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The Texas State Flower is the bluebonnet, the State Tree is the pecan, and the State Small mammal is the nine-band armadillo. I say we should have a state cocktail too, and it should be ranch water: a three-ingredient, low-calorie highball made from sparkling water (traditionally topo chico), tequila, and lime juice. Hailing from the Lone Star State, with mythical origins from Fort Davis and Austin, the cocktail has emerged as a Texas-sized competitor in the blazing hot canned mixed beverage market over the past year. The pandemic likely played a role in the newfound demand: customers still want quality cocktails in the midst of restaurant and bar closings and are looking for something portable to share outdoors. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that many ranch water fans are less interested in slicing their own limes or popping their own topo-caps than they used to be.
Competition in the hard seltzer industry is now fierce, with an estimated 150 brands challenging White Claw for a portion of the $ 4.5 billion global sales in this category. Even giant beverage companies are scrambling to join the gold rush: Dos Equis, owned by Heineken, launched its version of canned ranch water in Texas this spring, with plans to expand to ten more states in September . Coors Seltzer fizzled out within a year because sales, as the company stated in a press release, “did not meet our expectations”.
Perhaps the topo chico deficiency is a good thing
Portable ranch waters fall into two related categories. The first is what is known in the beverage industry as ready-to-drink (RTD), which means the cocktails contain real liquor – in this case tequila. The second, hard seltzer, is a departure from the traditional recipe, as the alcohol comes from fermented cane sugar or malted barley. You can find RTD ranch water at liquor stores and other establishments licensed to sell distilled liquor. Hard selters, similar to beer and wine coolers, are available at a wider range of stores that can sell fermented drinks, including some gas stations and convenience stores.
When she launched RancH20 in October 2020, Dallas-based Amelia Lettieri was one of the first to introduce an RTD ranch water made with premium blanco tequila. Less than a year later, their product is sold in 650 locations in Texas, including bars and restaurants. It’s also available in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Tennessee, where the thirst for ranch water has spread. Lettieri’s average monthly revenue so far this year has exceeded expectations, and she expects even more growth in 2022.
Lettieri has roots in West Texas; her mother is from Wink. She says she drank ranch water “long before I should have drunk it.” A career in manufacturing and trademark law taught her that when consumers buy beverages, they want three things: authenticity, portability, and divisibility, all of which combine to create a drink that is easy to recommend, serve, and then give to friends. Regarding “big players” emerging outside of Texas, Lettieri says she expects competition. But perhaps unsurprisingly, she claims that “ranch water comes from Texas and must be made in Texas by a Texan.”
With so many brands to choose from, it seems that decision fatigue would prefer to buy the three ingredients and mix the simple drink yourself. But if you need a can for those last remaining summer detours along the way (and since there is a shortage in Topo Chico), it’s time to try some options for the next time it’s on the ranch.
I took four discerning friends out for a ranch water tasting and we tried ten brands to see which canned options looked most like the actual cocktail. Five were really worthy. As you can imagine, the top 3 in Texas are made with real tequila.
RanchH20
The (almost) unanimous gold medalist for ranch water in a can goes to RanchH20. It contains the highest alcohol volume (ABV) on the market at 7 percent, and everyone at the tasting agreed that it tastes most like the cocktail you get at a bar. It’s clean and fresh in taste and most importantly, as a friend said, “You can really try the tequila.”
Ranch Rider Spirits Co.
Austin Ranch Rider Spirits ranch water, made with reposado tequila, was the only other brand we considered for the top spot. Ranch Rider is the only one of our ten brands that uses real lime juice with no additional “natural flavors”. It tastes chalkier than the RanchH20, which I liked a lot. Two tasters didn’t like it as much as RancH20, with one saying the lime juice didn’t taste fresh. Still, this one is the real cocktail from a can.
Special canteen
Our third favorite ranch water is another RTD from Austin, Cantina Especial, which adds sea salt to the blanco tequila from Jalisco, Mexico – the slogan on the packaging is: “Born in Austin – Hecho en Mexico”. This also tastes very similar to the basic cocktail and contains only one gram of carbohydrates and zero grams of sugar for the health-conscious, compared to three grams each in some slightly heavier versions.
Karbach Brewery
The hard seltzer from Karbach Brewing in Houston will also please dieters, with one gram of carbohydrates and no sugar. I could taste the switch from tequila to fermented agave, but as long as it is served ice cold with salty or spicy snacks, I would love to carry this brand around.
Lone River beverage company
Midland’s Lone River is another hard seltzer brand that spreads out with four flavors of ranch water: original, flavorful, prickly pear, and our consensus favorite, grapefruit. All three non-original flavors, including the jalapeño-infused “hot” one, are a bit fruity to me, but they’re the lightest of all ten brands we’ve tried, at 80 calories and 4 percent alcohol. This brand appeals to yet another emerging market, the sober curious, who is part of a movement that encourages lower alcohol consumption for reasons of mental or physical health.
Skip: We found the underdog brands less attractive than most of the Texas-made ones. I’m not trying to be a state chauvinist, but proceed with caution unless you like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Waterbird’s ranch water in Charlottesville, Virginia comes off like Sprite. Painted Donkey’s flavorful ranch water from Mesa Loma, California made all five of our tasters cough. Dos Equis Ranch Water has the sugary taste of a child’s grain. Texas Ranch Water, based in Sausalito, California, tasted strangely like a white claw – too sweet for me, but a few claw-loyal friends enjoyed it, especially the grapefruit. A Texan brand also did poorly in our ranking. Austin ranch water from ShotGun Spiked Seltzer had a smell and aftertaste that reminded us of burnt rubber.
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