Ditch The Can: Mix Up Your Own DIY White Claw With Just 3 Ingredients

Hard seltzer has a lot going for it: It's bubbly, refreshing, flavorful, and has a relatively low ABV. Of all the best hard seltzer brands out there, White Claw is one of the most widely available. So, sure, it's pretty easy to go out and grab a pack when you're in the mood for hard seltzer or, say, planning a summer party and looking for an easy crowd-pleaser. But did you know it's simple to make your own White Claw riff? The ingredients are pretty basic, so you may already have them at home, saving you money and an errand. Taking the DIY approach to hard seltzer gives you control over factors like how much sugar you add, and you can get really creative with flavors.

All you need is sparkling water, vodka, and fruit juice. You can choose the exact combination that works for you — your favorite vodka, store-bought sparkling water or water you carbonate in your SodaStream, and juices in any flavor as well as those that are low in sugar or only use natural ingredients; you can even make your own. The proportions are up to you, too: Make it boozier or fruitier or more bubble-forward. A good baseline is about 2 tablespoons of juice and 1 ounce of vodka poured into a glass over ice, then filled with sparkling water or canned seltzer. For juice flavors, the sky's the limit. Think lime, cherry, strawberry, mango, guava, pomegranate — or mix more than one together.

With just three ingredients, there's plenty you can do to fine-tune your DIY White Claw. Let's start with the carbonation. Consider the differences between seltzer, tonic water, club soda, and sparkling water. Seltzer has the most neutral flavor profile because it doesn't have any minerals in it like naturally carbonated sparkling water or artificially carbonated club soda do — and tonic water has a pretty bold flavor profile thanks to its sugars and botanicals. Use seltzer or homemade carbonated water for a blank flavor canvas — conversely, you could use flavored seltzers to bring in different notes. 

You could also use flavored vodka. Regardless, use a vodka that's of good quality, but not so fancy you feel like you're wasting it covering it up with fruit juice. White Claw actually doesn't contain a spirit like vodka; it's a fermented malt liquor. But a decent vodka achieves the same neutral touch of booze.

Pick juice flavors depending on whether you've gone with a flavored seltzer or vodka. Create a blueberry lemonade flavor, for example, with lemon-flavored seltzer and muddled blueberries. With unflavored seltzer and vodka, you can get more complex with your juice(s), like mixing passion fruit and pineapple. Think about other flavor upgrades for hard seltzer, too. How about some spice? Try mango juice or crushed watermelon with muddled jalapeños or a homemade simple syrup flavored with habaneros. Or, go botanical: blackberry juice with mint leaves, strawberry juice with basil leaves, or lemon juice with a lavender simple syrup.