The sparkling beverage market is absolutely booming right now. And whether you’re crushing La Croixs, White Claws, or Trulys, if your go-to drink sparkles, comes in a can, and hovers comfortably between 0 and 100 calories, you’re probably at least a little more health-conscious than the person smashing through a sixer of IPAS and Coca-Colas. Seltzers already generally have less sugar than their alcoholic and traditional soda counterparts, so how do we level up our favorite sparkling beverages even further to make them all the healthier? By adding some CBD into those babies for an extra boost of anti-inflammatory, anxiety-reducing, insomnia killing goodness.
Luckily for us, we’re living in an age where CBD-infused beverages aren’t just some health-conscious hippie pipe-dream. They’re a reality and there are a lot of them currently on the market. Maybe too many! To help you cut through the dense forest of CBD-infused hemp powered sparkling beverages, we’ve picked out some of our favorite brands from a market that seems to get more flooded with each passing month. We’ve spent the last few weeks of summer binging on CBD drinks looking for the brands that are truly worth the time and money (and also pair well with booze, screw health it’s been a hard year).
Let’s dive into the best sparking CBD Seltzer Waters of 2020!
Sparkling CBD Citrus/Hibiscut Water
CBD: 20mg Broad Spectrum Hemp Extract
Price: $50 (12-pack), $180 (48-pack)
Unlike La Croix, when you pop open a can of Sparkling CBD, you aren’t greeted with a blast of fragrant fruit essence and there isn’t an audibly pleasing fizz to be found, but also unlike La Croix, Sparkling CBD actually has some flavor. Sparkling CBD comes in Lemonade, Cola, Ginger Ale, Black Cherry, Root Beer, Hibiscus, and Citrus, we’ve only tried the latter two, but we loved them both.
The Citrus water is the most refreshing of the two, but if we had to choose one we’re going with the Hibiscus water every time. The Hibiscus water, while not fizzy or particularly fragrant, tasted like someone left a bunch of hibiscus flowers in a vat of sparkling water… and it turns out that’s exactly how it was made! Each batch of Sparkling CBD Hibiscus water utilizes 40 pounds of organic hibiscus flowers, and you can really taste them.
BOTTOM LINE: Pour it in a glass and enjoy the ruby red color with some ice — and then add some Tito’s Vodka or Espolòn Reposado Tequila with a twist of lime and let your stress melt away.
Recess Sparkling Water
CBD: 10mg Broad Spectrum Hemp Extract
Price: $29.99 (6-Pack) $49.99 (12-Pack)
Recess comes in a minimalist moody-colored can that blends 10mg of broad-spectrum hemp extract with ginseng, l-theanine, lemon balm, and real fruit flavors, for a sparkling water that is as healthy as it is tasty (despite its mere 5g of sugar). Each can of Recess is just 25 calories, and while we would’ve loved a higher concentration of extract per can, its relatively affordable enough that you won’t feel bad for blowing through two cans in a single session.
Recess is available in six flavors that include coconut lime, peach ginger, blackberry chai, pomegranate hibiscus, black cherry, or blood orange.
BOTTOM LINE: Our picks are the pomegranate hibiscus and blood orange, both of which go great with an added shot of Gun Powder Irish Gin or Botanist.
Mad Tasty
CBD: 20mg Broad Spectrum Hemp Extract
Price: Mixed Case 12-pack $60, Single Flavor 6-pack $30
Created by singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic fame, Mad Tasty features 20mg of broad-spectrum hemp extract and packs a surprising amount of fizz and flavor, more than most of the seltzers on this list. The full line consists of three flavors which include Watermelon Kiwi, Grapefruit, and a mystery flavor dubbed Unicorn Tears.
I wanted to hate Unicorn Tears. Badly. But it’s f*cking good. I found myself blasting through a can of this stuff quickly, as I kept reaching for more trying to discover what the mystery flavor actually is, which played out in my head like this: Grapefruit, wait no, Mad Tasty already makes a Grapefruit flavor, maybe there is a hint of strawberry in there? Definitely… but something else. Wait a minute, is it Grapefruit, Strawberry, and Watermelon Kiwi? Can’t be. It’s kind of like a White Mystery Airhead. Wait, wasn’t White Mystery Airhead just a random pre-existing Airhead wrapped in a different wrapper? Oh look, I’m all out of Unicorn Tears.
BOTTOM LINE: Thanks a lot Mad Tasty, for making a CBD drink that actually stressed me out more. I killed that stress with a second can with some Boulevardier for a mythical whiskey soda.
Fountain
CBD: 20mg Full Spectrum Hemp Extract
Price: $29 (Single Flavor 6-pack) $74 (Multi-Flavor 12 Pack)
The only sparkling seltzer water on this list to use Full Spectrum extract, there is something unmistakably different about Fountain in comparison to the other cans on this list — the calming effects of the CBD not only occurred faster, but lasted longer. Produced, canned, and labeled in a New York Brewery — where the brand also makes Hard Seltzers — the 20mg of Full-Spectrum CBD comes from hemp grown and processed in New York state and releases in three flavors which include Cucumber, Grapefruit, and Lime.
Our top pick is the Cucumber, as it offers a flavor other brands tend to ignore, which we can’t figure out because and the bitter and refreshing flavors of cucumber pair nicely with the dull flavors of hemp — they’re a match made in heaven!
A match that’s made even better when you pour it over ice with an added a splash of Monkey 47, and a sprig of mint.
Bimble
CBD: 25mg Broad Spectrum Hemp Extract
Price: $39.99 (6-Pack) $74.99 (Mixed 12-Pack)
Bimble is so damn tasty that if it didn’t cost $39.99 per 6-pack, we’d consider keeping a 6-pack of this stuff stocked in our fridge at all times, whether we were looking for a dose of CBD or merely quenching our thirst with a hearty meal. Each bottle of Bimble is made with sustainability sourced Vermont honey and infused with bright citrus, berries, and herbs that work to tamp down the overly grassy properties of the hemp, resulting in a flavorful and refreshing sparkling beverage with a nice 25mg of broad-spectrum hemp extract. To make things worse, both flavors of Bimble, the Blueberry Lemon Ginger, and the Grapefruit Basil Mint are so good that choosing between the two will have you reaching for the mixed flavor 12-pack which is an absurdly high $74.99.
BOTTOM LINE: Put this one on a Christmas wish-list or drink sparingly when you’re really needing that dosage of CBD. I never mixed this one with any alcohol because I loved the way it tasted so much on its own, but I imagine it would pair nicely with a mildly botanic gin.