"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!

With so many people losing their minds over LaCroix and other flavored-and-carbonated-water beverages these days, it’s no surprise to see an increase in hard seltzers available. National brands like White Claw and Truly Spiked & Sparkling came on the scene a few years ago, and recently, Milwaukee’s own hard seltzer, Press, joined the hard seltzer / healthy cocktail movement.

Created by Amy Walberg, PRESS is available in four flavors: pomegranate ginger, grapefruit cardamom, blackberry hibiscus and lime lemongrass. One can is gluten-free, 100 calories and 6 grams of carbohydrates. A Miller Lite, in comparison, has 96 calories and 3.2 carbs. 

However, comparing lite beer to hard seltzer is really the proverbial "apples and oranges." The two, obviously, taste nothing alike and yet both are refreshing and light in their own way.

"I think it’s important to have options other than beer, wine and spirits," says Walberg. "It’s the perfect beverage to celebrate the moment while still being in the moment."

Walberg, who grew up in Minnesota, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and today lives in Fox Point. She is a strong supporter of environmental health and a portion of sales go toward the ERM Foundation.

"The environment is very important to me and I want to make a difference by giving back as much as I can," she says.

Recently, I sampled a pomegranate ginger and found it fizzy, but slightly less carbonated than other seltzers, and very natural in flavor. I could taste the ginger and pomegranate but it’s not overpowering in the least. 

Mostly, I couldn’t believe I was drinking an alcoholic beverage, which can be dangerous for some who might over-consume based on its easy-to-swallow-ness.

Also, I like the taste of booze – whiskey and vodka in particular – so most of the time, I’ll stick with "soft" seltzers when consuming non-alcoholic beverages and harder booze when cocktailing.

That said, with summer in the near future, ready-to-pour and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages are ideal for beach days, tailgating, picnics and outdoor concerts. Plus, this one is Milwaukee made, which is always a selling point for me.

"This a a rather new beverage category, many people aren’t familiar with alcohol seltzers yet, but they will be," says Walberg.