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The Spruce Eats / Sabrina Jiang
From the Scotch highball to the sloe gin fizz to the mojito, club soda is quietly everywhere in the world of cocktails. Fizzy water lightens mixed drinks, and its bubbles make it just fun to sip, whether with alcohol or on its own. But for a drink that literally tastes like water, there sure are a lot of different options. It turns out there are lots of subtle characteristics to look out for that give different club sodas unique character. With advice from a few bartending pros, we picked out our favorites.
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"Fever-Tree Club Soda is probably the best out there,” declares Piero Procida, director of food and beverage for the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. “To make their club soda, Fever-Tree uses soft spring water with very little mineral content so as not to alter the flavor of the drink. It is also highly carbonated, which brings out the flavors in your drink.” The carbonation comes in the form of lots of tiny bubbles, which help spread flavors across all parts of your tongue. That's why this soda is ideal for a classic highball, showing off the pure taste of any spirit, from whiskey to tequila to gin.
Fever-Tree is a brand dedicated to making high-end mixers for cocktails and spirits, with this club soda actually one of its newer products. It makes several tonic waters that are among our favorites, along with our top choice for ginger beer.
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“I'm a big fan of Schweppes,” says Anthony Caporale, the director of spirits education at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “It's not new or trendy—in fact, it's the opposite." It's one of the oldest soda brands in the world, dating back to 1783, when Jacob Schweppe patented a new process to make bubbly mineral water. Sealed in special bottles made to hold onto the carbonation, Schweppe's creations were a sensation and helped create the modern concept of soft drinks.
Today's Schweppes Club Soda is full of lovely textured bubbles and crisp minerality that seems to stay carbonated in the bottle longer than other brands. "For price, availability, and history, it's tough to beat," Caporale says, recommending it "in drinks that call for the added mineral content that seltzer lacks.” A great example is the old-school Ramos Gin Fizz, in which the brand's big bubbles and more noticeable flavor help lighten the texture of the egg white–based cocktail.
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Founded in 1882 by a distiller, Polar has been in the carbonated-mixer business for well over a century. Though available nationwide, the brand is based in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is a special favorite in New England. In fact, Anneliese Place, owner of the now-closed The Compound bar in Fitchburg, Mass., says Polar's club soda is hands-down the best bubbly water you will find on the market today—plain or flavored. "For as long as I’ve been working in bars, Polar has had the same intense, tiny bubbles, a clean feel on the palate, and consistent balance," she says.
The vodka soda is a simple, refreshing drink popular in high-volume bars, and it's a great showcase for Polar's club soda. It contains added minerals that give it a hint of salty complexity, something that won't get drowned out by neutral-flavored vodka and maybe a squeeze of lime. Plus, Place says, "Polar is priced right to use at work, behind the bar, and at home for the family."
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Canada Dry is probably best known for its ginger ales, but the brand's club soda is also excellent. Its powerful fizz (open the bottle carefully!) and crisp taste make for a great whiskey mixer. The aggressive bubbles help release whiskey flavor molecules into the air and onto the palate, while the clean profile of the water itself won't interfere with the complexity of a great bourbon, Scotch, or rye. Canada Dry is also affordable enough to stock the bar for a large party. Fun fact to share at that party: Though it launched in 1904, the Canada Dry brand really took off during Prohibition—its spicy ginger ale was good for covering up the flavor of illicit spirits that were sometimes...less than delicious.
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Until very recently, Topo Chico was seldom found outside of northern Mexico and Texas. But it became a bartender favorite, used in the Lone Star State–favorite ranch water cocktail and smuggled across the country by mixologists. Then Coca-Cola bought the Monterrey, Mexico-based brand in 2017 and expanded distribution throughout the U.S. Now, a nation of bartenders knows that "Topo Chico is the Cadillac of club sodas," as Ellen Talbot, former lead bartender at Fable Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee puts it. She praises the brand for its "more velvety bubble.”
Topo Chico is fairly aggressive in both carbonation and mineral content, with a body and bubbles that will stand out even mixed with heavy syrups and high-proof spirits. It's the gold standard for craft cocktails, and not just because of its cool-bartender cachet.
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Canned water for metalheads sounds like a pretty niche product, but Liquid Death—complete with melting skull logo and the slogan "murder your thirst"—has grown exponentially since it was released in 2018. The sparkling version of Liquid Death is chuggable, with gentler carbonation than other club sodas; the bubbles are more similar to the inexpensive beer you might pound at a frat party.
These extra-large aluminum cans are ideal to bring to the pool, beach, campsite, or anywhere else glass isn't allowed, and they're completely recyclable. Liquid Death is also an excellent non-alcoholic option to offer alongside cans of beer at backyard barbecues, summer parties, and other group events.
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La Croix is famous for its long list—more than 20—of flavor options. But its products are not soda pops; the subtly flavored sparkling waters contain no juice, no sugar, and no artificial sweeteners. (They're "naturally essenced," as the brand puts it.) If you don't drink enough water during the day, La Croix is a great way to add a little bit of refreshing interest while making sure you stay hydrated. It's also very nice in a highball, where its hints of fruit and citrus can help highlight similar notes in whiskey, tequila, brandy, or gin.
Of all the many options, our favorite La Croix flavor is Hi-Biscus, whose combination of citrusy, floral, tropical-fruit notes is crushable on its own and also seems to go nicely with just about any other flavor in a cocktail.
Fever-Tree Club Soda is our top pick. The high-end mixer is low in minerals, and even though it's super-fizzy, the extra-soft bubbles go easy on the tongue. On the other side of the spectrum, Schweppes Club Soda is a tried-and-true favorite that gets the job done at a low price. Its higher mineral content makes for a crisp flavor that adds to cocktails you mix it in.
What to Look for in Club Soda
Carbonation
Club soda's fizz come from pressurized carbon dioxide dissolved in the water. When you open the container and release the pressure, the carbon dioxide comes out of solution, making bubbles that pop on your tongue. Different brands use different levels of pressure for different effects: High-pressure carbonation makes aggressive bubbles good for lightening intense flavors and thick syrups or juices, while lower pressure makes gentle bubbles with a more velvety texture, good for drinking solo.
Minerals
Whether from the tap, a river, or a natural spring, every water has a different set of minerals dissolved in it, and these affect its flavor. Some club sodas add specific minerals for specific notes, while others use water direct from the source. Two common minerals added to club sodas are sodium chloride (AKA table salt), which adds a subtle saltiness, and sodium bicarbonate (AKA baking soda), which is both salty and bitter.
The total amount of minerals dissolved in the water also affects its texture. Low levels make for a crisp and clean feeling on the tongue, while higher levels of minerals in a water give it more body, with almost an oily feeling for super-minerally waters.
Package Size & Type
Club soda won't stay carbonated forever. At best, you have a few hours of bubbles from when you open the container if you don't re-seal it. Cans are the most common container for club soda, but you have to use up the whole thing once you crack one open. The 12-ounce size is pretty standard, which is great for drinking for hydration, but it's too much for a single cocktail and not quite enough for two. Many brands intended for drinks have smaller cans (or similarly un-resealable glass bottles) that made one drink at a time. Larger bottles are usually plastic, with a screw cap that can re-seal the bottle and hold in the bubbles for longer.
FAQs
What's the difference between club soda and seltzer?
Legally, there isn't one. They're both names for carbonated water, as is "soda water." The exact same product could use any of the three terms. Two words you might see on water packaging that do have legal meaning are "mineral" and "sparkling." Mineral water must come from a natural well or spring, and has to contain at least 250 parts per million of dissolved minerals. It can be carbonated or still. Sparkling water must be naturally carbonated—in other words, it comes out of the spring already bubbly. Producers are allowed to add carbon dioxide to replace what is lost during processing, but only up to the level that was there originally.
Is club soda the same thing as tonic water?
Definitely not. Tonic water is more like soda pop, a sweetened and flavored carbonated beverage. It was originally created as a way to make quinine—a malaria preventative that's extremely bitter—more palatable, but modern versions of the drink might or might not actually include quinine. Many mixer brands make both tonic water and club soda, but you cannot substitute one for the other.
Does club soda have calories?
No. Club soda contains only water and carbon dioxide neither of which provides any calories. Depending on the water source, club soda can contain minerals like sodium, magnesium, and calcium that are important in your diet, but the levels are generally not high enough to have a significant effect on nutrition.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
Kate Dingwall is a freelance writer whose work focuses on food, drinks, and travel. She is based in Toronto and holds a Wine & Spirits Education Trust Level III qualification.
The Spruce Eats commerce writer Jason Horn updated this roundup. His go-to cocktail is whiskey with club soda, and his fridge is stocked with multiple flavors of La Croix at all times. Here's his favorite club soda hack: Open a bottle or can and add a few drops of Peychaud's Bitters.
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