It's a White Claw summer — like it or not

Four hours before the call to post for the 2019 Kentucky Derby, I saw someone purchase White Claw hard seltzer for the first time. An entire genre of White Claw memes exist now; there’s one in which Pennywise, the clown from “It,” lures passersby into the sewer with a promise: “We have White Claw down here.” Copious posts exist on Instagram featuring people posing with cans of White Claw with the caption: “Ain’t no laws when you’re drinking Claws.” Stand-up comedian Trevor Wallace posted a video, “drinks white claw once,” a humorous analysis of the typical “White Claw Guy” — Hawaiian shirt, “Weekend Legend” hat, obnoxious catchphrases — which has gone viral. "Additionally, many of the flavors — lime, raspberry, grapefruit, etcetera — remind consumers of the non-alcoholic versions that are likely already in the fridges at home.” That’s an apt way to describe White Claw; with bubbles and a light touch of fruit-flavoring, it’s the alcoholic cousin of the insanely popular flavored sparkling water brand La Croix. The second element of White Claw’s popularity is a little more difficult to distill, but in essence, something about it feels like “summer” to drinkers. The worst thing a brand can do, Funmari said, is be irrelevant — and, at least for the rest of summer, that’s something that White Claw won’t be.