# Club soda vs. seltzer
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 18, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978 "2004-06-18T02:52:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/1 "2004-06-18T02:52:35Z")
I searched on this thinking I’d get the answer right away… no such luck.
We were looking for mixers at the local grocery today and found club soda and seltzer water. I asked what the difference was. Ardred didn’t know.
I thought they were the same and that the names were regional differences, but if that’s so, why do we have both on our store shelves?
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### Author:  [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/2 "2004-06-18T03:21:37Z")
Seltzer = water + carbon dioxide
Club soda = water + carbon dioxide + sodium bicarbonate
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/3 "2004-06-18T03:36:54Z")
> [@Hunter Hawk](#):
>
> Seltzer = water + carbon dioxide
>
> Club soda = water + carbon dioxide + sodium bicarbonate
You sure? Every site I’ve seen says they’re the same, and both can contain a small amount of sodium bicarbonate.
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### Author:  [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/4 "2004-06-18T04:07:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> You sure? Every site I’ve seen says they’re the same, and both can contain a small amount of sodium bicarbonate.
Based on the times that I’d looked at ingredients lists on bottles in supermarkets, yeah I’m sure. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions.
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### Author:  [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/5 "2004-06-18T04:40:11Z")
Both bottles said: Ingredients: Carbonated Water.
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### Author:  [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/6 "2004-06-18T09:52:34Z")
There is no legal definition afaik of either seltzer water or club soda, so manufacturers can put all sorts in them. I do agree from what I seen that club soda is more likely to have sodium in it than seltzer, but I am sure it possible to buy examples where this is not true
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/club-soda-vs-seltzer/250978/7 "2004-06-18T12:37:25Z")
According to the OED, “Club Soda” was originally a brand name for a type of soda water, which was a term coined to mean the same thing as the earlier “seltzer.” “Club Soda” eventually became a generic term (like “cellophane”). It is not strictly defined.