birthday, I thought I’d give the Internet a final ranking of Bud Light Lime-a-Rita flavors. Shoutout to my husband and sister-in-law Caroline for spending a whole Saturday night plowing through these bad boys with me.
(Also, while in the throes of a Lime-a-Rita buzz, I wrote down suggested food pairings for each.)
8. The Worst: Raspberry
Smells like scented tampons, tastes like diet gum.
Food pairing: Trail mix
7. Second Worst: Peach
From my tasting notes: “Flies would love this.”
Food pairing: Ceviche
6. Getting Better: Cherry
If you can get past the licorice and cough syrup vibes, not bad.
Food pairing: Ice cream
5. Middle of the Road: Grape
Grape is my favorite artificial flavor, but this didn’t taste as good as grape Dimetapp.
Food pairing: Buttery pasta
4. Getting Good: Lemonade
Features an appealing glowy moon color and a shandy vibe.
Food pairing: Cheetos
3. Oh Yeah: Mango
I’m slightly allergic to mangoes, but I would deal with mouth itchiness to drink this.
Food pairing: Curry
2. Niiiiiiiiice: Strawberry
This flavor gives off the most intoxicating little mist of red bubbles when you pop the can open. It reminds me of being a kid, although if I had drank this as a kid, I would have been a drunk kid.
Food pairing: Chipotle
1. The Ultimate: Lime
The least sweet and most effervescent, this flavor proves they perfected the Lime-a-Rita on their first shot. At Bud, they know limes. There’s a free commercial idea for them.
Food pairing: Buffalo chicken
I hope this inspired you to choose your next tiny can of booze-sugar wisely! Happy birthday, America.
(Note: We could not get our hands on the orange flavor. I’m not sure if it was out yet when we did the ranking.)