Ranch Water

Blanco tequila, lime, and Topo Chico — the West Texas minimalist highball, Topo Chico from Monterrey since 1895, a regional specialty until 2019–2020.

Ranch Water is a West Texas minimalist tequila highball combining blanco tequila, fresh lime juice, and Topo Chico sparkling mineral water — a preparation whose simplicity reflects the working ranch culture of the Trans-Pecos region of far West Texas where it developed. Topo Chico, the carbonated mineral water bottled from a natural spring in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico since 1895 by the Topo Chico company, is specifically associated with the drink; its higher carbonation level and mineral character from the Cerro del Topo Chico spring are considered essential to the authentic preparation. The Coca-Cola Company acquired Topo Chico in 2017. Ranch Water's West Texas origins are concentrated in the Big Bend and Marfa area, where the Chihuahuan Desert's extreme heat, the sparse landscape, and the ranching culture that has operated there since Spanish colonial times created a drinking culture that valued simplicity, cold, and refreshment over complexity. The drink operated as a regional specialty known primarily to West Texans until approximately 2019-2020, when food media coverage and the subsequent launch of multiple canned Ranch Water products by major beverage companies including Lone River Beverage Company, Molson Coors, and Anheuser-Busch brought it to national awareness.