Drink of the Week: Ranch Rider Spirits Co. Seltzer

During a recent camping trip on a particularly scorching weekend along the banks of Oregon’s Deschutes River, I found myself sun-baked, dust-coated, and in desperate need of refreshment. Luckily, the cans I’d brought along and dropped in a mesh sack to keep cold in the river were the spiked seltzers from Ranch Rider Spirits Co., and boy, did they hit the mark.

Launched in 2019 in Austin, Texas, by business school classmates Quentin Cantu and Brian Murphy, Ranch Rider Spirits Co. makes canned cocktails inspired by West Texas’ micro-regional dive bar standby-turned-national-phenomenon known as Ranch Water (tequila, lime juice, Topo Chico). Ranch Rider stays relatively faithful to the formula (using only spirits, seltzer, and juices), and adds three more flavors to the lineup including a Paloma, The Chilton (another Texas native), and, my personal fave, a Moscow Mule riff dubbed The Buck. The vodka is distilled in-house, while the tequila is sourced from a family-owned distillery in Jalisco. The addition of sparkling water brings the cans down to a manageable 6-percent ABV, and the fresh juices are tart and punchy. The result is a spiked seltzer that drinks as clean and crisp as a freshly poured highball. $13.99/4-pack, ranchriderspirits.com