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JuneShine Review: We Taste Test This Hard Kombucha

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Reviewed by Maggie Gibson

Last Updated January 2022

Juneshine Review
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The Bottom Line:

Wine, beer, cocktail. Even with the category’s wide variety of recipes, in it’s day-to-day application, drinks can be so boring. The artificial flavors we’re used to can become repetitive, and most will leave you feeling hungover in the morning due to their high sugar content, artificial coloring, chemical additives, and long list of other unnatural, unpronounceable ingredients. Organic alcoholic drinks made out of all-natural ingredients are hard to find, but JuneShine delivers nature’s most flavorful libations in a way that is refreshing and tasty — hard Kombucha. JuneShine‘s top-shelf-worthy, nature-made ‘bucha-fied take on classic cocktail recipes has secured this brand’s spot as a leader in the industry and our new go-to for healthier, hangover-free, happy-hour drinks.

JuneShine is only for consumption for those over the age of 21. As always, please drink responsibly.

Pros

  • Tastes great – Brand boasts a cool collection of some seriously sip-worth flavors
  • Brewed with organic and natural ingredients
  • Great for casual drinking and very refreshing
  • Filled with probiotics, antioxidants, and vitamins
  • Core flavors a light, dry, and not too overpowering
  • Gluten-free

Cons

  • Have to keep refridgerated, so make sure your fridge has space for the 24 pack (comes in 12-packs too, but you’ll want the 24)

Ratings Breakdown

QUALITY

★★★★★
Certified organic, made out of natural ingredients, and tastes GREAT

VALUE

★★★★
Buy a 24 pack which ends up only $2.50 per can

CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE

★★★★★
Clearly labelled ingredients and tasting notes across the website. Plus, 2 day shipping!

BRAND

★★★★★
Bringing the transparent culture we expect from DTC brands to the alcohol industry

PERKS

★★★★★
JuneShine looks to soon be launching a reward program and merch, both of which we can’t wait for!

What’s in JuneShine Kombucha?

You may be thinking to yourself, I don’t know what Kombucha tastes like, how do I know it’s for me? While some may be skeptical of Kombucha due to its reputation for being an acquired taste, JuneShine Kombucha has a flavor fit for even the most discerning set of tastebuds. JuneShine is made out of Jun Kombucha; a type of Kombucha crafted from green tea and honey and known throughout the brewing community as the champagne of Kombucha — due to its bubbly bite and dry taste. JuneShine then adds all-natural ingredients like fruit and honey to its Jun Kombucha to cut the brew’s signature bitter taste. What you get is a carbonated drink that is lighter than a cocktail and refreshingly dry with hints of fruits and honey. 

Featured on each can, in addition to the playful yet artistic designs that project a whimsical and care-free lifestyle, the few ingredients that are used to make the drink are clearly outlined. Each drink includes green tea, cane sugar, honey, and Jun Kombucha, paired with the additional natural fruit to flavor each respective drink in JuneShine’s collection. Each can also speaks to the general benefits of Kombucha: organic ingredients, probiotics, and antioxidants — plus the brand’s official, Certified Organic seal.

Each drink clocks in at 6% ABV, a little higher than the average American beer (around 4.5%) but lower than the average ABV of wine (about 11%). JuneShine Kombucha is crisp, bright, and slightly bubbly, which makes it great for both day and night. As I sipped each flavor, I immediately thought of how great this would be at a spring picnic or bonfire. The flavors really are all refreshing; not overpowering but enough to cut the kombucha taste. Each flavor is also very light, offering a refreshing alternative to beer — which makes me feel full and bloated. I do drink other bottled kombucha, mostly nonalcoholic, though I have tried alcoholic kombucha before. I’m not anywhere close to the level of making Kombucha myself, and I like flavored ones available in the local grocery store. Some of the flavor pairings for Kombucha, including those that JuneShine sells, are really unique. 

Choosing Juneshine
Juneshine Hard Kombucha

What does JuneShine Taste Like?

After taste testing all of JuneShine’s bestselling flavors, what stood out to me was how dry and light each of these flavors were. I would read the flavor description and expect an abundance of pineapple or berry, but when I sipped the flavor there would be notes of the flavor, similar to a lightly flavored seltzer. The flavors are there but in no way are they overpowering. I also don’t taste the sugar like I do with other kombucha blends and canned drinks. 

If you enjoy dry wines, cocktails, or ciders, or if you enjoy a lager, golden ale or sour beer, you should definitely give JuneShine a try. Those who like crisp, bright drinks would likely enjoy like all of JuneShine’s flavors, since none of them taste too sweet. Consider getting their sampler, which features 6 cans of their 4 bestselling flavors, including Hopical Citrus, which, to me, tastes the most like beer, and Midnight Painkiller which, though it looks intimidating, is my favorite.

If you tend to navigate towards sweeter drinks or fruit-flavored drinks like spiked seltzers, check out JuneShine’s Acai Berry flavor, which is the sweetest and most familiar of the bunch (to me, tastes the least like kombucha and most like other flavored drinks), but it’s still not overly sweet. I go into more detail into the each flavor in JuneShine’s Sampler pack below, but overall the flavors in JuneShine’s lineup complement each other very well and offer something for everyone — whether your drink of choice is beer, wine, or a fruity cocktail.

Juneshine Collection
Juneshine Taste Test

Midnight Painkiller

Midnight Painkiller Review

Midnight Painkiller was the flavor I was most intrigued by and slightly scared of. I think because Midnight is easy to spot among the soft, artistic cans of the other flavors. But don’t get scared off by its dark looks or name, Midnight Painkiller is anything but dark and heavy. I taste the hints of pineapple, but they are not overwhelming. The light vinegary taste of Jun Kombucha is apparent, but the pineapple prevents any harsh bite or bad aftertaste. It really does taste light, and I think it would pair well with many different meals. As a big fan of dry sauvignon blancs, I think this could be a great substitute for nights I want that dry light taste but don’t want to open a bottle of wine or have a drink with the high ABV of wine. This may be the most unique of all the flavors, and an instant addition to my rotation. 

Shop Midnight Painkiller – $29.99 ➔

Acai Berry

Juneshine Acai Berry

If you are a fan of berry flavored drinks, you should definitely start your JuneShine experience with Acai Berry. While not as sweet as other flavored alcohol due to the natural flavors, I did find this one had the most fruit flavor, likely due to the Acai. Pink in color, it’s more like an unsweetened raspberry iced tea than a sweet rosé. A great happy hour or hard lemonade substitute.

Shop Acai Berry – $29.99 ➔

Hopical Citrus

Juneshine Hopical Citrus

Unsurprisingly, based on its name, Hopical Citrus tastes the most like beer. With simcoe and cascade hops and other citrus flavors, you can now trade your normal lager for this grapefruit-flavored, antioxidant-filled, organic drink — one that won’t sit as heavy as beer in your stomach. It’s dry, but for those quick to compare this to sour beer, you may find that Hopical Citrus isn’t sour enough for you. I’m personally a fan of golden ales and lagers, and this has quickly become my beer substitute.

Shop Hopical Citrus – $29.99 ➔

Blood Orange Mint

Blood Orange Mint Review

I was surprised at how little blood orange taste there was compared to other blood orange flavored drinks (probably because this is real blood orange flavor and not the artificial stuff that’s so widely used in other drinks). The taste is lightly orange; like a flavored seltzer. The honey is more apparent in this one than in some of JuneShine’s other drinks, and it features a subtle mint finish that really softens the vinegary bite of Jun Kombucha. Honestly, it’s the hardest of the flavors to describe, but certainly one of most unique and refreshing. For what it’s worth, I finished this can the quickest of all of them, and I definitely enjoyed it — down to the last drop.

Shop Blood Orange Mint- $29.99 ➔

Where Can I Buy JuneShine?

JuneShine can be found in select grocery stores, and it is now available for shipment nationwide. You can order each flavor as a 12 pack, 24 pack or 48 pack, which ends up being $2.50 per can. You can also buy the Sampler Pack which provides 6 cans of JuneShine’s 4 bestselling flavors: Midnight Painkiller, Blood Orange Mint, Acai Berry, and Hopical Citrus. If JuneShine is your jam, they also offer monthly subscriptions with 20% savings on packs when you sign up. You do have to keep JuneShine refrigerated when you receive it, so be cautious of the space you have in your fridge when you are ordering it. According to their website, they are creating a rewards program and will soon be selling merch.