• FOOD & BEVERAGE

JuneShine Review: We Taste Test This Hard Kombucha

Reviewed by Maggie Gibson

Last Updated January 2022

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.

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. 

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.

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.