Everything You Need To Know About Saratoga Water

If you've been online for five minutes in the past couple weeks, you've undoubtedly seen Ashton Hall, the buffed-up influencer showing off a morning routine that prominently features a facial ice bath using Saratoga water. It just might be the strangest reason for a water brand going viral. The iconic blue bottle makes a notable appearance several times in the short clip, leading many to wonder what's so special about this brand. Is there something magical about the water that makes the beautiful people even more beautiful when they wash their face with it? And considering Hall's recent drop of his nighttime Saratoga routine, why would they do it more than once a day?

In case you've been wondering about the seemingly exclusive bottled water brand that snagged a starring role in this frequently-spoofed video, this collection of crucial facts about Saratoga should help clear things up. If you're hoping it might clear up your facial hydration issues, well ... don't hold your breath. Unless you're dunking your head in a bowl full of iced-up Saratoga, in which case holding your breath is not only recommended, it's required.

Even with visuals that suggest otherwise, there's no business-based connection between Ashton Hall and the water brand. In the viral video, Hall not only does his morning facial rinse with the stylish spring water, he also enjoys drinking it with his high-protein meals, and shows off a multi-case delivery. At the rate he uses the stuff, that may be a one-day supply. In addition to consuming Saratoga water, the video also utilizes background accents of the bottle's cool blue hue — a hint that Hall might be angling for a hook-up with the company.

Is it possible that a serendipitous collaboration could be made due to the popularity and visibility of Saratoga in Ashton Hall's clip? Stranger things have happened, and if an uptick in sales occurs, it could be enough to convince the company to have Hall create other videos purposely focused on this bougie bottled water brand. A Facebook post from March 25 has Hall lauding his 9 million Instagram views of the clip, which makes a compelling argument for a hookup between the brand and the influencer who helped make it shine.

It's not for nothing that upstate New York-located Saratoga Springs became associated with a more mindful way of consuming water. The springs were renowned by indigenous Oneida and Mohawk peoples for the water's healing properties; the burgeoning hotel and spa business that eventually sprang up in the surrounding area used the springs themselves as a draw for world-weary travelers looking for a relaxing and curative space. This upswell of activity led to Saratoga Springs being dubbed the "Queen of Spas," with the region being visited by famed Americans like Edgar Allan Poe, James Buchanan, and Daniel Webster, all of whom left their John Hancocks in hotel registries where they stayed.

For anyone familiar with equestrian culture, this is also the Saratoga with the famous horse racing track that draws eager watchers from far and wide. With so much going for it, it's no wonder the population in Saratoga County has grown steadily through the decades. Having a branded water that keeps the Saratoga name on the tongues of drinkers throughout the U.S. doesn't hurt matters.

You may be just getting caught up on the Saratoga sensationnow, but it turns out this bottled water brand is older than Ashton Hall, TikTok, and the Internet itself. In fact, it's older than just about everything in your life. The popularity of Saratoga Springs as a healing spa town and the premium quality of the water was an obvious money-making opportunity that local businessmen took advantage of. Its bottled water origins date back to 1872 under the name Saratoga Vichy, a hat-tip to the famous mineral springs in France that this up-and-comer aimed to emulate, drop for drop.

As a player in the modern bottled water games, Saratoga picked up steam in the 1980s after being purchased twice, first by Anheuser-Busch and later by Evian. Though it wasn't the very first bottled spring water ever pushed on the public, it's safe to say Saratoga Springs is part of the original generation of bottled water serving as the ancestor of the whole premium hydration movement that just keeps chugging along through the 21st century. Now, it's a staple on grocery store shelves, though it has plenty of competition for whetting the whistles and quenching the thirsts of the contemporary consumer.

It may look striking and artful sitting on a table at your favorite Trattoria, but the Saratoga blue glass bottle wasn't necessarily chosen for its stylish aura. Of course, the tinted glass has gone through some evolution in its lifetime, but blue has always been the color of choice. Way back when the spa was first deciding to bottle up its luxurious liquid, blue glass was the least expensive option available. Even if the company didn't intend for it to become a status symbol, the cobalt blue glass stands out from the other water brands in a sector awash in branded bottles. The tone has made such an impact on the color world, it's now got an official name, Saratoga Signature Blue, announced in 2024 by Pantone, the arbiter of colors for products ranging from house paint and make-up to art supplies and cosmetics.

Now that you've been clued into the existence of Saratoga and its affiliated chromatic personality, there's little doubt that you'll see it sticking out like a sore thumb on the next time you're shopping in the water aisle — like when someone points out a blue car and suddenly you see them everywhere. It's pretty clever marketing, even if it was unintentional, and no matter what you might think of the water inside, there's something strikingly elegant about the gleaming glass in the company's signature color, standing on a white tablecloth and ready to be poured.

You probably didn't even know that there was such a thing as awards for water, but Saratoga is wise to the ways of the water world and has racked up a bit of hardware in the global competition for providing peak hydration products. As an entrant in the International FineWater Taste and Design Awards, the brand snagged a pair of prestigious prizes: a silver for its still version and a bronze for its sparkling version. Not only did Saratoga stack up the trophies for its superior spring waters, it was the only U.S. brand to even place in those categories.

It may not sound like a difficult feat — beating out other waters to take home a set of medals — but the competition included 110 different brands from around the world. That's no small pool to draw from. Blind taste-testing performed by professional water sommeliers from the U.S., Europe, Japan, and South Africa determined winners based on aspects such as still versus sparkling and various categories of mineral content. So the next time you twist off a cap and fill your glass with Saratoga, pour a little out to pay tribute to the only bottled water from America to win prizes for its exceptional quality.

You might not think an influencer pushing an elevated lifestyle would settle for anything less than high ticket water for face washing and drinking. And yet, anyone interested in trying the Saratoga skin care program can pick up a four-pack at Target for around $5.99. If that's not enough to quench your thirst, you can swing over to Walmart and grab a six-pack for $8.50 or so instead. Making sure as many customers can get their hands on Saratoga Springs water is actually a smart move that gives shoppers of all income levels a chance to try the goods. The fact that an influencer can stir up online interest means anyone can crack open a bottle to see what they think without having to shop at specialty stores or spend a small fortune.

What's the difference between the bottles you'll get and the bottles in the viral clip? Yours will be made out of plastic, and considering the amount of microplastics being found in consumables, it's a decent reason to give up drinking bottled water entirely. To have the safer and more authentic blue glass bottle be a part of your daily regimen, you'll be paying a little bit more; a 24-bottle case of 12-ounce bottles from Amazon will set you back about $40.00, which may be worth it to keep plastic out of your water habit.

It certainly looks like a posh way to cleanse your pores whenever you feel like the world has added too many layers to your skin, but doctors who know better say that dipping your face into a Saratoga bath isn't likely to have a lasting impact. Even if you load it up with ice cubes, the most you'll get is a brisk wake-me-up that helps reduce overnight swelling and inflammation to make your skin look a little tighter. But the minerals in the water aren't destined to stick once you've patted your face dry.

How can you use Saratoga to help give your skin a more healthful glow? The same way you would use any other water to do it: by drinking enough throughout the day to hydrate your cells from the inside. The calcium in the water can help maintain a moisture barrier, while the magnesium is a skin-hydrator that can assist your face with its ability to stay elastic and supple. So if you plan to put your Saratoga to its best use, pour it into your Stanley or Yeti and carry it around as a sipper instead of using it as a bracing splash first thing in the morning.

You don't get to be the bottled water associated with fine dining without making a few glossy moves along the way. One of those moves for Saratoga was partnering up with the Golden Globes to become the official beverage of the occasion. The attentive eye could see a scattering of the bottles in the background during the in-between moments and may have even spotted them on tables during the ceremony itself. It's not just a nice way to treat the glitterati to a more sophisticated table water; it's also a smooth move to make sure brand placement happens in as many quadrants of the TV broadcast as possible. And if Saratoga ends up being associated with some of the best known celebrities in showbiz, that's something that's likely to help the brand too.

The partnership wasn't just a one-and-done thing, either. Saratoga has now appeared at Golden Globe beverage stations and snack tables for two years so far. It's yet another step toward inserting the brand into the cultural awareness with a water so glitzy you might need to consult a water sommelier before choosing between still and sparkling (and yes, a water sommelier is a real thing).

Becoming a premium brand means finding opportunities for visibility in the culinary world, a connection Saratoga Springs has made with Top Chef and its affiliated personalities for three seasons. The water has been a featured presence in the series, even loading episode recaps and how-to videos with competitors onto the company website. Celebrity cooks like Curtis Stone have incorporated the water into cooking clips on their social media feeds to show their followers how to use a more pristine liquid as part of their recipe routine. Top Chef winner Buddha Lo even made an appearance at the Saratoga Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and created a recipe portfolio to suggest pairings for the celebrated water.

Rather than just being a glamorous prop pushing visibility on the show, Saratoga is putting its money where its water is by acting as a sponsor for the $250,000 prize money as well. All of this hobnobbing creates a delicious fusion among high-stakes competition, high-end food, and high-falutin' water in a groovy blue bottle.