In my extremely shit-faced attempts to find something newsworthy at Hyde I came across a dude pissing against a wall and holding a Major Major. I asked him what he thought of his beverage and he told me: “Bloody good, tastes just like apple-juice.”
That is an excellent summary of the drink. While the first sip may taste slightly similar to what I imagine the slop that accumulates at the bottom of a festival would taste like, it significantly improves as the drinking continues.
In many ways the drink reflects my general experience at Hyde. After an initial wave of hesitation at the highly average smell, I became extremely drunk and enjoyed myself immensely. Like Hyde, I can’t quite remember drinking the half the box, but I know for sure it was a positive experience. And, like Hyde, the day after was not the best.
Major Major is pretty much just apple juice. It’s the quality of those juice-boxes that you get in primary school lunches when you go on a field trip. You can tell it is just made from concentrate, but it does the job. Just like those juice boxes, it’s neutral and inoffensive. The alcoholic aspect, which is supposed to be whiskey, is almost undetectable. With a minimal amount of fizz they are dangerously drinkable.
Major Majors come in the standard RTD format, boxes of 10 x 330 mL cans. Each can is 6% or 1.6 standards per can. They usually go for $25 which means roughly 1.56 dollars per standard which is fairly normal for this type of drink. Not the best if you’re looking for sheer value, but reasonable compared to most similar drinks.
Overall, Major Majors are a solid RTD. They’re definitely playing into the whole healthy and natural RTD craze. They’re owned by Asahi (who are owned by Kirin who are partly owned by Mitsubishi Motors, and recently cut ties with a Myanmar brewery part-owned by the military. Ka pai) and the Asahi marketing team is definitely pushing the student market hard, especially with all the targeted O-Week promotions. They’re a solid drink and they go down easy.
Tasting notes: like someone bashed the life out of an apple and boiled it
Froth level: those Facebook ads which somehow know what you’re thinking before you
Pairs well with: sustaining yourself off alcohol, mi goreng BBQ flavour & day drinking
Taste rating: 7/10 exceptionally average