Nothing beats the crispy fizz of a cold bottle of sparkling water. It has the satisfying snap and bite of a can of Coke without all the calories and sugar, it’s just as refreshing as a bottle of water (though not as hydrating), and can take a few ounces of alcohol and elevate it into a straight-up cocktail. It’s one of the most versatile beverages you can have in your fridge!
Over the past few years, the range of sparkling water brands widely available at stores has exploded. Just take a peek at the refrigerated aisle at your local gas station or corner store and you’ll find more brands of sparkling water than all of the energy drinks and bottled water brands combined. And that’s not even including the flavored varieties.
Do we really need that many different brands? Probably not, but while most sparkling water brands taste the same, where they differ is in the texture, mouthfeel, and carbonation level. So who makes the best sparkling water? Before we figure that out, let’s lay out what exactly makes for great carbonated water in the first place.
First and foremost, it has to have a good fizz level. We’re not looking for moderate bubbles, we’re looking for that refreshing blast of carbonation that sizzles on the tongue. After that, the most important aspect is the aftertaste. Does it leave your palate and throat feeling stale and dry or does it have you wanting another gulp?
Methodology
The rule for this blind taste test is simple: if it has bubbles and no added flavors, it’s fair game whether it brands itself as club soda, mineral water, or sparkling water. In our search we found 10 brands that seem to be the most common, here is our class:
- Canada Dry — Club Soda
- La Croix — Pure
- Liquid Death — Sparkling Water
- Jarritos — Mineragua Sparking Water
- Perrier — Carbonated Mineral Water
- Proud Source — Sparkling Water
- San Pellegrino — Sparkling Mineral Water
- Saratoga — Sparkling Spring Water
- Schweppes — Club Soda
- Topo Chico Mineral Water
I tried each of these bottles in an unmarked glass and jotted down my impressions. Unlike our alcohol-blind taste tests, there was no fear of getting drunk or exhausting my palate, so I made sure to drink at least six ounces of each. Here is how it all played out.
Part 1: The Tasting
Taste 1:
It fizzes in the glass but strangely calms as soon as it hits your tongue. The flavor has a slight sweet lift on the backend with a soft and smooth mouthfeel, but there isn’t enough fizz for this to really satisfy.
Taste 2:
Weirdly bitter on the initial taste. The fizz is enough to feel on the tongue, but it’s still not pronounced enough. It lacks… crispness.
Taste 3:
This is what I’m talking about. A nice fizz with small carbonation bubbles that snap on the tongue. The aftertaste is a bit blunt and bitter. Loving the fizz but not loving the flavor.
Taste 4:
Another tasting with a satisfying level of fizz but the aftertaste is worryingly metallic. Seriously, it tastes almost like I’m drinking something out of a… can? Is this Liquid Death?
I didn’t drink more of this than I had to in order to get a handle on the experience. It left me with a weird bitterness on my palate.
Taste 5:
I’m really torn on this one. On one hand, it tastes great, a tinge of sweetness lingers on the aftertaste and it’s very soft and silky on the palate but the fizz leaves a lot to be desired. It’s almost like the bubbles are too small, they’re not present enough.
I can see this being someone’s personal favorite but for me, that lack of fizz is going to hurt it.
Taste 6:
Wow, this one is really really nice. It practically sizzles on the tongue! It strikes the perfect balance between fizz and flavor, with a soft mouthfeel that goes down really smoothly. It starts with a snap and crackle and settles as it bathes the palate in this perfect way. I can see this being the perfect soda to use in a cocktail.
Taste 7:
This hits you with a nice fizz that settles into a soft and satisfying mouthfeel. It’s very similar to Taste 6 but doesn’t have that same snap. On its own it’s delicious, but I can’t see this fizz translating once mixed in a cocktail so it seems a lot less versatile than the last taste.
This is a close second for me so far though.
Taste 8:
Flat. Totally fizzless, it has that bitter and blunt quality that is characteristic of sparkling water, but none of the mouth sensation. Truly one of the worst sparkling waters I’ve ever had.
Taste 9:
Very bitter. The fizz is good, but the overwhelming bitter flavor of this makes the overall experience pretty subpar. This one is sure to land somewhere in the middle for the ranking.
Taste 10:
Look at the bubbles on this thing! This was by far the fizziest, hitting the palate with an initial sizzle that continued to burn down the throat. I like it, but the flavor is a bit more bitter than Taste 6, with a slightly rusty quality to it. It also gave me instant burps, maybe it’s because I drank about a liter of club soda before I got to this one, but this one definitely pushed me over the edge into gassiness.
Part 2: The Ranking
10. Canada Dry — Club Soda (Taste 8)
Price: $1.69
The Brand:
Canada Dry has been in business since 1904 and is one of the easiest brands of club soda you can find. I’ve seen this everywhere in markets, liquor stores, gas station snack fridges, and bars and prior to this blind taste test it would probably be one of my first choices if I needed to pick up a bottle of club soda. Never again. I can’t believe just how flat this bottle tasted in comparison to everything else on offer.
It’s incredibly cheap and you can find it everywhere but that’s not always a good thing.
The Bottom Line:
Avoid this one at all costs. It might be cheap, but it’s way too flat to be satisfying and outside of the fizz, it’s too bitter.
9. La Croix — Pure (Taste 4)
Price: $3.99 (12 Pack)
The Brand:
Everybody loves La Croix. It’s the brand that helped to put sparkling water as a soda substitute on everyone’s radar, but the unsweetened Pure flavor is the brand’s absolute worst. The overwhelming metallic taste of this one makes it undrinkable, which is a shame because it has a nice fizz. Pure is only available as a 12-pack which means if you ever pick up a case of one of these, you’ll probably end up having 11 cans in your fridge until the day you die.
It’s so bad that you probably wouldn’t even offer it to thirsty guests.
The Bottom Line:
Way too metallic to be enjoyable. Just reach for one of La Croix’s fruit-flavored cans, they’re still 0 calories but taste significantly better.
8. Proud Source — Sparkling Water (Taste 2)
Price: $2.29
The Brand:
With one of the worst names of any sparkling water, Proud Source touts itself as mineral-rich spring water from Idaho springs that is filtered by nature through layers of ancient volcanic rock. Does any of that matter when it comes to fizzy water? We’re not so sure. It certainly doesn’t lend itself to tasting better. Not only did this one have a weak fizz, but the flavor was blunt and bitter.
Maybe the spring water is good, but the sparkling water is sub-par at best. To be fair to Proud Source, the can does state that it is “lightly carbonated” and this is one of the few sparkling water brands to contain electrolytes.
Cool, but that doesn’t result in better-tasting water.
The Bottom Line:
Bitter with a weak fizz. This one, while not bad, doesn’t have anything going for it either.
7. Schweppes — Club Soda (Taste 9)
Price: $1.09
The Brand:
Schweppes has been around since 1783. As long as sparkling water has been a thing, Schweppes has been there, and as such this brand is everywhere. If a store doesn’t have Canada Dry, it has Schweppes. The brands are nearly interchangeable in looks and price, making them easy pick ups for budget buys. But if you want the better flavor, you’re going to have to go with Schweppes.
Both have the same bitter flavor, but Schweppes has the better fizz and that’s all it takes to land near the middle of our ranking.
The Bottom Line:
It tastes cheap and is cheap, but it provides a nice fizz that’ll pair well with your favorite spirit.
6. Liquid Death — Sparkling Water (Taste 3)
Price: $2.49
The Brand:
It’s your favorite podcaster’s favorite sparkling water! Liquid Death is a prominent sponsor on a lot of podcasts and I’m not sure if that has to do with the insane popularity of this fairly new brand or if it’s the tall-boy resembling can, but people seem to love this stuff. Liquid Death doesn’t just look like a can of beer though, according to the website it’s actually carbonated like one as well.
Liquid Death contains 5 grams of carbonation per liter, while the typical club soda contains anywhere between 6 and 7 grams. That means Liquid Death is less fizzy than most brands, and that was apparent in the tasting — the fizz isn’t very pronounced here, though it is still snappy and satisfying.
The Bottom Line:
A nice subtle fizz with a pleasing flavor that doesn’t come across as bitter.
5. S. Pellegrino — Sparkling Mineral Water (Taste 5)
Price: $2.49
The Brand:
S. Pellegrino is the most pretentious sparkling water on the market. This is the brand that is often served by restaurants when you ask for water and they reply, “sparkling or still?” I get it. The brand is sourced from the Italian Alps and it does have a silky smooth mouthfeel and a satisfying flavor, but for me, it’s not nearly fizzy enough.
If you’re after flavor and a subtle fizz, this will probably be your favorite brand, but if you like a sparkling water that has snap and bite like a can of cold Coca-Cola, this is going to leave a lot to be desired.
The Bottom Line:
A nice flavor and a silky mouthfeel, but a very unsatisfying fizz.
4. Perrier — Carbonated Mineral Water (Taste 1)
Price: $1.79
The Brand:
Perrier is another brand that has been around for a long time — since 1863, to be exact. The brand originates in France and features what it calls a ‘balanced amount of bubbles and mineral content.’ I really like the crispiness on this one, it’s very similar to the experience of drinking S. Pellegrino but with a much more satisfying fizzing bite. I’m not sure how much there is to this, but I’ve noticed that Perrier tends to be a bit fizzier from a glass bottle than the cheaper plastic bottles.
We used the glass bottle variety in this tasting, I’m not sure if the plastic version would’ve resulted in a lower ranking but it’s just something to keep in mind if you’ve got multiple options!
The Bottom Line:
The same luxurious mouthfeel as S. Pellegrino with a much more pronounced fizz.
3. Jarritos — Minerague Sparkling Water (Taste 10)
Price: .98¢
The Brand:
Made by Jarritos brand (makers of the delicious Mexican sodas) Mineragua has a stunningly satisfying bite. It burns the tongue and the throat in this really pleasing way but ultimately what held it back for me is the flavor. It’s fizzy but comes across as a bit too bitter for its own good.
The brand’s tagline is “life with sparkles” and it definitely doesn’t sparkle louder than every other brand in our tasting.
The Bottom Line:
Satisfyingly fizzy with a burning aftertaste but it leans too heavily on the bitter side for its own good.
2. Saratoga — Sparkling Spring Water (Taste 7)
Price: $2
The Brand:
Prior to this tasting I had never tasted nor come across Saratoga’s Sparkling Spring Water but now I consider myself a fan. This stuff is great! Made and bottled in Saratoga Springs, this is an American take on fancy sparkling water ala S. Pellegrino and Perrier. It has the same silky smooth mouthfeel but tastes noticeably cleaner without any bitter aftertaste whatsoever.
The brand touts itself as “the perfect balance of light taste with just the right amount of carbonation,” and I’d say the nail that self-description. It has a subtle bite to it but doesn’t stain the palate with a bitter or stale aftertaste, making this the perfect palate cleanser.
The Bottom Line:
Refreshingly fizzy with a silky smooth flavor that washes the palate clean. If you’re looking for a carbonated water to pair with your meal, this is the best choice.
1. Topo Chico — Mineral Water (Taste 6)
Price: $1.50
The Brand:
Bottled at the source in Monterey Mexico, Topo Chico is one of the only sparkling water brands that come with a legend attached. According to Topo Chico, a long time ago an Aztec princess was ill and carried hundreds of miles to the spring where she drank the water and bathed in it, later experiencing a miraculous recovery. That’s a wild f*cking story, especially because Topo Chico is essentially saying is that their sparkling water is Aztec Princess bath water. Yum?
Crazy origin story aside, Topo Chico is far and above the best sparkling water we tasted in our blind taste test. It has the perfect snap and crackle on the palate, first greeting you with a sizzle that settles into a smooth and subtly sweet finish. I can’t get enough of this stuff.
The Bottom Line:
If you like the snap, bite, and crackle of a can of Coca-Cola but want something unsweetened, this is your drink. It is, as far as we’re concerned, perfect. It starts fizzy and ends smooth and comes across as more versatile than the other brands, whether you’re looking to mix it or simply drink it straight.