These three sit in the same cooler and get treated as the same thing. They are not. One is a single-serve cocktail, one is a vodka seltzer, and one is a canned cocktail built at cocktail strength. Knowing which is which saves you from the two classic mistakes: buying the strong one for a long afternoon, and buying the light one when you wanted a drink.
What each one actually is
BuzzBallz are pre-mixed cocktails in a 200ml plastic ball. One ball is one drink. There is no pouring, no ratio to get wrong, and no glass to wash. The Tequila 'Rita is a margarita - lime against agave, cut with just enough sweetness to sip - and the rest of the range works the same way. This is the format you buy when six people want six different things and nobody wants to build anything.
High Noon is vodka, real juice and sparkling water in a 12oz can. It is a seltzer, which makes it the lightest of the three and the one that works across an afternoon rather than an evening. There is a tequila version as well: same format, different base spirit.
Cutwater makes canned cocktails - margaritas, mules, a Long Island, an espresso martini, a White Russian. The range is where Cutwater wins outright; nobody else is putting a White Russian in a can. Their Lime Margarita is the best-selling single can in our entire cooler.
Cost per serving
The pack sizes all differ, so the shelf price tells you nothing until you divide it.
| Product | Pack price | Per serving |
|---|---|---|
| BuzzBallz Tequila 'Rita, 200ml | $4.39 | $4.39 (sold singly) |
| High Noon variety, 8-pack | $23.09 | $2.89 |
| High Noon Lime, 4-pack | $13.19 | $3.30 |
| High Noon Tequila Seltzer variety, 8-pack | $25.29 | $3.16 |
| Cutwater Lime Margarita, 4-pack | $14.29 | $3.57 |
The 8-pack is the lesson. High Noon at $2.89 a can in the variety 8-pack against $3.30 in the 4-pack works out $3.29 cheaper across eight cans for what is otherwise the same drink. If you already know you like more than one flavour, there is no argument for the 4-pack.
BuzzBallz look expensive next to a can until you notice you are comparing different things. A 200ml ball is a whole cocktail; a 12oz seltzer is a long drink built to be sipped for an hour. Per unit of actual alcohol the ball is the cheaper option, which is precisely why it is the format that catches people out at an afternoon barbecue. Treat one ball as one cocktail, because that is what it is.
What we carry
| Bottle or pack | Price | Why you would pick it |
|---|---|---|
| BuzzBallz Cocktails Tequila 'Rita 200ML | $4.39 | The margarita. Lime and agave. |
| BuzzBallz Cocktails Berry Cherry Limeade 200ML | $4.39 | Our best-selling ball, and it is not close. |
| BuzzBallz Cocktails Strawberry 'Rita 200ML | $4.39 | The strawberry margarita version. |
| BuzzBallz Cocktails Watermelon Smash 200ML | $4.39 | A summer flavour that sells here all year. |
| BuzzBallz Big Spirit Berry Cherry Limeade Biggies 1.5LT | $21.99 | The 1.5-litre bottle, for pouring into glasses rather than sipping from the ball. |
| High Noon Variety Pack Cans 8PK 12OZ | $23.09 | The best per-can price in this whole cooler. |
| High Noon Tequila Seltzer Variety Pack Cans 8PK 12OZ | $25.29 | Tequila base rather than vodka. |
| High Noon Pineapple Cans 4PK 12OZ | $13.19 | Single flavour, for when you know exactly what you want. |
| Cutwater Lime Margarita Cans 4PK 12OZ | $14.29 | Our number one can. Tequila and triple sec. |
| Cutwater Espresso Vodka Martini Cans 4PK 12OZ | $14.29 | The after-dinner one. |
| Cutwater Long Island Iced Tea Cans 4PK 12OZ | $14.29 | Exactly what it says on the can. |
| Cutwater White Russian Cans 4PK 12OZ | $14.29 | Nobody else cans this. |
Choosing in ten seconds
Long afternoon, mixed group, people driving home later: High Noon 8-pack. One proper drink each and everybody gets something different: BuzzBallz. You wanted a cocktail and you are not about to make one: Cutwater.
Feeding a crowd around a game instead? Beer is still cheaper per person and we ran those numbers in a separate post.
Come get it
Beverage World Package Store, 6731 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Doraville, GA 30360. Call (770) 441-0001. We are open Sundays; current hours are on the location and hours page. Prices and stock in this post were correct the day it was written — the links go to the live product pages, which always win.
On our shelf right now
Prices and stock read from our own inventory when this page was built.