Betty Buzz is a new line of sparkling beverages created by actress Blake Lively. Positioned as a light, clean-ingredient and low-calorie non-alcoholic alternative to traditional cocktail mixers, the line features five sparkling non-alcoholic mixer flavors -- each packaged attractive custom 9 oz glass bottles.

The line includes Sparkling Grapefruit, Sparkling Lemon Lime, Ginger Beer, Tonic Water and Meyer Lemon Club Soda. While the Meyer Lemon Club Soda is unsweetened and has zero calories, the other SKUs have between 30 and 70 calories each and are sweetened with either agave syrup or cane sugar. 

When it comes to flavor, Better Buzz does a nice job of creating products that are straightforward and, much like the ingredients themselves, clean tasting. While we enjoyed all the flavors, Sparkling Grapefruit was our favorite; Thanks to the use of a relatively high amount of grapefruit juice (24%), the product is bright and very fruit forward. The added agave syrup (8 grams added sugar and 16 grams total) helps bring up the sweetness and the end result is the most full bodied flavor of the lineup.

The other two sweetened SKUs, Ginger Beer and Sparkling Lemon Lime, are good in their own right and are nice riffs on classic CSD flavors. Sparkling Lemon Lime is crisp and subtly sweet (5 grams of sugar) with notes of lime and Meyer lemon juice (t4%). It’s a very nicely executed riff on a classic lemon lime soda. 

Ginger Beer follows a similar playbook, with 4% ginger juice combined with carbonated water, citric acid, and cane sugar. The ginger flavor is straightforward, packing mild but earthy notes of spice. It’s lighter and more refreshing than your typical ginger beer CSD and we think that’s a nice point of differentiation.

Finally, there are the mixer style SKUs. Meyer Lemon Club Soda (the lone zero calorie SKU) tastes like sparkling water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Going with Meyer lemon instead of regular lemon is a subtle way to give it a more unique flavor and is definitely enjoyable, while their take on tonic water is made with agave syrup and has a milder note of quinine than some of the other brands out there, offering a bit more balance.

Moving on to the packaging and branding, Betty Buzz is certainly a product that catches the eye. For starters, the use of a 9 oz stubby glass bottle is something that goes against the grain of the current trend of new brands launching in 12 oz cans. The branding is simple and clean, with the Betty Buzz logo — a circle with an upside down biplane and the words “Betty” and “Buzz” flanking this at the top and bottom (the word “Buzz” is also upside down). It has a vintage vibe to it that’s a good match for a product line that features some pretty classic flavors. 

While we feel as though there’s more opportunity for the ready-to-drink flavors than the mixers, it’s an interesting point of differentiation for the brand and does fit with the retro style that they’ve created. 

Overall, Betty Buzz is a well executed and fun line of CSDs that delivers top notch flavor in a slick looking package that should help it cut through the clutter.