Sparkling Water brands: Which one is the best and worst to try?

New to sparkling water? Here are some great brands to try to which to avoid!

For most people, when they hear sparkling water, they think of something bland and tasteless that’s just trying so hard to be a healthy alternative for pop. I’ve done some research on some of the best (and worst) brands of sparkling water and have created a scale to help determine which brand you should go out and try first, and which brand you can avoid.

These rankings will go from worst to best:

Bubly

Taking the last spot on the list, is Bubly. You can buy this brand at almost any type of grocery or convenience store, but if you’re looking for something more sweet like pop, you won’t find it here. They have a great range of flavors, but most of them taste pretty identical to just your average plain seltzer. If I had to choose, my favorite flavor is either Apple or Peach. On a scale of 1-10, Bubly gets a 6.8. Not bad, but if you’re looking for sweetness without the calories, not good.

Crack a Smile with buble (bubly), photo provided by bubly /

Spindrift

Taking the next spot on the list is Spindrift. Again, much like Bubly, Spindrift doesn’t really do much in the sweetness department; however, they do have sweetened flavors to choose from as well. They have a decent range of flavors, but upon doing research, they don’t sell all their flavors in stores. There are two flavors I like: Lemon Iced Tea and Cranberry Raspberry; however, I recently tried adding some sugar-free lemonade water drops to them, and that made it ten times better than drinking them on their own. On a scale of 1-10, Spindrift gets a 6.9.

San Pellegrino

Sitting in the middle of the pack is San Pellegrino. I really like this brand; however, because they have just a plain flavor that tastes like nothing, I had to throw it in the middle of the list. Most people think of this brand as just having plain sparkling water that makes a good drink mixer. What most people fail to realize is that San Pellegrino actually has quite the (delicious) variety of flavors as well.

Clear American

Taking second place is Clear American. So far, I’ve only seen this at Walmart, but I’m pretty sure there’s a Walmart almost anywhere these days. This brand is very sweet and doesn’t taste like you’re drinking zero calories. They have over ten flavors in a bunch of different sizes and packs, so that’s a clear positive. I have one complaint about this brand; if you take it out of the fridge and don’t drink it right away, the fizziness gets a little too strong and takes some of the flavor away. On a scale of 1-10, Clear American gets an 8.4.

Signature Select

Taking the top prize is Signature Select. This is Jewel Osco’s brand name. So far, I’ve only seen this is in liter bottles, and lucky for consumers, they’re almost always on sale for $0.79. This is the perfect product to buy in bulk and stock up on throughout the week. Especially during these times, going out less is always good, so buying a bunch of these at once saves you some trips to the store. This brand has more unique flavors than the other brands listed; my all time favorite is Key Lime Pie, and boy does it taste like it. On a scale of 1-10, Signature Select gets an 8.8.

While I’d personally purchase all of these brands again, the one I would purchase most is Signature Select. Definitely give the Key Lime Pie a try or any of the other super delicious and perfectly sweet flavors that they offer!

Next. Starbucks: The 6 best secret menu drinks. dark

Let us know if there’s any other brands that you think we missed on this list, and tell us where they’d rank!

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