Drink news

Topo Chico launches juicy expansion outside of trademark sparkling water

Topo Chico Ginger Beer.

Topo Chico

Topo Chico, which is practically the state beverage of Texas, has launched a a creative new line of drinks outside of the signature mineral water the company is known for: Topo Chico Mixers.

Like its name indicates, the product is a non-alcoholic drink mixer made with “premium ingredients, a light essence of flavors, crisp bubbles, filtered sparkling water, and added minerals for taste,” according to a release. They can be enjoyed on their own or used in both cocktail and mocktail recipes.

The new drink line represents the next big move for Topo Chico, which was acquired by Coca Cola in 2017 for the modest price tag of $220 million. Since the acquisition, Topo Chico has launched a handful of bubbly spinoff drinks meant to give mainstream canned and bottled alcoholic drinks a run for their money.

In 2021, the company launched Topo Chico Hard Seltzers, a challenger to the White Claw seltzers that became wildly popular during the summer of 2019.

And in 2022, they debuted a canned ranch water line to emulate the west Texas tequila-based cocktail typically made with lime juice and Topo Chico mineral water.

The new Topo Chico Mixers seem to be aimed at popular artisan mixer brands like Fever Tree. The line will debut March 11 in large retailers, liquor stores, and drug stores across the country. They’ll come in glass bottles akin to Topo Chico’s mineral water, but smaller: 7.1 ounces instead of the standard 12 ounces for mineral water.

The mixers will be available in three flavors: ginger beer, tonic water, and club soda. They’ll be sold in single-flavor four-packs for a suggested retail price of $6.79.

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Peak Plates

7 Austin restaurants make OpenTable's top 100 for 2024

Jeffrey's Restaurant/Instagram

Jeffrey's Restaurant is a great example of the type of fancy, well-established restaurant that made the list.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and seven Austin restaurants have made the list. That's already impressive at a glance — 7 percent of the entire national list in just one city — but compared to other Texas cities, it's huge. Austin is the only Texas city to have more than one restaurant on the list.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" list is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Austin's seven restaurants (including several repeats from OpenTable's 2023 list) are:

Aba: Known for its laid-back, yet fancy patio and being a popular spot for visiting celebrities
J Carver's: Known for a commitment to the classic steakhouse experience and legitimately fancy dining
Jeffrey's Restaurant: Known for fine dining, a connection to Austin before its boom, and a fantastic wine program
Red Ash Italia: Known for approachable, yet high-quality Italian food with rustic touches
Sammie's Italian: Known for its romantic take on the archetype of an East Coast Italian joint
Uchi: Known for bringing Austin into the national sushi conversation and defining the scene
Uchiko: Known for a cool atmosphere and getting creative with sushi and other small plates

Austinites will probably not be surprised by this list, which names some very well-established restaurants that are all upscale. These qualities tend to appeal to similar lists, regardless of who's curating them.

It is interesting, given that the list was democratically based on user ratings, that there were not more beloved food trailers or casual spots. However, other factors that led to high rankings included alerts set and reservations made ahead — things that don't really apply to even the most awesome taco truck.

Mediterranean food was a trend among the Austin picks. Red Ash Italia and Sammie's Italian are, as the names would imply, completely dedicated to Italian food, while Aba covers a wider swath of the Mediterranean. There were also two steakhouses: J Carver's and Jeffrey's Restaurant.

As list-perusers may have guessed, Uchi and Uchiko are in the same family of restaurants, with Uchi being the more formal and Uchiko being a bit more accessible for drop-in meals and cocktails. But are two more incognito duos of sibling restaurants on the list: J Carver's and Red Ash, and Jeffrey's Restaurant and Sammie's Italian.

That could be a coincidence. It could also be a reflection of the utility of money and experience in opening a good restaurant, or a lesson about the effects of good (and expensive) marketing. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like hospitality groups had any direct sway on how OpenTable made its choices.

This list was different from the inaugural list of OpenTable Icons, which launched in 2024. The "Icons" list chose restaurants that are getting a lot of buzz, which ended up being more subjective. It also seemed to let in — as a side effect of the process, rather than a hard eligibility rule — more new and Mexican restaurants. Two restaurants are on both lists: Red Ash and Jeffrey's.

Restaurants outside of Austin that made the Top 100 list, organized alphabetically, are:

Hudson House — Dallas
Steak 48 — Houston
Signature — San Antonio

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