The Pack Is Not a Seltzer — And That's the Whole Point
Published by Crystal Ridge Distillery | Hot Springs, Arkansas
Walk into any liquor store in Arkansas right now and you'll see an entire wall dedicated to hard seltzers. Slim cans. Light flavors. Low calories. They all look the same, taste roughly the same, and promise the same thing — a light, fizzy, mostly inoffensive drink that won't slow you down.
The Pack is not that.
Not even close.
Let's Start With What Hard Seltzers Actually Are
Hard seltzers are made by fermenting sugar or malted barley into alcohol, then filtering it heavily and adding carbonated water and artificial flavoring. The result is a low-calorie, low-flavor drink that's more about what it doesn't have than what it does.
No base spirit. No craft. No story.
They're designed to be easy to drink and easy to forget. For a lot of people, that's exactly what they want. And that's fine.
But if you've ever cracked open a hard seltzer and thought — this tastes like flavored air — you're not imagining it. That's by design.
What The Pack Actually Is
The Pack is a line of ready-to-drink vodka cocktails. Available in select flavors. 9% ABV. 12 oz cans.
Every single can is built on a foundation that no hard seltzer can claim — Crystal Ridge Arkansas Vodka, distilled 10 times for ultimate purity.
That's not a marketing line. That's the actual process. Our vodka goes through a proprietary 10-step distillation that strips out methanol and impurities, leaving behind a spirit that is exceptionally clean, smooth, and — most importantly — actually tastes like something.
When you use a vodka that good as your base, everything built on top of it tastes better. The flavors are more vibrant. The finish is cleaner. The entire drinking experience is on a different level than a fermented sugar water with a flavor packet dropped in.
The Difference You Can Actually Taste
Here's the simplest way to understand the difference between The Pack and a hard seltzer:
A hard seltzer is flavored alcohol. The Pack is a cocktail.
One is a commodity. The other is a craft product made by a family distillery that has been refining its spirit for years.
When you drink our Arkansas Mule, you're drinking a real Moscow Mule — ginger, lime, and 10x distilled vodka — in a can. When you crack open a Razorberry Splash, that bold blend of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries is working on a clean vodka canvas that lets every layer of flavor come through. When you pop a Watermelon Wave, the fresh juicy sweetness hits differently than any seltzer because there's a real spirit underneath it — not fermented sugar water.
That's what a real cocktail does. It balances. It layers. It delivers something more than the sum of its parts.
Hard seltzers don't do that. They can't — because there's no spirit underneath.
9% ABV — Here's Why That Matters
Most hard seltzers come in at 5% ABV — roughly the same as a beer.
The Pack comes in at 9% ABV.
That's not an accident. That's what happens when you build a drink on real vodka instead of fermented sugar water. The alcohol content is higher because the base spirit is stronger and more refined — and because we're not watering it down to hit a trendy low-calorie number.
You're drinking a real cocktail. It behaves like one.
One or two cans of The Pack is a real drinking experience. Know what you're picking up, drink responsibly, and enjoy every sip of it — because at 9% ABV on a 10x distilled vodka base, every sip is genuinely worth enjoying.
The Pack
Select Flavors — Each One a Real Cocktail Concept
This isn't a lineup of vague "citrus" and "berry" flavors with nothing behind them. Every Pack flavor is a real cocktail concept executed in a can:
Arkansas Mule — A classic Moscow Mule built on Arkansas Vodka. Ginger. Lime. Clean finish.
Piña Colada — Coconut and pineapple. Tropical, rich, and ready to go anywhere.
Sunrise Sipper — Citrus and cream with a warm, bright finish. The one that makes any hour feel like happy hour.
Twist O' Lime — Crisp, clean, and citrusy. The no-nonsense option in the lineup.
Black Cherry — Deep, bold cherry flavor. Rich and smooth with real depth.
Southern Cream Soda — A grown-up version of a childhood classic. Sweet, nostalgic, and smooth.
Razorberry Splash — Our proudest Arkansas original. A bold blend of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries that tastes like it was made specifically for this state. Because it was.
Watermelon Wave — Fresh, juicy watermelon flavor on a clean vodka base. Peak Arkansas summer.
Lemonade — Classic lemonade. Simple, bright, and exactly as refreshing as it sounds.
Select flavors. All built on the same 10x distilled Arkansas Vodka that we've been perfecting right here in Hot Springs.
Made in Hot Springs, Arkansas
This matters more than it might seem.
Crystal Ridge Arkansas Vodka — the spirit that powers every can of The Pack — is made using pure Hot Springs water. Hot Springs, Arkansas has been famous for its naturally pure water for over a century. Presidents came here for it. Athletes trained here for it. People have been traveling to this ridge to drink this water for longer than Arkansas has been a state.
We use it in every bottle we make.
When you drink The Pack, you're drinking a craft spirit made with legendary Hot Springs water, distilled 10 times, by a family that has been in Garland County for seven generations. That's not something any national hard seltzer brand can say. Not one.
Where to Find The Pack
The Pack is available at over 300 liquor stores across Arkansas. If your store doesn't carry it yet, ask for it by name.
And if you want to taste every flavor before you commit to a favorite — come see exactly how it's made. Visit us at 455 Broadway St in Hot Springs, where The Pack is available for tasting in our tasting room and you can take a case home the same day. Our Moonshine Experts will walk you through every flavor and help you find the one you can't put down.
Tasting Room Hours
Hours subject to change — call us at 501-627-0722 or follow @crystalridgedistillery for the latest.
Monday: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Thursday: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Friday: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Saturday: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Sunday: 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Tuesday & Wednesday: Closed
The Bottom Line
Hard seltzers have their place. But if you've been reaching for them out of habit — or because you didn't know there was something better in the same cooler — it's time to meet The Pack.
Real vodka. Real cocktail flavors. Real craft from a real Arkansas family.
Select flavors. 9% ABV. Zero apologies.
The Pack — by Crystal Ridge Distillery, Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Crystal Ridge Distillery is located at 455 Broadway St, Hot Springs, AR 71901. Call us at 501-627-0722. Follow us @crystalridgedistillery for new releases, events, and the latest from the ridge.
