Ranking All 20 Polar Seltzer Flavors from Worst to Best

I am proud to be a New Englander — mostly due to the array of foods that we have in the region. I’m talking lobster rolls, New Haven-style pizza, and coffee milk (Rhode Island’s state beverage, of course). But, I’m equally as proud to taste and enjoy products from companies that were born in New England — including Polar Beverages. The sparkling water company opened its doors in 1882 in Worcester (pronounced “wust-er,” for anyone asking), Massachusetts. The brand has expanded its offerings from basic sparkling waters to a massive array of fun flavors, including seasonal and limited-edition varieties that I will pounce on every time I see them at my local grocery store. 

While I won’t discount the refreshing qualities of other sparkling water brands, including the likes of AHA and Waterloo, there’s something to be said about the delicious, effervescent, and fun flavors that Polar has to offer its customers. I put my sparkling water allegiances aside to sample all of the non-limited-edition seltzers that Polar has to offer and ranked them from worst to best. I assumed the carbonation on all the beverages was the same, so I instead looked at factors like the brightness, balance, and strength of the flavors, as well as the uniqueness of the seltzer flavor itself. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

I will start out by saying that this seltzer flavor is the one I don’t touch in the Polar variety pack. And when I really focused on each sip, I could finally articulate why. On the nose, it has a slight apple flavor. But when you taste it, you get walloped with an artificial apple essence reminiscent of a Monster energy drink. I can’t pull out any lemon notes, and if there were any there, they wouldn’t be able to distract from the overwhelming sour apple flavor. 

In an autumnal mocktail with mulling spices and fruit, there is a chance that this flavor could work. But otherwise, it’s too strong for a seltzer — which is something I didn’t think I could say about what’s supposed to be an inoffensive beverage. 

When I pictured an “orange vanilla” seltzer, I immediately thought it would be something like a Dreamsicle ice cream pop — and that’s kind of what I got here. When you take a whiff of the can, it’s very strongly orange-leaning, almost like a glass of fresh-squeezed juice. But when you sip, you’re met with something that’s almost bitter. Not tart — but bitter. The vanilla certainly wraps around your mouth and gives off that Dreamsicle-esque vibe. But without the sweetness that comes with one of these ice cream novelties, I can’t say that the concept was entirely successful. 

Granted, you could use this seltzer as a mixer for other beverages. But its flavor is too short and acrid to drink it straight from the can. 

Vanilla-scented seltzer and vanilla-scented candles are two things I don’t think the world needs more of. That being said, vanilla, when it’s not forced, is a great smell — but it doesn’t really taste like anything. This bottle has a slight vanilla smell, though it is eerily alcoholic. Any whisper of vanilla is lost when you take a swig. While there is some sweetness on the palate, it’s not fully developed enough to convince me it’s trying to get at “vanilla.”

I do think this flavor was much more successful than the orange and vanilla because the extract wasn’t overshadowed by something more powerful. But, there is nothing really memorable about this flavor, which is why it has to place so low in my ranking. 

I love a spicy ginger beer, but I hate to say that this ginger lime mule seltzer was a bit of a disappointment. Not only was the ginger not firey enough to make it mule-esque, but the lime got misplaced entirely. There was also a metallic aftertaste to this seltzer that I didn’t notice with the other fruit varieties. 

It’s satisfying enough for a few sips. But, I couldn’t see myself crushing a whole can of it in a sitting, which is why it placed near — but not on — the bottom. 

Cranberry and lime are two flavors that usually get the short end of the stick in terms of potency. So what’s the worst that can happen when you mix them into a singular beverage and add bubbles? 

It seemed like both lime and cranberry wanted to be seen, but not heard in this beverage. Surprisingly, the lime was the bashful one here, as the cranberry stepped out just enough to be identifiable. However, as you sip, it’s hard to tell that flavor is indeed supposed to be cranberry. I would guess something more in the apple family before I would think of cranberry. It’s a confusing flavor, but it’s not unpalatable.

You would expect that a flavor like “clementine” would just come across as “orange,” but that’s far from the case with this Polar seltzer flavor. The smell on the nose has that clementine sweetness to it that sets the two citruses apart. Though, you don’t pick out the cranberries until you take a swig. The cranberry essence isn’t fully developed, and it gets a little muddled with the clementine to the point where the two become indistinguishable from one another. 

This is yet another cranberry flavor that can’t compete with the big dogs — yet. I think it has potential, but it needs a little more refinement to deliver fully on its flavor promise. As it stands, it’s refreshing enough to be passable, which can’t be said about some of the lower-ranking flavors. 

The smell of this can was very bright and sweet, making me pause in anticipation for what flavor I would be greeted by. It almost smelled like the strawberry lemonade Svedka from college that I still have nightmares about. Its flavor was definitely the sweetest out of all the varieties I sampled, though I think it really lacked direction. There were just sweet flavors present. Strawberry was there, no doubt, but there was something else there (the watermelon) that was too underdeveloped to make its presence known. 

Watermelon is a difficult flavor to turn into a seltzer, so I give Polar credit where credit is due. I wasn’t fond of the aftertaste of this beverage, but I do admit that it is refreshing in the moment. 

I love peach, but I do not like how cloying it can be, especially when it’s pushed into things like peach rings or candy. This odor coming from the can didn’t give me any indication of how much peach I should be expecting. So when I took a swig, I was taken aback. It had the juiciness of a peach, but without the sweetness that makes eating a peach in the summertime so enjoyable. The aftertaste lingered more with this can than with any of the other flavors. While it was peach-forward, not getting the sugary sweetness of the fruit just felt kind of wrong. 

If you mixed this can with some peach puree to make a Bellini spritzer of sorts, it could be lovely. But it’s a little too awkward and confusing to enjoy straight from the can. 

I tasted the original seltzer first, as I wanted to get a baseline for the brand’s carbonation. There’s very little that I can find wrong with this basic yet versatile seltzer flavor. Since there is no inherent taste, I was immediately drawn to the prickles on my tongue and the back of my throat as I sipped. It’s a textural delight, with no flavors in the way to distract from it.

The original Polar seltzer is well-carbonated and refreshing, which would make it an excellent addition to a spritzer or an ABV-free cocktail. However, I can’t see why anyone would drink it from the can when there are nearly 20 other Polar flavors to sip on. 

The ruby red grapefruit Polar flavor almost has a cult-like following (at least among my friends), but I don’t think I got an invitation to that secret society’s latest meeting because I honestly don’t understand the appeal of this seltzer flavor. On the nose, it has something citrus going on, but it’s not clearly “grapefruit.” However, when you take a sip, you do get that sweetness from the grapefruit and the slight citrusiness comes more into fruition. But other than that, it’s kind of bland. 

In terms of how pleasant it is to drink, I would say it ranks highly compared to other flavors. It has something more going on than the original, but I don’t think that it’s as crushable as some of my top picks on this list. While it’s good, it’s not deserving of “fan-favorite” status. 

I don’t think it’s possible not to like raspberry lime seltzer. This flavor is super approachable and refreshing, no matter if you’re enjoying it in the heat of the summer or the dead of winter. The one drawback of this flavor is that the raspberry jumps to the forefront and leaves the lime in its wake. While the regular lime seltzer had that beautiful tartness and juiciness to it, this one was 90% raspberry. I think there is a potential for the lime to shine through, though, as the raspberry flavor itself isn’t syrupy or heavy. 

This is a seltzer that is innocuous enough that you don’t think twice about drinking it. It’s easy to just sip and not think about the lime, but I think that it’s an essence that deserves a little more love here. 

Mandarin is a bright, juicy flavor that really shines in a seltzer. Polar did an excellent job on the flavors of this one, and it was far more focused than the orange and vanilla flavor. The mouthfeel of this seltzer, though, felt a little dry where it should have been juicy. Compared to the other, higher-ranked citrusy selections, the mouthfeel in this beverage didn’t deliver as much as I think it could have. 

However, the mandarin seltzer ranked relatively highly because of how refreshing and enjoyable it was. It had a very bright, mandarin-forward flavor that was more cohesive than the orange. I think that you could sip on it blind and immediately point to it being mandarin, rather than generally “orange” — which is worthy of some recognition. 

I love black cherry ice cream, so it’s no surprise that this seltzer was right up my alley. I have to give Polar some props here, as this can did not taste in the least bit artificial and cough syrup-esque. This black cherry seltzer was also less sweet than I would have expected it to be, which is a good thing.

When you take a big slurp of it, it’s very satisfying. The cherry notes, which have the depth of a dark cherry more than a cheap maraschino, are full and juicy. The inherent bitter carbonation flavor and bubbles really mellow out this seltzer. Even if you don’t like black cherry, I could see you, at minimum, tolerating this can. But, it’s far from the most versatile of the flavors I sampled, which is why it scored outside of my top favorites. 

Lime is a flavor that holds a ton of prospects in terms of seltzer because it has an inherent lushness and citrus-forward flavor to it. And Polar certainly delivered on the juiciness of the lime here and did it justice. The lime seltzer’s flavor is more developed than the ruby red grapefruit, and I sensed a little more of an inherent juiciness with this flavor that I didn’t find with the other selections on this list. It’s almost tart and sweet at the same time, which amps up its overall complexity. 

This is one flavor that you could immediately identify in a blind-tasting. It’s clear, focused, and would be great for solo sipping or as a mixer. However, it lacked the pizzazz of my top picks. 

This lemon seltzer was better than I expected it to be. Normally, lemon seltzer is kind of a one-off. It’s usually a little tart and sweet, but otherwise flat. But this Polar offering had a ton of dimension (more so than the lime), and it had almost a lemon-drop candy-like flavor to it. 

The flavor of the can wasn’t lemon-lime soda-like. Instead, it was like one of those fine Italian lemon sodas — just without the sugar. Since it’s not sweetened, there’s no drawn-out cloyingness to it, which makes it easy to take sip after sip. I don’t think it’s inherently exciting or fun like some of the other flavors that scored high on this ranking, but all-in-all, it’s far from a bad selection. 

Coconut anything is not my idea of a fun time. The smell of this can sent little coconut shivers down my spine, though, and made me hopeful that it was not going to be as syrupy and artificial-tasting as I was bracing myself for. 

This is actually really an excellent seltzer flavor — and that’s a big thing for me to say. The coconut isn’t entirely “toasted” in the sense that it’s warm, but it does have that iconic, bright, and well-rounded flavor that makes it both distinctly coconutty and easy to drink. It doesn’t taste sunscreen-y in the slightest. That being said, coconut is a very dominant flavor that may overpower or influence any other ingredients it’s mixed with, so it lacks the utility of some of the top-ranking flavors on this list. 

Pomegranate is a difficult flavor to encapsulate in a beverage. But wow did Polar do an excellent job of it. When you take a big whiff of the can, there’s pomegranate, but there’s also an inherent sweetness that follows through into the flavor. It does taste like pomegranate juice, just with less body and innate sweetness. This was a really smart flavor for Polar to add to its selection because the carbonation stops the flavor before it can get too cloying and syrupy. It’s bright, novel, and would be enticing for someone who likes to experiment and try different flavors. 

That being said, the slight sweetness of this flavor didn’t make it as refreshing as my top picks. But it’s still a triumph all around. 

I knew the blueberry lemon flavor was going to be good when I cracked the cap and smelled a perfume of something similar to blueberry compote. Like other fruit flavors, blueberry can be cloying and sugary — but this one was not. The blueberry flavor was sweet and fresh, with the quality that I would get from something like a sauce or a compote. I don’t see the lemon jumping into this flavor as much as it could have (which kept it from the top spots), but I’m under the impression that this bottle doesn’t really need a citrusy boost to be successful. 

If you’re making the switch from being a soda drinker to a seltzer sipper, I can see this bottle being well-received. I don’t think everyone will love the blueberry flavor, but I personally think it’s the best-tasting out of all the seltzer flavors I sampled. 

I was excited to see blackberry and mango meet up for this pairing, as both are dominant flavors that are rarely overshadowed by the others. It was my second-favorite of all the duo-flavors. It was bright and well-rounded, with notes of both mango and blackberry coming through together. There was a flavor harmony here that didn’t exist with other bottles and cans on this list, even with the tasty blueberry lemon variety. 

I could see myself sipping this can on the beach or enjoying for a mid-day pick-me-up. It doesn’t have as adventurous or as compelling flavors as my top pick on this list, but it is nearly there. 

I’m not a pineapple person in any capacity, but I can really pick up what Polar was putting down with this pineapple pomelo flavor. The pineapple smell is the definition of the word, “tropical.” Meanwhile, the pomelo, a fruit that’s like a grapefruit but slightly different, adds a little citrusy kick to each sip. This is one flavor where both of the elements are in perfect harmony; the pomelo doesn’t overshadow the pineapple and vice versa. 

The flavor of this seltzer is remarkably refreshing, and I could see it being enjoyable for folks looking for a casual sip at work or folks who want to play with bubbly cocktails on their time off. It’s really approachable — which is a big compliment coming from someone who doesn’t like tropical flavors. Overall, it was a risky flavor to try to bottle, but Polar did it with grace. 

As an avid seltzer connoisseur, I believe the beverage should really embody the flavor it’s trying to capture on the label. In other words, I want to be able to know that a seltzer is supposed to be black cherry or orange-flavored; I don’t want to be left guessing what it’s trying to get at. Moreover, the flavor should be balanced and well-rounded rather than synthetic or cloying. Lastly, the water should be versatile enough that it can be consumed solo or mixed into another beverage. These were all major considerations for this ranking. 

I prefer to drink my seltzers from the can or the bottle, which is how I chose to consume them for this tasting. Moreover, I properly chilled these bottles and cans for upwards of 24 hours to ensure that they had the same carbonation and opportunity for their flavors to shine. I sipped them all on the same day, too, as carbonation tends not to hang around long after the vessels are opened.