For the past three summers, my LCBO order has looked pretty much the same. That is, until something shiny and peculiar caught my eye: ranch water. I was intrigued by the name (not in a good way) and curious if this new ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail had any relation to the salad dressing, but the pull wasn't strong enough for me to stray from my usual drink purchases. So, instead I went home to consult the ol' Google.
What is ranch water?
Turns out ranch water isn't new. According to Texas lore (and Forbes), the tequila, Topo Chico and lime juice cocktail is rumoured to date back to the 1960s in West Texas. For the uninitiated, Topo Chico is a mineral water that's been sourced from the same Mexican spring since 1895. It's quite effervescent and tastes really pure because the spring is naturally carbonated before even more carbonation is added to the final product. While tequila, lime and Topo Chico are the original three ingredients, ranch water today comes in many variations.
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The two options currently at the LCBO — Wyatt Rose Ranch Water and Lone River Ranch Water — don't use Topo Chico. Lone River Ranch Water doesn't even use tequila. It's a sneaky little brewed-malt seltzer that's "made with the taste of agave nectar," not the actual blue weber agave that's required to make tequila.
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"Ranch water is not a legally-defined term and can be made with or without tequila," explains Chris Robertson, the senior director of beer, cider & ready-to-drink at the LCBO . "This product [Lone River] is similar to a traditional seltzer, which appeals to consumers looking for a light style," he adds.
What does ranch water taste like?
The taste of ranch water depends on whether the alcohol is malt- or fermented-sugar-based, or if it's made with a distilled spirit like tequila.
I found the tequila-based Wyatt Rose to be more flavourful (with pops of lime and cucumber) and natural-tasting than the malt-based Lone River. Don't get me wrong, both are equally crushable, but I feel like Lone River relies more on its lime juice concentrate and organic agave syrup for flavouring, whereas the Wyatt Rose has tequila to help give it that depth.
If you want a taste of how the OG ranchers did it, try to get your paws on some mineral-rich Topo Chico and make your own, cowboy.
Where did ranch water come from?
No one can seem to agree on the cocktail's exact origins. Some have linked the creation of the tipple to a "wild-haired rancher" who followed the West Texas stars by foot back in the 60s. He was eventually found sleeping under a tree (sounds like tequila). Others, like the Ranch 616 "ice house" (or open air bar) in the heart of Austin, Texas, lay claim to the original recipe. Basically, if you mixed tequila with Topo Chico and lime back in the 60s, you can put your name in the hat for ranch water visionary.
Why is it trending now?
While vodka is the leading RTD base (and Smirnoff Vodka is still the top selling spirit brand at the LCBO), Robertson tells me that "tequila is the fastest growing spirit at the LCBO, with sales up 24 per cent compared to last year."
He attributes this rise to a number of factors, from greater customer appreciation and knowledge of quality tequila to the rise of celebrity-owned tequila brands. (Remember when George Clooney sold his tequila company, Casamigos for 1 billion dollars in 2017? Nice for you, George!)
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Canned versions of ranch water started to takeoff in the U.S. around springtime 2020. "Generally, many products that are successful in America also perform well in the Ontario market," Robertson notes, which we've seen happen numerous times (ahem, White Claw).
But Canada isn't just hopping on the ranch water wagon. Canadian brands like Wyatt Rose (under Georgian Bay Beverage Co.) are innovating in their own way with flavours like Colima lime blended with real blue agave tequila.
Tequila-based or not, ranch water encapsulates that fresh summer feeling. It's light, low ABV (around 4–5 per cent), and made me want to saddle up and ride into the sunset — or at least adventurous enough to try something different.
