BuzzBallz is a range of US-owned

ready to drink Ready to drink (often known as RTD) packaged beverages are those sold in a prepared form, ready for consumption. Examples include iced tea (prepared using tea leaves and fruit juice) and alcopops (prepared by mixing alcoholic beverages with fru ...

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

mix currently manufactured by Sazerac Company, Inc. Originally devised as a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

project, it was incorporated as BuzzBallz, LLC and markets itself as a woman-owned and family-run business. It was acquired by

Sazerac The Sazerac is a local variation of a cognac or whiskey cocktail originally from New Orleans, named for the ''Sazerac de Forge et Fils'' brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. The drink is most traditionally a combi ...

in 2024. The company manufactures a wide range of beverages sold domestically and internationally and describes itself as a distillery, winery, and brewery in the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

History

Originally devised as a college project by Merrilee Kick in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

while working on a high school teaching degree, the company launched in 2009 and expanded as a family-owned enterprise with assistance from her sons. In a 2016 interview with ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', Kick described her difficulties raising money for her business. It was acquired by Sazerac Company, Inc. in 2024. Sazerac is a US-owned private company owned by chairman William Holdring with an estimated net worth of $3.9 billion. The concept for the drink originated from the shape of a spherical glass.

Reception

The company's drink range has received mixed reviews which are generally favourable in regards to taste. Marcie Seidel of the Drug Free Action Alliance, an Ohio-based substance abuse prevention group, described the 20% alcohol content (40

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...

) of the cocktails to be "really scary" and said that the packaging, which targets young people, is concerning for them. The drink also attracts controversy from various substance abuse prevention groups for its promotion of drinking around water activities, marketing focus towards

Gen Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 20 ...

, bright colours, bright labels and designs which are attractive to children. Buzzballs are regarded as an

alcopop An alcopop (or cooler) is a category of mixed alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content (e.g., 3–7% alcohol by volume), including: # Malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added # Wine coolers: ...

hard liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the w ...

in some jurisdictions and their sale is restricted or prohibited to prevent

underage drinking The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary betwee ...

and problem drinking. Complaints in the US in regards to its underage appeal have been dismissed as the labels contain all the legally required information. Schools have reported BuzzBallz as being a product of abuse favoured by students, and questions have been raised over the product's intended market. Retailers in the US often choose to stock the drinks behind shelves to prevent direct access by underage persons. Matt Merkin of Liquor.com described the cocktails as "strong, cheap and ... a lot of fun" and the line of products to have created "an underground drinking phenomenon", stating that they have "colorful containers and equally colorful names".

References

{{reflist Cocktails American alcoholic drinks Premixed alcoholic drinks