How Spindrift Broke Through the Cluttered Seltzer Craze

It’s a sweaty August morning on Pier 15 in Manhattan’s South Street Seaport, and I’m cracking a blood orange tangerine Spindrift with Bill Creelman. I feel a bit like Homer Simpson getting handed a beer by Duffman, given Creelman’s status in the world of seltzer. When I ask the Spindrift founder what his favorite flavor is, he punts, claiming that choosing is like picking a favorite kid. But when I point out that all parents do in fact have a favorite child, the father of four laughs. “If we’re being honest, yes, we do,” he says. (And no, he doesn’t spill on his preferred progeny or beverage.)

Creelman’s six-can daily regimen includes an entire brood: a “breakfast flavor” such as grapefruit or peach- strawberry in the morning, then a can of lemon alongside an espresso, then “half and half”—Spindrift’s version of an Arnold Palmer—then whichever other three of the brand’s 18 flavors speak to him. He seems confident this amount of seltzer won’t destroy his, or anyone’s, teeth. “What does your dentist say?” I ask. “Not much,” he says. “I think they’re happy.”