We tasted and ranked 19 flavors of Spindrift sparkling water and ranked them in order of our least to most favorite. Overall, we weren’t big fans of the mocktail flavors, but several surprise hits had us dreaming of tropical vacations.
I cannot emphasize this enough: Our editors love sparkling water. Instead of huddling around a water cooler in the office, we huddle together in meetings, each gripping our respective cans of sparkling water. There are many sparkling water brands, but because some of us are particularly enthusiastic about Spindrift, we recently decided to try every single Spindrift flavor available to us.
We tasted them all, then ranked them in order from the one we’d keep on hand at all times to the one that would likely get pushed to the back of the fridge. Why did we do this? Because staying hydrated is essential, and this is clearly the most delicious way to do it—and also because we hope it’ll help you narrow down the Spindrift options available at your local grocery store.
Because we were ranking these Spindrift flavors, we did not sample them blindly like we usually do for our taste tests. We did, however, sample them in random order, with each taster going in a different order to avoid palate fatigue skewing the results. After sipping our way through 19 different cans of sparkling water, we tabulated the results and came up with our definitive ranking. (With the exception of one or two of these, at least one person loved each one, and a lower rank doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying if you typically enjoy these flavor profiles.)
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
19. Nojito
We love a mojito, but this was a little too minty for our tasters. Nojito? No, thank you.
18. Cosnopolitan
Inspired by the Cosmopolitan cocktail, this Spindrift flavor gets its sweet-tart notes from cranberry juice, orange juice, and lime juice. “There’s a slightly lemon-forward profile in this one,” our associate culinary editor, Laila, observed. Though most of our editors wished there was more cranberry flavor, our senior social media editor, Kelli, enjoyed it just fine: “All that’s missing is some booze, sugar, and lime.”
17. Berry Belli-no
“This is the most flavorful and aromatic of the bunch,” Laila noted. “It smells and tastes like peaches!” Made with both peach and strawberry purée, the Berry Belli-no smelled very much like a summer fruit cocktail. Though the beverage contains no added sugar, this flavor was still slightly too sweet for me, Laila, and our associate editorial director, Megan. Kelli and our associate visuals director, Amanda, however, were fans. “Look, I’m a child at heart and I do like the sugary one,” Amanda wrote.
16. Grapeade
In the best way possible, this reminded me of grape soda and the Capri-Sun juice pouches I used to sip on as a child. “Lovely! Concord grape juice flavor, fresh and fizzy, tastes like fall,” our editorial director, Daniel, gushed. Megan loved this flavor too, and told me she purchased an eight-pack of it after the taste test. This flavor was divisive, though: Laila and Kelli weren’t fans, thus the middling overall ranking.
15. Lemon Limeade
Imagine lemonade…with plenty of lime. The Lemon Limeade gets its zestiness from a combination of lemon juice, lime juice, and lime extract. Some of our editors enjoyed its tart, lime-forward flavor, but most of us would have preferred a touch more lemon.
14. Mango Orange
I will never not love something with mango in it, and that appears to be the case for Amanda and Daniel, too. “Love that mango,” Daniel wrote. “It’s more of an alphonso mango vibe than a Tommy Atkins—that’s a good thing, by the way.” The mango is much more prominent than the orange here, which mango lovers will appreciate. (No one disliked this one; they simply had stronger favorites that pushed it down the rankings.)
13. Fuji Apple
Jessie, Kelli, Amanda, and I all enjoyed the crisp, refreshing notes of Fuji apple here. Jessie described it as “light and pleasant,” while Kelli thought it tasted very “fall-forward.” It almost tasted like sparkling apple juice—just not as sweet. Though Daniel thought it smelled great, he wanted even more apple in his beverage. “This one comes across as a little diluted in flavor,” he noted.
12. Lime
“Very subtle but this tastes like real lime to me,” Megan noted. Amanda thought it was “pleasant and would make a good mixer,” while Laila thought it was “pretty solid.” It’s a straightforward citrus flavor, what’s not to love?
11. Half Tea Half Lemon
This flavor got mixed reviews from our editors, but those who liked it really, really enjoyed it. “I get more tea than lemon—I love it! It’s exactly what I imagine iced tea sparkling water to taste like,” Laila wrote. “Very refreshing: subtle, but distinctly flavorful, with nice, bright lemon notes.”
10. Lemon
Lemon is a classic sparkling water flavor that most of our editors enjoy. Daniel thought it tasted too much like bottled lemon juice, and both Kelli and Laila wanted even more lemon. Megan, Amanda, and I, however, loved how fresh it tasted. “Love this one. It’s a classic. Tastes like actual lemon,” Megan declared. Similarly, Amanda wrote, “This is simply a go-to for me. It’s classic and clean.”
9. Strawberry Lemonade
This had a strong strawberry-forward aroma that reminded me of jam. Our editors were pleasantly surprised by how much it tasted like actual strawberry lemonade. “This tastes like the essence of strawberry lemonade, which is what I want from my sparkling water,” Amanda wrote. Kelli, meanwhile, was very pleased that the strawberry tasted like an actual strawberry.
8. Pink Lemonade
What’s the difference between strawberry lemonade and pink lemonade, you ask? The pink lemonade contains cherry purée, but no berries. Light, fresh, and clean with a pretty pink hue—nothing to dislike here.
7. Raspberry Lime
This flavor gets its refreshing tartness from a combination of crushed raspberries and lime juice. “Very drinkable,” Kelli wrote. Amanda, meanwhile, straight up gushed, “I love this one. It tastes like my childhood. (I ate a lot of raspberries as a kid.)”
6. Tropical Lemonade
No haters here: Every single editor loved the sweet, tropical notes of mango, pineapple, lemon, guava, and calamansi. It reminded me of mango bubble tea—a compliment, I promise!—and was reminiscent of fruit punch for Kelli.
5. Blood Orange Tangerine
This drink is bright, zesty, and refreshing. It reminded me of a toned-down version of orange Fanta, which is not a bad thing at all. “It’s just flavorful enough, but not so much that it stops feeling like sparkling water,” Laila wrote. “I get more blood orange than tangerine.”
4. Grapefruit
Though Megan found this slightly bitter, our other editors enjoyed the grapefruit’s bittersweet notes. “Grapefruit is my favorite of Spindrift’s citrus flavors,” Daniel noted. Laila thought it was “solid,” Jessie found it “nice and simple,” and I was reminded of the orange cough syrup that I loved as a child.
3. Yuzu Mandarin
This is Spindrift’s newest flavor, and was by far my favorite of the bunch. It was tangy, zesty, and floral, and one I’d happily drink on its own or incorporate it into a cocktail. “Nice citrusy yuzu notes,” Jessie noted. “I can see myself drinking this every day.”
2. Pineapple
“When Spindrift does tropical, it goes well,” Daniel remarked. Megan was surprised by how much she liked this flavor and appreciated that it wasn’t too sweet. Our other editors loved how delicious this flavor was, and they also appreciated just how good it smelled. “The smell is fabulous,” Kelli wrote. “This is my go-to. This is what I want to buy and what I want to drink,” Amanda raved.
1. Island Punch
And our winner is…the Island Punch! Packed with the sweet, tropical flavors of guava, passion fruit, and orange, the Island Punch was a hit with every single one of our editors. “This has my heart,” Daniel enthused. “Passion fruit for the win.” Similarly, Megan, Laila, and I loved the bold passion fruit notes. (Megan says that after the taste test she bought an eight-pack of this along with the Grapeade.) “Very aromatic, very tropical, and very passion fruit-forward,” Laila observed. “It’s pleasant and balanced.” Once again, I’d happily drink this on its own or use it to make a cocktail.
