How Vodka Soda Became “Gay Water”

Late last year, Justin Ruka, 33, of Orlando, met a flight attendant at a gay bar. About a month later, Ruka saw a familiar face walking down the aisle on an Alaska Airlines flight to San Francisco.

The flight attendant only needed one guess to know what Ruka was drinking. In a flash, Ruka’s tray contained two small bottles of Tito’s vodka, a can of seltzer, and a packet of lime flavoring. Voila: vodka soda.

“It’s a bit cliché,” Ruka said of her drink, but “it was a really nice way to start this journey.”

The combination of soda and vodka has long been an integral part of boozy LGBTQ+ life, especially among gay men. Over time, it became a cultural touchpoint and something of an inside joke within the community.

So-called “gay water” has created business opportunities for entrepreneurs ranging from local bar owners to canned cocktail makers.

Several gay men told CNBC that this drink was their choice because it is low in sugar and calories. It may also lead to fewer hangovers compared to alternatives, such as tequila or gin, they said. Some add a lime wedge or a splash of cranberry juice to their vodka soda for added flavor.

There is little recent data on LGBTQ+ consumers and their specific alcohol preferences, although some show a higher propensity to spend across the category overall. But anecdotal evidence or a glance at a gay bar proves the drink’s unique popularity.

“It’s something you see everywhere,” said Lucas Hilderbrand, a professor of film and media studies at the University of California, Irvine. He documented gay drinking establishments across the country in his 2023 book “The Bars Are Ours.”

Just look at the listing for “gay water” in the online Urban Dictionary, which explains the slang. He names vodka soda with a lemon or lime on the side, calling a queer man’s concoction “the perfect gateway to a good buzz and a little waistline.”

The libation has been the subject of countless memes and jokes on social media platforms such as Instagram and X. One came from Houston-based attorney Jeff Watters, who called the vodka nighttime “gay water” soda in an article on X. Its daytime counterpart, he says, is Diet Coke.

Part of the story focuses on the notoriously large payouts of bartenders at gay establishments. Watters said that at a recent Pride Month event held at a typically “straight” venue, a friend pointed out that Watters’ vodka soda might be stronger at an LGBTQ+ bar.

The club soda in the drink, Hilderbrand said, is the successor to tonic water, which was popular in such establishments before 2000. More broadly, he said, soda water has long been associated with gay community: In the 1980s cult classic “Heathers”, for example, a bottle of mineral water is left as a clue to persuade the police that two dead footballers were lovers.

Vodka, meanwhile, has always been a spirit of choice for the community, Hilderbrand said. Part of that may be related to decades-long efforts by vodka producers to market their products directly to LGBTQ+ consumers, he said.

At Henry’s Upstairs in Lawrence, Kansas, a cocktail version of the drink, called Gay Ice Water, is by far its best seller.

For $9, customers get a combination of lemongrass vodka, chamomile tea-infused vermouth, sherry wine, elderflower and lime sour. The drink is pre-mixed in a keg, then poured over ice and topped with house-made tonic water.

“We wanted to take the vodka soda and elevate it,” said owner Mary Holt. “People fell in love with it.”

Her team was aware of the water’s gay moniker when naming the drink, but there was an advocacy angle that also seemed important to them. When Holt takes the Gay Ice Water kegs to external events, she said, his name forces Kansans to recognize queer people at a time when LGBTQ+ rights have increasingly become a political football.

In other words, Holt said, people need to “say gay.”

More than 1,000 miles away, vodka soda is the most popular mix at New York’s well-known gay bars co-owned by Eric Einstein, including Pieces and Playhouse. The drink accounts for about 3 out of 10 orders, he said.

“It’s really our bread and butter,” Einstein said. “It’s so banal. It’s a bit like asking for a pack of gum in a bodega.”

Einstein said this affinity for club soda also had a business advantage. When a customer orders only sparkling water with alcohol, the bar saves money, since no flavoring syrup is used for the mixer.

For Brendan Oudekerk, vodka soda is a simple and universally loved refreshment to choose when buying it for several friends at once. He said bartenders at LGBTQ+ spots he frequents in Washington, D.C., know his “Rose Kennedy” order. Named after the matriarch of the political family, the drink references a classic vodka soda with a splash of cranberry juice.

“I would be a bartender at a gay bar and I would just make the sodas with vodka, because that’s all people want,” the 34-year-old financial analyst said. “It sounds so basic, but it’s true.”

Knowing the popularity of vodka soda within their community, LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs formulated the drink into canned cocktails, a type of drink that is growing in popularity.

World of Wonder, the production company behind the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” competition, launched a “vodka soda citrus” canned cocktail earlier this year. It was one of several releases alongside the 16th season of the Emmy Award-winning reality program, in which drag queens compete against each other.

“People call it the gay Super Bowl,” said Tom Campbell, head of development for World of Wonder and executive producer of the series.

The House of Love arm of the company has been giving away samples at viewing parties of the show across the country. This launched a market-by-market strategy, in which the team establishes a business presence in communities where gay bars already host these types of events, according to Campbell.

But there are opportunities beyond just geographic areas with vibrant gay life, he said. The growing prevalence of drag brunches in communities not typically considered queer havens across the country is creating new entry points. And the show’s participants serve as “embedded” influencers for the product, which can also be purchased online, he said.

Campbell said non-LGBTQ+ consumers often follow trends in the community, whether they realize it or not. This may mean that a brand or drink currently favored by this group may garner wider appeal in the future.

“Queer culture is pop culture, and pop culture is queer culture,” he said. “Our show is kind of at the forefront of what people are thinking, saying, wearing, doing and drinking.”

Retail is also a core business for Gay Water, a startup offering variations of canned cocktails made with vodka soda. Although founder Spencer Hoddeson acknowledged the name might not ring a bell for those outside the LGBTQ+ community, he said it was important to “create conversations” in the aisles at through a resolutely queer brand.

“As a community, an important topic has always been representation in the media,” Hoddeson said. “But what about representation in your grocery store or your liquor store, spaces that people physically frequent?”

Since founding the brand in July, Hoddeson has placed the product on the shelves of retail chains Total Wine & More and BevMo. Gay Water can also be delivered to the New York area. via Gopuff or shipped to most states.

Hoddeson said he was struggling to woo investors who see the LGBTQ+ consumer as a “question mark”. His brand was born shortly after the crisis Bud light‘s relationship with a transgender influencer has rocked the alcohol and marketing industries.

But he said the company also felt a “halo effect” from being an openly gay-led brand. One way to make this happen: allies will show their solidarity by purchasing the product, given its connection to the community.

Other brands are jumping on the canned vodka soda trend, including Kylie Jenner’s Sprinter line and Boston beerIt really is a brand. But Hoddeson said he hopes shoppers will opt for items that have socially responsible missions behind them. For Gay Water, he said, this currently takes the form of product donations to fundraisers associated with LGBTQ+ causes. Neither Sprinter nor Boston Beer responded to CNBC’s requests for comment.

Both House of Love and Gay Water products have an alcohol content of 4%. The former’s citrus vodka soda has 100 calories per can, while Gay Water has 80.

Beverage makers aren’t the only LGBTQ+-focused businesses capitalizing on the drink’s cultural cachet. The Gay Bar Shop, a specialty retailer, sells an 11-ounce candle for $49 that smells like vodka soda with a lime garnish.

The product’s listing showers its inspiration with praise: “Instead of paying $12 at a crowded bar, light this candle to remember the scent of the best drink ever created.”

Despite all the fanfare, an aversion to the taste of vodka soda is enough to keep people like Victor Tran from the pack.

The 24-year-old Virginia resident said he’s open to many types of drinks. He starts a typical evening with a mix of sugar-free Red Bull and vodka, he said. Later, he turned to beer.

“I can understand why it’s considered a little bit ‘manly,’ because it’s like a fraternity drink,” Tran said. “We also need to make beer fun and girly.”

Disclosure: Gay Water founder Spencer Hoddeson is a former employee of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC.