Taste-Testing Sparkling Water

Just a few short years ago, LaCroix exploded into my life. I loved LaCroix. I drank cases on cases of it. It was new. It was different. It called grapefruit Pamplemousse. But it’s not so different anymore. These days, the sparkling water options in my local grocery store are numerous and I have tried them all. Seriously. We pick one every week and just go for it. Flavors, brands…we’re an adventurous house in the boring white-people sense. With all the options, which one is the best? I am here to share my knowledge and my expert taste buds with you. Also, if you’re reading this and are a sparkling water company, I would be the best person ever to do a sponsorship with (just saying, a little self-promo never hurt anyone).

Spindrift

I hesitated to put this one on the list. It is without a doubt my favorite sparkling water beverage, but unlike the others, this one has calories and added sweeteners. It is therefore not a surprise that it is the most delicious, but this is worth noting. Each can of Spindrift has fresh-squeezed fruit. This gives it a color, and also a maximum of 15 calories and 3g of sugar per can. This isn’t going to derail my life by any means, but maybe helpful to note if you are using the switch to sparkling water to cut calories. It’s not too sweet and is delicious. It makes a great cocktail mixer or is fabulous on its own. The best flavors to try here are Blackberry and Raspberry.

Klarbrunn

I did not expect to like this one as much as I did. Klarbrunn is Wisconsin-based and has been around at least locally since the 1980s. It is one of the cheapest options, as well as the most widely available where we live. The flavors are sweeter, but also taste more like what they say they will and less artificial. Best flavors to try are Cherry Berry and Raspberry

Good and Gather (Target Store Brand)

We tried a few of these flavors when Target was running deals on their rollout of Good and Gather. The good flavors are phenomenal and the bad flavors are the worst. Some flavors have a deep artificialness to the flavors that is simply unpalatable. Tropical cherry? The worst. Flavors to try, that are good, are Ginger Peach or Cranberry Citrus.

LaCroix

LaCroix for me used to be the gold standard, but over time has fallen down the list a little bit. The only flavor that I love is Pamplemousse. I think it’s wonderful and would drink a lot of it, but the rest of the flavors don’t pack enough punch for me. I like things with a little stronger of a flavor than that.

San Pellegrino Essenza

The last one that I want to talk about today is Pellegrino Essenza. This was a new one. I like Pelliigrino’s other flavored options, so these seemed worth a try. This has the lightest flavor of the list but has the best bubbles. Strange, I know. The best flavor, by far, is the Lemon, but Morello Cherry is also nice.

What’s your favorite?

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