So Long, OK Seltzer! Mucho Ditches the Fizzy Bottled Version of Cantina OK’s Margarita

“Whaaaat?! No!!!” “Why?” “But it’s nearly summer!”

That’s what was just yelled across the Broadsheet office when I broke the news that OK Seltzers would be no more. RIP. Mucho – the group behind Cantina OK, Bar Planet, Centro 86, Tio’s and Cliff Dive – first made the fizzy, almost-savoury bev in 2020, as a lockdown project with Grifter. Then it was bottled in 2021. A 1000-litre run was made, then sold out within hours. The demand climbed, and production followed suit, reaching 30,000-litre batches. But now it’s all over.

“We’ve decided that it’s time to tuck OK Sparkling Margarita in and put it to bed,” the group’s creative director Jeremy Blackmore says in a statement. “Yes, it hurts. My teeth are tingling, my eyes are watering. Am I in mourning or just thirsty for Australia’s finest bottled Margarita beverage?”

The seltzer is an ode to Cantina OK, the award-winning, pocket-sized mezcal bar in a CBD laneway. Fresh fruit is macerated in mezcal, then salt and soda are added. Not quite sour, not too sweet – it’s just right.

But why would you kill a drink that’s as popular in venues like The Crix, Grifter and Poor Toms as it is in a take-home four-pack from P&V and Drnks? Apparently, the Mucho crew’s ready to pour all its focus into its bars. Fair enough, they are excellent bars.

There are 300 cases of Margarita Seltzer left, so if you want one, you best be quick.

@muchogroup