Stress ballz

Clear through the start of October, I was certain I would never see a purple BuzzBallz. I wasn’t entirely sure it existed, even though it appeared on the North Carolina ABC pricing list. From the Atlantic to Appalachia, our contributors hadn’t turned up a trace of them over three months. But there must have been a fall shipment, because I came across purple BuzzBallz in multiple stores on October 6—starting in Vance County, where I reflexively bought half a dozen of them, possibly shaking as I stepped to the counter. (Credit to my husband for sampling one, pictured at right.)

While I became obsessed with BuzzBallz because of the statewide drought, I’m not the only one with BuzzBallz on the brain: I asked Erica Duecy, founder and co-host of Business of Drinks, to explain their popularity.