17 Sparkling Ice Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best - Tasting Table

"Sip, sip, ahhhh. That's the sound of a Sparkling Ice. Established in 1987, the brand is now one of the most well-known names in the world of flavored sparkling water. It was also operating as a healthier soda alternative long before it was cool - and long before brands like Olipop or Poppi ever arrived on the scene. For Sparkling Ice, fizzy beverages with zero sugar, low calories, and added vitamins and antioxidants are its bubbly lifeblood."

"But most of us recognize the brand thanks to its rainbow-colored army of flavors. They stand tall on the grocery shelf in their uniquely-sized 17-ounce bottles, donning various images of fruit encased inside a block of ice. The variety is truly something to behold, including classic flavors like lemonade and black cherry to more out-there tastes like Starburst-inspired bottles. Today, we're sipping our way through the lion's share of its supply to find the sparkling gem of Sparkling Ice beverages."

"I picked up 17 flavors (aka everything I could find at my local store), and got to sipping and swigging. All options are made up of essentially the same ingredients, including carbonated water, sucralose, fruit and vegetable juices for color, and natural flavors. They also share similar nutritional benefits and come at the exact same price. So, my rankings came down to pure taste alone. Let's dive in to see which flavors fizzle out and which ones bubble to the top."

"It gets this coloring from a mix of fruit and vegetable juices. However, the taste truly does come from a blend of real kiwi juice concentrate and strawberry juice concentrate. The aroma is extra vibrant. I thought I was in for a sweet and juicy candy-like experience. What I got, though, was predominantly notes of kiwi and a bitter sucralose aftertaste that lingered for far too long."

Sparkling Ice, established in 1987, produces zero-sugar, low-calorie sparkling waters fortified with vitamins and antioxidants. The brand offers a wide spectrum of flavors displayed in distinctive 17-ounce bottles featuring fruit imagery set in blocks of ice. Flavor options range from classics like lemonade and black cherry to novelty Starburst-inspired varieties. All varieties share core ingredients: carbonated water, sucralose, fruit and vegetable juices for color, and natural flavors, and offer similar nutritional profiles and identical pricing. Seventeen flavors were acquired and tasted, and rankings were determined solely by flavor perception. The Kiwi Strawberry variety delivers vivid aroma but a lingering bitter sucralose aftertaste.

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