Summer’s Fave Cocktail Is Ready for Fall

Ranch water has recently become the unofficial cocktail of Texas. A refreshing combination of tequila, seltzer water and mild citrus flavor, the light and barely sweetened beverage is a summer staple — but one local maker is looking ahead to fall.

Hoping Houstonians keep drinking their way through 2020, Lone River Beverage Company launches two autumnal flavors of its canned hard seltzer this week: Spicy Ranch Water and Rio Red Grapefruit Ranch Water. “With these new flavors, we wanted to continue to lean into our Texas roots by using local ingredients and looking to simple cocktails in the spirits category for inspiration,” says Katie Beal Brown, who founded Lone River last year.

The spicy iteration of the 80-calorie, easy-to-drink seltzer definitely comes with a Texas kick of jalapeno, offset by natural lime juice and a hint of organic agave. And the grapefruit version uses a “Texas-size squeeze” of red grapefruits grown in the Rio Grande Valley, plus the agave and lime.

The Lone River Ranch Water varieties are sold in six-packs for under $10 at H-E-B, Central Market, Whole Foods, Kroger, Total Wine, Specs and other independent retailers.