Seltzer is simply carbonated water: plain water with bubbles added by injecting carbon dioxide under pressure, usually without added minerals, sugar, or sweeteners.

What ā€œseltzerā€ means

  • Seltzer is just still water thatā€™s been artificially carbonated with carbon dioxide, giving it a crisp, bubbly texture.
  • Unlike club soda or tonic water, basic seltzer typically has no added minerals, sugar, or quinine, so the taste is clean and neutral.

A bit of history

  • The word ā€œseltzerā€ comes from Selters, a German spa town known for naturally effervescent mineral water that was exported in the 1700s.
  • Modern seltzer evolved from attempts to recreate that fizzy spring water by artificially adding gas to regular water.

Seltzer vs other fizzy waters

  • Sparkling mineral water : Naturally carbonated (or reā€‘carbonated) water from a mineral spring, containing minerals like salts and sulfur that affect flavor.
  • Club soda : Carbonated water with added minerals such as sodium bicarbonate or potassium sulfate, which give it a slightly salty or ā€œmineralā€ taste.
  • Tonic water : Carbonated water with quinine and sweeteners, making it sweetā€“bitter and more like a soft drink than a water.

What is ā€œhard seltzerā€?

  • Hard seltzer is an alcoholic drink made from seltzer (carbonated water) plus alcohol and usually fruit flavorings.
  • In many products, the alcohol comes from fermenting sugars (like cane sugar or malted barley), giving a light drink around 5% alcohol with relatively low calories.

How people drink seltzer today

  • Plain seltzer is popular as a zeroā€‘calorie alternative to soda and as a mixer in cocktails and mocktails because of its neutral taste and sharper fizz.
  • Many brands sell flavored seltzers that add fruit essences with little or no sugar; health advice generally favors versions without added sugars.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.