Applebee’s Just Launched 3 New Summer Drinks—Here’s a Food Editor’s Honest Ranking

• What It Is: 1800 Reposado tequila, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, watermelon, lime

Hear me out: It was a solid margarita, and it’s served with the shaker, so you get multiple pours with each order. But the watermelon was subtle to the point of undetectability. All I tasted was fresh lime, and I appreciated that it wasn’t shy about the sourness. But TBH, it tasted like a regular marg, so it’s at the bottom of my ranking.

• What It Is: lemonade, strawberry syrup

This summery bev is as simple as it gets, and strawberry and lemon are a timeless combination for a reason. This mix of the two fruits leaned sweet with a generous dose of tartness, although its consistency was a bit syrupy. It tasted similar to a strawberry lollipop or red Skittles to me. Even better? A 50-cent donation from each sale made in restaurant goes directly to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer.

• What It Is: Red Bull Red Edition, strawberry, lemon lime soda

I didn’t expect this caffeine-packed number to be my favorite Applebee’s summer drink, but here we are. Red Bull Red is watermelon-flavored, so the watermelon nature of the drink was just as sweet as it was effervescent and refreshing. The bubbles of both the Red Bull and lemon-lime soda made the drink electrifyingly vibrant and balanced.