Topo Chico Aguas Frescas Hard Seltzer Review: Less Alcohol, More Flavor

Topo Chico has been in the bottled water game for a long time. The company was founded in 1895, bottling mineral water from a spring near the Cerro del Topo Chico mountain, hence its name. The mineral water is said to have healing properties — a legend surrounding it tells the tale of an Aztec emperor with a sick daughter, who could only be cured by drinking from the spring.

The company has changed a lot since it first started to bottle mineral water. Topo Chico has grown immensely and added flavored carbonated water to its standard offering, which is still bottled at the stream today. The company was excellently poised when the flavored seltzer craze hit, and now that hard seltzers are a feature of BBQs and hot summer days everywhere, it is no wonder Topo Chico wanted in on some of the action as well.

Topo Chico has been slowly expanding its line of hard seltzers, from its margarita-inspired flavors to its take on Ranch Water to its fruity spiked sparkling water. Now just in time for summer, Topo Chico has a new hard seltzer line based on aguas frescas featuring four new flavors. Of course, we had to try them to see how they stood up to the company's other offerings.

The new Topo Chico hard seltzers start with agua fresca, a popular Latin American drink made from fruit, water, and sometimes additional sweeteners. Naturally, inspired by the refreshing beverage, Topo Chico's new Aguas Frescas come in four distinctly fruity flavors. In addition to using fruits, the company also incorporates herbs and flowers to round them out. The flavors include Passionfruit Mango, Ripe Watermelon, Hibiscus Lime, and Citrus Tamarind. It should be noted that while the drink contains fruit juice, there is not a lot — 1% to be exact. Additionally, that small percentage in all four of the new flavors seems to be lime juice, not the other fruits named on the label.

The main ingredient is filtered carbonated water, and while Topo Chico made its name bottling healing mineral water, this is not the same stuff. According to Topo Chico's website, the hard seltzer is made "in the spirit" of Topo Chico mineral water, which in this case means adding minerals to mimic the taste. Additionally, natural flavors and some cane sugar are added, though not much.

Now for perhaps the most important part: the alcohol. Each hard seltzer is made with alcohol fermented from cane sugar, which is commonly used for similar beverages.

Topo Chico Aguas Frescas hard seltzers are available starting June 7th and will be around for a limited time during the summer season. The four flavors are sold in a variety pack that contains 12 cans, three of each flavor. The case price will vary between distributors but will likely cost from $18.99 to $21.99. At around $20 for a 12-pack, that means the cost per can is just $1.67, which is not bad at all.

The cases will be available in select states where Topo Chico hard products are typically sold. Beer and wine stores, as well as chains such as Target and Fred Meyer (in states that permit alcohol to be sold there), will carry the seltzers. Additionally, for those who prefer to have their alcohol delivered, Instacart, Amazon, and Drizly all carry Topo Chico hard products and can deliver, again, based on legal and distribution requirements in the area.

Topo Chico currently offers nine other hard seltzer flavors. The company has been working on rolling out these products since 2021 when it offered a limited release of its first four hard seltzers — Exotic Pineapple, Strawberry Guava, Tangy Lemon Lime, and Mango. Compared with the Aguas Frescas, they have less sugar per can and are higher in alcohol at 4.7% versus just 4%.

In 2022 Topo Chico released a Margarita line of hard seltzers. The drinks are made with lime juice, which is included in the Aquas Frescas, as well as "tequila flavors" — though not actually tequila. You can get a Signature Margarita, which has a hint of salt, Strawberry Hibiscus, Prickly Pear, and Tropical Pineapple, which is somehow different from Exotic Pineapple; each of these drinks has an alcohol content of 4.5%.

Also in 2022 the company leaned into the obvious and came out with a Ranch Water-inspired flavor. The cocktail is made with tequila, lime juice, and, crucially, Topo Chico Mineral water, and boasts an alcohol content of 4.7%.

There really isn't much variation in the nutritional content among the four flavors of Aguas Frescas. One serving clocks in at 100 calories for 12 ounces, which is about the same as a White Claw.

Each flavor contains added sugar, but the cans only have 4 grams, which gives the drink just a hint of sweetness. This is more than the 2 grams found in some of the other Topo Chico flavors, though. Other than sugar, there is not much in the way of nutrition. There are 15 grams of sodium and 4 grams of carbs, though neither of these makes a significant dent in daily intake.

As alcohol goes, there isn't as much as you might find in other hard-canned drinks. The alcohol is not distilled, which helps keep it fairly low at just 4%; this is slightly less than every other  Topo Chico hard seltzer flavor available.

Is this authentic agua fresca? No, but the Topo Chico product is made in the spirit of agua fresca the same way its hard seltzer is made in the spirit of the original Topo Chico. So do not let that deter you — the passion is there.

We were initially surprised by the sweetness of each can, that additional two grams of sugar makes a noticeable difference. Instead of being a straight hard seltzer, these taste like a sweetened fruity drink, though not so sweet they verge into soda territory. Topo Chico toes the line well and perfectly encompasses the feeling of agua fresca.

Ultimately, what really stands out for us, are the flavors. The Citrus Tamarind and Hibiscus Lime were our favorites: the former is herbal and tropical in a way that is hard to pin down, while the latter is floral with notes of honey that balance nicely with the tartness of the lime.

There is always the fear when it comes to a limited release that the flavors will either be a disgusting shock grab — like ranch ice cream — or else will simply be a repeat of other offerings from the company, but luckily this is not the case with Topo Chico Aguas Frescas. These are unique flavors other hard seltzers have not yet emulated. We definitely hope to see the Agua Frescas line come back after summer is over.