As the ready-to-drink canned cocktail market continues to evolve, one segment remains ascendant: offerings without carbonation. One upstart believes its spirits-infused drinks can cut through to consumers looking for a beverage that can help them hydrate.
Bluebird Hardwater launched new flavors this week: Vodka + Water, in Lime and Cranberry varieties; and Tequila + Water, in Lime and Pineapple flavors. The 12-ounce cans contain 4.5% alcohol by volume — slightly less than the 5% in RTD category leader White Claw’s hard seltzer cans — and 88 calories, with zero sugar and carbohydrates.
Based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the brand’s products are now available in liquor stores across California, Florida, New York and Tennessee. The new flavors compliment its existing lineup of standard Vodka + Water, Tequila + Water and Whiskey + Water products, which debuted in 2023.
Bluebird Hardwater co-founder and CEO Will Blum said he came up with the idea of “hardwater” — a play on “hard seltzer” — in 2021 after observing a lack of innovative options in the category.
Hard seltzer was heavily carbonated, sugary and made with cheap ingredients, while beer, Blum said, would leave him bloated for days.
Blum and his friends were out golfing and drinking bottled water when they realized there was no product that simply combined alcohol and water.
“Most of us are told by our parents to follow every alcoholic beverage with a glass of water, yet we end up drinking all night without rehydrating properly,” Blum said. “We wanted a drink with quality ingredients that was still affordable, kept us hydrated, and wasn’t too strong so you could drink as much or as little as you wanted.”
As canned cocktails have grown a larger footprint in alcohol, hydration drinks have exploded in recent years throughout the rest of the beverage industry.
Taking on tequila
Tequila has been trending all year, particularly in the ready-to-drink category as malt-based beverages fall out of favor. New offerings including the spirit from White Claw, Boston Beer’s Truly and Dogfish Head have made their debut, while tequila soda brand Casa Azul has boosted its presence on the shelves of liquor stores.
Initially Blum said he was not even initially considering launching a tequila-based drink, given the stringent requirements manufacturers must follow. In the U.S., ready-to-drink beverages can only contain 55% blue agave tequila in their alcohol makeup, and many canned tequila cocktails fill the remaining 45% with malt or corn-based spirits, he said. Blum believes this standard negatively impacts the taste of these drinks.
“This blending practice is a key reason many tequila soda brands fail—the final product doesn’t taste like real tequila and has an off-putting flavor, often masked by other additives,” Blum said.
Bluebird Hardwater does not dilute its drinks with other spirits besides tequila, which Blum said allows for more of the juice flavor to come through.
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Courtesy of Bluebird Hardwater
Bye bye bubbles
Blum said his company exists in a category of its own. He said in an interview he believes non-carbonated drinks will quickly outgrow their soda-like counterparts, as consumers get accustomed to drinks that do not have bubbles.
“Bringing something new is daunting, and we’ve seen that hesitation from many in the industry,” he said. “However, consumer demand will win out, and our new product is built for consumers, not just for sales.”
As the lines dividing the traditional alcoholic beverage categories blur, companies are refocusing their new product offerings to fit the growing demand for new kinds of drinks, from Monster Energy’s hard tea to nonalcoholic hop water from craft beer maker Founders Brewing.
Several recently launched brands have capitalized on the growth in beverages that eschew bubbles. Earlier this year, beer giant Molson Coors debuted Happy Thursday, a line of non-carbonated refreshers in four flavors. The brand told Food Dive it identified an opening for an offering that did not contain bubbles after conducting focus groups with Gen Z consumers.
The concept of hard water is not exclusive to Bluebird. Funny Water sells a line of non-carbonated water with 3.75% alcohol-by-volume per can, and recently expanded into eight flavors.
