Lil Yachty Splashes Into Alcohol Industry With Yacht Water, a Sparkling Tequila Soda Brand

(Photos: Pedro Marashi | Southern Exposure Media Group)

On Thursday, rapper and podcaster Lil Yachty announced the launch of Yacht Water, an additive-free tequila seltzer line now available in Key Lime, Jalapeño and Sunrise flavors. The surprise venture was launched in collaboration with Quality Control Music founder Kevin “Coach K” Lee — oft-regarded as Yachty’s mentor — alongside liquor industry veterans Rachel and Peter Kiley, the founders of Atlanta-based Sneaky Spirits.

The star of the show is a twist on the popular ranch water, a Texas-born cocktail that usually hinges on a simple mix of Topo Chico, blanco tequila and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Understanding that the market is already stuffed to the brim with competitors, Yachty opted for a rejiggered version of the recipe. Inside each can of Yacht Water, you’ll find a mix of aged reposado tequila, sea salt, key lime juice and sparkling water, all of which are purportedly free of preservatives, artificial agents and processing agents.

Funnily enough, the “One Night” rapper confesses he’s never been particularly fond of liquor.

“I never messed with alcohol because the taste never sat right with me,” Yachty said in a news release. “So I worked with Peter and team to create something smoother—something I’d actually want to sip.”

Production of the seltzer is headed up by Sneaky Spirits, a self-described boutique spirits company founded by Monday Night Brewing executives Rachel and Peter Kiley. The couple says they were inspired to launch the brand in light of the declining “quality and flavor” of myriad pre-mixed cocktails flooding convenience store shelves. They’re not the only ones noticing the trend — the pre-mixed cocktail market is projected to reach a market cap of $29 billion by 2032, up from a little over $19 billion in 2022. At the front of the pack, tequila-based drinks reign most popular by a long shot.

“Yacht Water is proof that quality and affordability can coexist if you care enough about the people you’re selling to,” Peter added. “Our ethos at Yacht Water is that ‘people deserve nice things, and nice things can be accessible,’ which is what inspired us to concoct a canned beverage made with honest ingredients – and very few of them – that tastes really %#$& good. The architecture of this liquid puts the consumer first – both through quality and composition. Profitability and margins are not on our list of ingredients – and never will be.”

Yacht Water is now available for purchase online at a suggested retail price of $16 per 6-pack.

Suffice it to say that the brand is going up against tough competition. Over the past two years alone, we’ve seen new pre-mixed tequila cocktail launches from the varied likes of Jennifer Lopez, Canelo Alvarez, Hailee Steinfeld and Blake Lively. Even Meghan Markle is rumored to be getting in on the trend. The landscape is just as crowded in the broader tequila market, in which celebrities like Matthew McConaughey, Megan Thee Stallion and Danny McBride have recently debuted ventures.