If you watched Fourth of July fireworks with friends this year and are old enough to legally imbibe, there’s a good chance someone brought hard seltzer to the Independence Day bash; according to ratings company Nielsen, the increasingly popular alcoholic water had its biggest week of sales ever over the holiday weekend.

With any surge in attention comes a reputation, for better and worse. While hard seltzer is increasing in variety as well as consumer demand, it use to find itself the brunt of pop culture jokes, or the subject of Internet memes.

Lately we’ve seen more and more microbreweries entering the alcoholic water party, touting so-called “craft-brewed’ seltzers. These brewers are pushing the boundaries of the traditionally malt-based hard seltzer while playing with different types of alcohol, sugars, and flavors. The desire to differentiate oneself from the competition is driving innovation.

The sparkling alcoholic beverage space is also seeing an explosion in ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails and wine-based spritzers. In addition to Barefoot’s Hard Seltzer Wine Spritzer, smaller vineyards like Del Mar are getting creative with their Wine Spritzers.

Hard seltzers are now getting the same craft treatment enjoyed by beer and wine alike. As the broad category of hard seltzer continues to evolve, it’s interesting to see how the Internet’s punchline changes.

Erin Grafton
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