Jere’s Seltzer Journey

Jere Hester loves his job, and he loves his Seltzer. The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism professor, formerly City Editor of the New York Daily News, runs the school’s multimedia news service—usually with a bottle of Vintage Seltzer by his side.

“I’ve pretty much been drinking seltzer like a fiend for the last five years,” Hester said.

In his Daily News days, Hester swigged Coke, but around 1994, he says, he gave it up: “the caffeine was wreaking havoc on me.”

In addition, he didn’t like that with the help of Coke and other ingredients, he’d put on some weight. A switch to Gatorade wasn’t enough of a change to turn the tide.

Five years ago, Jere stopped drinking soda or Gatorade and cut a good amount of carbohydrates out of his diet. Combined with a workout routine that includes situps, pushups and a stationary bike, he dropped weight.

So, when Veggie Kingdom wanted to size up some of the most common seltzers on the market in New York City, an expert was close at hand. Here are Jere’s picks:

Vintage Raspberry: “A little more bitter than it needs to be.”
AC Raspberry: “It’s a little tart. (Vintage and AC Raspberry) are O.K., they’re just not the kind of seltzer I like. The bubbles are too close together.”
Canada Dry Raspberry: “Not bad.”

Vintage Orange: “I like this one better. It has a fuller flavor. It’s not that sweet, it’s not bitter, it leaves a better aftertaste.”
AC Orange (couldn’t tell flavor): “I like it. Whatever it is, it’s very subtle. This is good seltzer.”

It should be noted that Jere prefers orange to raspberry. He usually buys Vintage Seltzer water by the case at Fairway, and favors cherry and lemon lime.

“This was my first experience with the AC and I enjoyed it,” Jere said.

Bonus:

Hester recalled a perennial story in the New York press—that of the last seltzer man in Brooklyn. Such seltzer delivery men—like milkmen—were once common there.

“It used to be a thing. People would have seltzer delivered like they’d have milk delivered. He’d also deliver syrup, and they’d make their own soda.”

“When I was a kid in Brooklyn, there was a drink called ‘Cherry-lime Rickey,’ with Fox’s syrup. It was a very refreshing drink,” Hester recalled. “The guy would make it behind a counter and twist a lime into it. The cherry seltzer and lemon and lime is the closest you can get (to that) without any calories.”