It’s hard to remember our lives without sparkling water, but it only became massively popular a few years ago. Back in college, I worked in restaurants and the people who ordered sparkling water were fancy. Those bottles were expensive! This was long before the days when you could self-serve sparkling water from a little silver tap at your local coffee shop like you can today. And definitely pre-sodastream. Then I moved to Europe, where sparkling water was the norm, and only about one Euro with any meal. Life changing. I went three years almost never consuming tap water (RIP my teeth), and luckily by the time I returned home we were in the early stages of La Croix mania. Fast forward a few years and there are hundreds of sparkling water varieties.

I try sparkling water whenever I can, wherever I am in the world. Am I a water sommelier? No. But I drink a lot of it. I’ve found the styles range wildly, and that Eastern Europe maybe has more water brands than anywhere else. Europe has definitely been drinking sparkling water for longer than we have on this side of the Atlantic. (This Babbel article explains why and how to order it in six languages.) 

For this list, I chose waters because of their regional diversity, popularity, and difference in styles. There are many, many more that could have been included, I know. 

The Method

I’d had most of these waters before, while traveling or hunched over my computer in Chicago. But to taste test, I sourced them all again, plus a few new brands, and tasted them side-by-side. Then, I tasted them again next to their most similar type (all the canned waters, all the mineral waters, etc.). A few, I continued to sip throughout the day to make sure they held up. The flavored waters were all lemon-flavored for consistency. 

The Contenders (chosen for geographical variety, diversity in style, and popularity)

Galvanina–This sparkling water from Rimini, on the Adriatic Coast, is perfect for sipping on a hot day on an Italian beach. Here’s Galvanina’s description: “The snow and rain that abundantly falls on the Italian Apennine Mountains flows underground on a two year journey through pure and uncontaminated rocks and channels. After this relentless trip, Galvanina Natural Mineral Water comes to light in the springs first discovered by Ancient Romans at the peak of San Lorenzo Monte which has always been called Paradiso.” Impressive. That may all be true, but the stripped down version is this: The only ingredients are natural mineral water and carbon dioxide. It’s more effervescent than sparkling, and tastes like minerals but just barely so. Extra points for the elegantly engraved, light blue glass bottle. 

Jarritos–You probably know Jarritos for its colorful sodas, and like most U.S. brands, this Mexican water is more like club soda than mineral water. It does, however, have salt. Quite a bit of it. The effervescence is about a medium on the scale from slightly effervescent to full-on sparkling. Blueberry is not one of the ingredients, but it had a slight blueberry flavor to me and to most of the people I made taste it. If someone at Jarritos can explain this to me I would greatly appreciate it. I’m so curious! 

San Pellegrino–San Pellegrino calls itself “The Italian Water,” and it is undoubtedly one of the most popular mineral waters out there. The mineral content is high enough to notice but low enough to pair well with food. It’s less salty than other brands. The bubbles are small and fine, like a good Champagne. It’s definitely fizzy, if not fully sparkling. After tasting through all the waters a few times, I found San Pellegrino to be one of the most subtle, and therefore best with food. 

Perrier–The French equivalent of San Pellegrino, Perrier has been around forever, though now you can buy it in cans. I still prefer the original small green bottle, which is effervescent but not bubbly, has balanced minerality, and smells like rain. 

Borjomi–When I started my sparkling water taste-testing journey, I polled Instagram to see if there were any brands I was missing. I was shocked to get so many messages about Borjomi, from springs in central Georgia fed by glaciers in the Bakuriani mountains. The brand was apparently famous with the Romanovs (as in, Anastasia), and when I went to find it in a market in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood the owner raved about it and told me it almost sells out every weekend. Why? Because it’s great for hangovers. Borjomi is very salty and packed with minerals. You can taste the salt on your tongue and lips after each sip, like if you just emerged from the sea. It’s medium effervescent, on par with San Pellegrino. I was instantly hooked on this water, but my parents, who were enlisted in the initial taste test, were less sold because of the saltiness. Borjomi is one of the most divisive waters out there, and the company knows it. When introducing it to the U.S. market, they even came up with a tongue in cheek campaign that boasted, “1 in 2 people like it.” I’m definitely in the one. Keep it in mind after a night out. (Vytautas, from Lithuania, is another similar, salty water, but not as good as Borjomi in my opinion. And another Georgian water that I like that didn’t make the list is Nabeghlavi, especially the orange flavor.)

Singha–Singha, the Thai brand most famous for beer, makes a sparkling water so fizzy it made me sneeze. This is a soda water, not a mineral water. The sharp, tiny bubbles last seemingly forever. I first had it on a Thai island in extreme humidity, where I drank about 12 bottles a day. It’s refreshing. The 325ml bottles are also a nice size. 

Radenska–When I first had Radenska, a sparkling water from mineral springs between Austria and Slovenia, I hailed it the best sparkling water in the world. After tasting it again alongside a dozen other brands, the verdict stands. Radenska has a high mineral content and a soft feel, like the bubbles are lifting off in your mouth. It’s naturally sparkling, thanks to volcanic activity in the shallow water where it’s sourced. The taste is definitely mineraly, but balanced. The bubbles fill your whole mouth, not just on your tongue like other brands, sparkling lightly on the insides of your cheeks and down your throat. This water is a delight. When I posted about it on social media people from around Slovenia and the Baltics professed that this region makes the best sparkling water in the world. I believe them. 

Topo Chico–How blessed we were when Topo Chico, bottled in Monterey, Mexico, became famous in the U.S. This water has a slight mineral flavor–more than San Pellegrino, for reference, but less than the Eastern European brands. It is so sparkly! The bubbles are assaulting, in a good way. I never realized just how sparkling it is until tasting it alongside others. A++ for the label and the origin story, which involves an Aztec princess and an expedition. 

Bubly–Bubly is made by Pepsi, so it’s no wonder it tastes the most like soda, and is equally as carbonated. Pepsi Co.’s website says that Bubly “instigates fun and positivity in everyday life.” I don’t know how a water can do that, but I do know it is very fizzy, with bubbles that linger on your tongue and in the back of your throat, and that it tastes like fruit candy. It was  the most fake tasting of the fruit-flavored waters, but the sweetness makes it a good soda replacement. 

Klarbrunn–Klarbrunn is a completely fine, completely average carbonated water. It’s American, so no mineral content here. It’s fruit-flavored or unflavored, and the flavored versions taste almost natural, but not quite. There’s a lingering aftertaste of fake fruit I don’t appreciate, and tiny bubbles I do. 

Spindrift–Spindrift is, like the brand will happily tell you, “America’s first and only sparkling water made with REAL squeezed fruit.” You can tell. The flavor is…fruity, wonderfully so, thanks to the 3% of juice in every can. The lemon tastes like you squeezed a fresh lemon into sparkling water. The carbonation of all the canned waters I tasted was about the same, like a can of soda. This one was the most refreshing of the cans, though also the most expensive. 

La Croix–We’ve all seen the La Croix tweets. Yes, it gives an essence of flavor but no actual flavor. It’s not necessarily fake, but it’s definitely not real. It has more of a tinny flavor than the others, which is not mitigated even when you pour it out of a can and into a glass. It’s also slightly less sparkling than the other canned waters. I was prepared for La Croix to be a favorite (it originated in my mom’s hometown in Wisconsin, after all), but after a side-by-side comparison it’s low on the list. Still, I love it. I buy it by the case along with the rest of America. 

Polar–Polar is an East Coast thing, and therefore was surprisingly hard to find in Chicago. The naturally-flavored seltzer actually tastes fairly natural. I found it very similar to Klarbrunn. A perfectly acceptable sparkling water, though nothing to write home about. Props for best mascot though. No other brand has Orson the bear. 

Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher–Lagunitas, the brewery, now makes sparkling water. AND IT IS DELICIOUS. I’m obsessed. It’s different from the Singha water in that it is flavored. Here’s the description from Lagunitas: “Crisp, zingy, and hoppily refreshing. This sparkling beverage is made using everything Lagunitas knows about hops. Chock-full of Citra, Equinox, and Centennial hops, for a big splash of flavor that’s surprisingly fruity.” They nailed it. It’s hard to explain, because it’s not a beer replacement in that it doesn’t taste like a non-alcoholic beer and doesn’t have that amount of body, but it does taste like hops and satisfies in the way a light beer satisfies. But it also clearly taste like water, not beer. A sparkling water that tastes like hops. I don’t know. Clearly I can’t explain it. Just try it. 

Overall Observations

• Europe and most of the rest of the world make mineral water, while the U.S. generally makes flavored carbonated water. This is a major distinction. There is very little mineral water made in the United States. American waters can be thought of as a soda replacement, while European waters are a meal-enhancer or digestive aid. 
• The American brands also have bright, colorful labels and fun fonts while the European waters are almost always in green glass bottles with a simple label often containing a picture of a spring. 
• Canned waters lose their sparkle the fastest, which makes sense as they can’t be resealed. 

The Verdict

Best Overall: Radenska if you’re looking for mineral water, Spindrift for flavored water. 

Runner Up: Topo Chico (Though I’m adding a personal favorite note for Borjomi, which if you like salt will be one of your favorites too). 

Best Mouthfeel: Radenska 

Best Minerality: Radenska. It’s the most balanced 

Most Minerality: Borjomi 

Best Fruit Flavor: Spindrift 

Worst Fruit Flavor: Bubly 

Best Soda Replacement: Bubly 

Best for Dry January: Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher

Best Label: Topo Chico and Spindrift 

Best with Food: San Pellegrino 

Most Intense Sparkle: Singha 

Best Flavor Variety: La Croix still wins 

Conclusion

We should all be drinking more Slovenian water, but whatever your preferences, there’s a sparkling water out there for you. Have you tried these waters? What are your favorites? Let me know… Also always open to more recommendations if you have them!