Blake Lively's latest business venture has a heartfelt tie to her family.
On Sept. 23, the 34-year-old actress launched a new line of non-alcoholic, sparkling mixers called Betty Buzz. When it comes to the name, Blake explained in a press release that she wanted to find a way to honor her father Ernie Lively, who passed away at the age of 74 in June.
"My dad's name was Ernest Brown Jr. but he was known as Ernie Lively," she said. "He gave up his last name when he married my mom and any success he, or I, have experienced has been in a name that isn't his. So when I was working hard to build this company, I wanted any success to be in a name that was meaningful to him. Betty was his mom and his sister's name. Also, Ernie would not be the best name for a mixer."
Of course, her youngest child, born in 2019, is also named Betty. Blake shares Betty as well as daughters James, 6, and Inez, 4, with husband Ryan Reynolds.
As for the Buzz? "Because why should alcohol get all the fun?" Blake continued. "Try it. The bubbles and flavors feel like a buzz of joy."
Betty Buzz comes in five flavors: Tonic Water, Sparkling Grapefruit, Meyer Lemon Club Soda, Sparkling Lemon Lime, and Ginger Beer. And while fans can pair it with spirits, Blake said they can also drink the mixer on its own.
"I don't drink. I know that's odd coming from the wife of an infamous gin slinger," Blake said, referencing Ryan's Aviation American Gin brand. "Over the past many years of mixing but not drinking cocktails, it became clear mixers are the unsung heroes of the drink world and deserve just as much love as alcohol. We've spent the last three years crafting Betty Buzz and are so excited for people to finally taste it."
And for anyone doubting that timeline, Blake had a response for them, too. "I know every celebrity says they're 'so excited to unveil this secret project they've spent years on.' And it always seems questionable. Years? YEARS?? You won't get that here…," she wrote on Instagram Stories. "I'm mortified that I spent 3 years obsessing over the exact bubble size and quantity for the perfect, tightly explosive pops."
Blake then took a moment to reflect on her level of dedication. "Think of all I could've accomplished in the amount of time I tried 17 versions of Meyer Lemon Club Soda. Or giving notes on how to more lightly balance the real fruit juice in each flavor—Lemon Lime, Grapefruit, Ginger Beer, and Tonic to agave because there was no way our @bettybuzz SPARKLING MIXERS could have crap flavors or sweeteners. The amount of time I've spent on @bettybuzz is shockingly bad bandwidth management."
Still, she admitted she got to do "the fun stuff." "And truth be told, the easy stuff," she wrote. "So thank you to everyone who's worked on @bettybuzz to make it the best thing 'I've' ever done."
Blake isn't the only one to find inspiration in the name Betty. Taylor Swift released a song called "Betty" last year that incorporates the names of all three of Blake and Ryan's kids.
"Obviously the song has nothing to do with our kids other than our kids' names," the actor told SiriusXM's Jess Cagle last month. "But, I mean, what an honor. I don't know, we thought it was pretty damn amazing. We still do. I still walk down the street and shake my head thinking, 'I can't believe that happened.'"