Shields cashed in on the success and sold the brand to Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) in 2016, for an undisclosed fee. Three years later, the drinks conglomerate enacted a complete rebrand and relaunched the beverage as Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer.

Also known as spiked seltzer, alcoholic seltzer, or hard sparkling water, hard seltzer is carbonated water combined with alcohol and fruit flavoring. Depending on the hard seltzer brand, these fruit flavors can come from real fruit juice or artificial flavoring.

Hard Seltzer is the name given to a new and exciting category of alcoholic drink. Hard Seltzers are typically made with just three ingredients: sparkling water, alcohol and flavourings.

The beverage company still produces Bon & Viv and Natty Light Hard Seltzer, but like Cacti, ABI is allowing them to take a back-burner role to other hard seltzer brands in the company's portfolio.

Nick Shields David white came up with the idea for alcoholic water in 1996 when he came up with the idea for a project. The more modern renditions of Hard seltzers started with Nick Shields developing the 'Spiked Seltzer' branding style, in Westport, Connecticut, brewing the first commercial batches in November 2013.

The hard seltzer story began in 1993. That year, Coors Brewing Company launched Zima Clearmalt, a clear and lightly carbonated malt-based beverage that was marketed as an alternative to beer, primarily targeting women.

In the US the alcohol is usually made by fermenting cane sugar or malted barley. Hard seltzer products outside of the US have been found to use either neutral spirit, or fermentation of fruit. The alcohol by volume is around 5% and the calorie-content is relatively low.

It gets its name from the German Selterser wasser, which means water from natural mineral springs near the village of Selters. Seltzer became more of a generic term for fizzy water as its popularity spread around Europe and North America.

The addition of carbon dioxide gives a can of seltzer its distinctive bubbles and fizz. Thus, hard seltzer is alcoholic soda water. Most hard seltzers on the market today are between 4% and 5% alcohol by volume (ABV), though some have a higher ABV.

Key takeaways: Hard seltzer is a popular alcoholic drink that combines alcohol with flavored carbonated water. Compared to many other alcoholic drinks, hard seltzer is lower in alcohol content, calories, and sugar. No amount of alcohol - including hard seltzer - is good for you.

SpikedSeltzer was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev on Oct 9, 2016 .

PERCEIVED AS HEALTHIER Hard seltzer typically contains around 5% alcohol content by volume and is lower in calories than most comparable alcoholic drinks. It's also gluten free and low in sugar, giving off a healthier impression to consumers.

David white came up with the idea for alcoholic water in 1996 when he came up with the idea for a project. The more modern renditions of Hard seltzers started with Nick Shields developing the 'Spiked Seltzer' branding style, in Westport, Connecticut, brewing the first commercial batches in November 2013.

This process means hard seltzer somewhat surprisingly falls into the beer category as a “flavored malt beverage,” rather than into a pre-mix category. However, hard seltzer is made from fermenting cane sugar or sugar with water, whereas beer uses malted grains as the primary source of sugar.

The addition of carbon dioxide gives a can of seltzer its distinctive bubbles and fizz. Thus, hard seltzer is alcoholic soda water. Most hard seltzers on the market today are between 4% and 5% alcohol by volume (ABV), though some have a higher ABV.

Seltzer water can be used as a fun, fizzy finisher for zero-proof and regular cocktails. It can also be used in place of club soda in any of your favorite drink recipes. Try adding a splash to 100% fruit juice along with sliced, fresh fruit. Or add it to your next smoothie for a light, airy treat.