Published June 1, 2022
By CLAIRE PETERSON
Summer’s almost here, and that means long, hot days…if you’re not in Carmel. But if you’re worried about finding that perfect refreshing drink for your summer activities, fear not, because I’ve ranked some of the Sparkling ICE and Signature Select flavors from worst to best so that you don’t have to waste $1.29.
(photos by CLAIRE PETERSON)
Signature Select’s Classic Lemonade
If you’re thinking to yourself, how could anyone possibly mess up lemonade, you are sadly mistaken. Perhaps the most disappointing flavor, lemonade puts to shame your childhood pastimes. Maybe the company can take some tips from the long hours you spent as a kid trying to get the perfect proportions of water to sugar to lemon juice.
3/10
Sparkling ICE’s Cherry Limeade
This perfectly encapsulates the flavor of liquidized cherry cough drops. It would taste
completely like medicine if the lime weren’t there. The drink is saved by the sour contrast the lime brings, but it is still overly sweet. Maybe it would taste better with ice.
3/10
Sparkling ICE’s Lemon Lime
This is your classic rip-off version of Sprite and 7 Up, e
xcept this one, similar to the Cherry Limeade, leaves an almost medicinal taste in your mouth. It’s somewhat reminiscent of these classics, but the lemon flavor is barely there and it’s sickeningly sweet.
4/10
Signature Select’s Key Lime
I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to try this one since the color is extremely off putting. It looks like kytropotine or some radioactive liquid that belongs in a lab, and the color is the perfect prelude to the flavor. Despite it tasting more like the lime rind than the actual lime, it still beats lemonade.
5/10
Sparkling ICE’s Coconut Pineapple
If you li
ke coconut, and I mean really like it, then this drink is perfect for you as the pineapple flavor is buried under the overpowering taste of coconut. Despite this, you still get the nice tingle from the pineapple, which creates an agreeable balance between the fruit flavors. The only thing it’s missing is one of those mini umbrellas.
7/10
Sparkling ICE’s Fruit Punch
The nostalgic taste of this drink will remind you of your childhood lunches at those green picnic tables. The fruit punch flavor tastes just like red Kool-Aid, except it doesn’t stain your tongue or leave a red ring around your mouth.
7/10
Sparkling ICE’s Black Raspberry
I don’t know how companies have not run out of different colors of raspberries to name their drinks, but this flavor is genius. It’s easy to drink the whole bottle and not feel like you’re overdosing on sweetness. The refreshing but not overwhelming flavor of Black Raspberry will certainly be an ideal choice this summer.
8.5/10
Sparkling ICE’s Strawberry Watermelon
Whoever came up with this flavor deserves some sort of award because this one is certainly the best. The watermelon flavor is prominent in the first sip, but the strawberry taste comes through in the second. Watermelon is also a summery flavor, so this is perfect for a hot day.
9.5/10
