Well Fed Network

Posted by Carrie Havranek on A Nice Cuppa.

I keep wanting to call these sparkling juices fizzy lifting drinks, a la Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, because the name and the drinks are just that whimsical and fruity. But they won’t make you burp, Charlie. The New York-based Fizzy Lizzy, so named for founder Elizabeth Morrill, sells eight gently carbonated juices that are made with natural ingredients and real fruit. They’re also made with a fair deal of personality and with an eye-catching design: at the neck of the bottle, she (yes, that means Lizzy) instructs you to “gently shake my hips before placing bottle to your lips.” Talk about personification.

The company won two Sofi silver awards last year for outstanding product line and outstanding cold beverage. Fizzy Lizzy proclaims that “no gunk, no junk” goes into its sparkling juices; there are no weird colorings, preservatives, corn syrups or other multisyllabic unpronounceable chemicals. In fact, there is a minimum of ingredients, primarily consisting of juice concentrates, vitamins, and triple-filtered carbonated water, and they range from 90 to 150 calories, depending on the variety. I was sent four samples: Gulf Coast Tangerine (50 percent juice, 50 percent “fizzy water”); Yakima Valley Grape (51 percent juice, 49 percent fizzy water); Costa Rican Pineapple (67 percent juice, 37 percent fizzy water); and Lone Star Grapefruit (70 percent juice, 30 percent fizzy water). They are indeed gently carbonated, so the fizz does not go straight to your head, but when you pour them into a glass, they develop a creamy foamy head like soda but still taste predominately like juice — flavorful and fresh. I have been referring to my selection as the “Goya collection,” because three out of four span the citrus/tropical spectrum.

The idea was born out of a bike ride during which Morrill was carting around separate containers of grapefruit juice and seltzer so she could mix them together. The epiphany to put them in one bottle led her to start tinkering and along the way food scientists (lovingly referred to as “fizzicists,” hee hee) got involved to help make the product shelf-stable. Fizzy Lizzy started in 2000 with four selections: cranberry, grapefruit, pineapple and orange, the latter of which has since been discontinued. Any time someone combines natural ingredients together in a caffeine-free (or low-caffeine), ready-to-drink product that tastes good, I’m generally a happy beverage drinker. It is a great alternative to bottled water, flavored water (which usually is loaded with fake sugars) and flavored seltzer (which isn’t usually flavorful enough), but not overly sweet like juice can be. Given the fruit focus and the fact that the company has devoted an entire page to drinks it calls Dizzy Lizzys, I imagine a considerable potential for alcoholic applications. Products like Fizzy Lizzy will make room in my refrigerator and push aside (temporarily) my own personal, ongoing alchemical experimental of seltzer, juice, iced tea and ginger ale.

You are not likely to find Fizzy Lizzy at most mass merchandisers, but gourmet, natural and thoughtful retailers/grocers are carrying it, along with some cafes and coffeeshops. (Litmus test: You can find it at Whole Foods and Morrill says Wegmans will have it in the fall.) To find a store near you, head to the web site and click on “find fizzy” and put in your zip code. If noone near you carries it, there’s a handy downloadable PDF letter you can take to the retailer to request it.

Single bottles usually retail for $1.49-$1.99 and the four-packs can be found for about $5.99.

Photos from Fizzy Lizzy.