These Pickles Punched Me in the Mouth (And I Loved It)

So, I'm a bit of a pickle freak. Salty, sour, pungent flavors just really do it for me. I mean, I even play pickleball. But pickled cucumbers—you know, pickles—are the crown jewel. That's why I was so excited to try SuckerPunch Pickles, and they did not disappoint.

I don't know exactly when it started, but I really do have a weakness for pickled stuff. Olives, hard boiled eggs, jalapeños, carrots, onions—all great pickled. Asparagus? Bleh. Pickled asparagus? I'm listening. SuckerPunch is a company that specializes in pickling, and that is something I can appreciate.

Pickle Pouch Snack Packs

Let's start the tasting with SuckerPunch's "Snack Packs," which are single serving pouches of pickle slices in brine. They're available in four flavors, which I'm going to rank from least-favorite to favorite.

4. Sweet Bread & Butter

I'll be honest, if there's one pickle variety I generally avoid, it's Bread & Butter. That being said, these aren't half bad! For some reason I feel like Bread & Butter pickles are usually soft, but these had a great crunch. If you like sweet pickles, you'll love these.

3. Sweet 'N Heat 3-Pepper

I was probably most excited to try this flavor. Anything that involves spicy peppers is right up my alley. The three peppers referenced in the name are árbol, jalapeño and habanero, which should have a decent kick, but it wasn't very spicy to me. The minimal spice is joined by a subtle sweetness as well. Not a bad pickle at all, but didn't quite live up to my expectations.

2. Classic Dill

Okay, now we're getting to the really good stuff. If I had to pick one pickle variety to eat for the rest of my life, it would be dill. I'm happy to report that these are super crunchy, and they have an excellent salty/sour briney flavor. Even the juice is delicious. That's always a sign of a high quality pickle.

1. Spicy Dill

What's the only thing that can improve an already great dill pickle? A little bit of spice. Despite only having one of the Three Pepper trio (árbol), I found the Spicy Dill flavor to be more, well, spicy. It's everything I loved from the Kosher Dill with a nice heat on top of it. And again, the juice with this one is very good. I could eat a lot of these. They're awesome.

After trying all four flavors, I have to say "SuckerPunch" is an excellent brand name. A pickle that doesn't punch you in the mouth with flavor is not a pickle worth eating—and these were all worth eating. Even the Bread & Butter flavor, which I don't prefer, was better than most Bread & Butter pickles I've had. But there's more to try.

Pickle Juice Shooters

Before there was Gatorade and Liquid IV, people drank pickle juice to stay hydrated. This has become a trendy "crunchy" lifestyle thing to do, and as a pickle lover, I'm all for it. SuckerPunch's answer to this is pickle juice "shooters."

You won't be surprised to learn that I love these. Both the Classic Dill and Spicy flavors were great. The briney kick from the juice in the pouches has been rounded off just a tad, making them even more drinkable. You don't have to refrigerate the bottles, but I think they taste even better chilled. I can see myself packing a few of these for hot mid-Summer bike rides and hikes.

In terms of hydration, the stats are surprisingly good for such a small bottle. If you're curious like I was, here's how they compare to a bottle of Gatorade.

Phew, that was a lot of words about pickles. I'm very appreciative of SuckerPunch for sending these products over. They had no input on this review, but it's always easier when the products are legitimately good. I'm happy to say nice things about a company making delicious pickles. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go eat more pickles hydrate some more.