7 Costco Kirkland Sparkling Waters, Ranked Worst To Best

If you're anything like me, you can hardly resist the allure of bulk buys at bargain prices. Even living solo in a regrettably small cottage, I often find myself heading to the warehouse to stock up on toilet paper, Costco's frozen meals, and the occasional Kirkland cheesecake. Yes, this means my house is about 80% food most of the time, but it's a small price to pay when good deals are on the line. On that note, I figured it was high time to see what the warehouse had to offer in terms of sparkling water — for this ranking, I focused solely on Kirkland's own brand.

I'm a general fan of the Kirkland items. Its bakery section is pretty solid and I'll always opt for its boxed wine when I'm on a budget. However, I've never taken the time to try its sparkling waters — I already have go-to cans from Waterloo and La Croix and simply haven't needed new options. Now having tried the Kirkland line, I can't call it one of the best sparkling water brands out there, but the offerings weren't all that bad. 

My Costco only had three Kirkland sparkling water options available: a case of Italian Sparkling Mineral Water, a flavored sparkling water bottle variety pack, and then flavored sparkling can variety pack. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like you can buy the flavors individually (at least, not at my warehouse). I'm ranking each one based on its carbonation and flavor profile.

7. Italian Sparkling Mineral Water

Similarly to my ranking of Trader Joe's sparkling waters, Kirkland's Italian Sparkling Mineral Water was doomed for last place simply because it's the only non-flavored option on this list. Had I downright hated any of the following contenders, I could have ranked this bottle a place or two higher. I didn't love some of the flavors (you'll learn why in a minute), but I can chalk that up to personal preference, so ultimately the "plain" bottle got a last-place spot. 

When it comes to bottled water brands, I tend to prefer the natural flavors offered by mineral water, but those weren't super apparent in this drink. Upon reading the "low mineral content" text at the bottom of the bottle, that made a little more sense. However, this didn't make a huge difference for me, and I imagine its milder flavor would make it more favorable to those who don't love the taste of mineral water; with that in mind, it makes sense to go with Kirkland's offering over other sparkling mineral water brands. 

I could also advocate grabbing a case of this if you prefer gentle sparkling drinks. The carbonation in this bottle wasn't too heavy at all. If you like the "spicy" feeling of heavy carbonation, this probably isn't the bottle for you, but consumers with gastrointestinal issues aggravated by carbonation (such as myself) may appreciate it. 

6. Kiwi Strawberry

Kirkland's Kiwi Strawberry Carbonated Flavored Water Beverage came in a case with two other flavors: Orange Mango and Black Raspberry. I won't be buying this case again, but that's just me — if you like sweet-flavored waters, you may enjoy these. Kiwi Strawberry earned last place for a few reasons, and I must say I was pretty disappointed given the stellar light lime green color of the water and its inviting, tropical aroma.

If you handed me a glass of this and asked me to identify its flavor profile, I wouldn't be able to. It was fruity, sure, but kiwi and strawberry weren't really discernible — I only got the slightest hint of berries at the end of the sip. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the water's overwhelming sweetness. Sucralose is the primary sweetener in this bottle (and the other flavored bottles on this list), and it didn't do the water any favors. Expect a gently sparkling, artificially sweetened fruit water, and you may be pleased with what Kiwi Strawberry has to offer. If that doesn't sound appealing, I'd stay away. 

5. Orange Mango

Up next is the Orange Mango flavor from the same case of sparkling water beverages. Unlike with the Kiwi Strawberry bottle, I didn't find the color of this water very inviting, but maybe I'm just not the biggest fan of orange. It reminded me of an orange soda but didn't smell like one. I had a similar anticipation for this drink as the last — its aroma was citrusy and alluring — but, yet again, it failed to deliver.

Being a huge fan of mango, I'd venture a guess that I'd have liked this better had its mango notes been palpable. I did taste the orange, though, which gave this drink a slight leg up over the last. However, it was yet again cloyingly sweet. I could have accepted some sweetness had it not tasted artificial, but the fake quality of the sweetener in this drink was too overwhelming for me to want to take more than a couple of sips. 

4. Lime

We'll veer off to the side a little to talk about Kirkland's Lime Sparkling Water, one of the three flavors in its variety pack of canned sparkling water. In case it's not obvious by now, I generally preferred the canned sparkling waters over the sweetened bottles; however, we come to a bit of a diversion with two offerings. I found this lime sparkling water to be utterly lackluster, and this may have ranked even lower had I not disliked the sweetener in the previous twist cap bottles.

On the plus side, this can had no sweeteners. Everything else about it wasn't great, though. Its lime flavor was exceedingly gentle, which was a disappointment compared to the stronger flavors of the other two cans I tried. Moreover, it tastes like lime flavoring rather than actual limes. If I had to go through a number of these cans, the only sensible use for them would be as a base in a mojito — other than that, you probably won't see me pick one of these up again.

3. Black Raspberry

Though Kirkland's Black Raspberry Sparkling Water was still sweetened, I actually enjoyed this more than the other two bottled offerings, mostly because it boasted way more flavor. Also, unlike the previous bottles, I wasn't excited to try this one after smelling it — it had an intensely cloying scent of raspberry syrup that left me wary of taking a sip. I was surprised to like it as much as I did, though it still couldn't surpass my top two choices.

This wouldn't be my first pick of sparkling water, but I could see myself drinking it again under the appropriate circumstances — namely, as a versatile calorie-free mixer in the sticky heat of summer. Its flavor was far deeper than the other two that came in the package, with bold, juicy berry notes that I could have identified even in a blind taste test. Yes, it was sweetened, but the sweetener took a backseat to the black raspberry flavor, which is why this was a pretty easy pick for third place. 

2. Lemon

I oscillated between this and the following choice for first place, and ultimately, it was a close tie. I ended up relegating Kirkland's Lemon Sparkling Water to second place purely because the first flavor was an unusual pick for me, and I felt the brand accomplished a bigger feat with my number one pick. All that said, its lemon water was delightful. As a whole, the cans were more heavily carbonated than the bottles — I think this will make them more attractive to a certain audience, though I found it slightly overwhelming. 

Lemon was as true to its name as a drink can be. I love lemon-flavored anything, but a big problem I often have with the flavor is that none of its tang or sourness comes through (depending on the product, of course). However, I found quite the opposite with this can. Now, it's not "sour" in the traditional sense, but it does have that sharp edge I expect from a lemony beverage while remaining effortlessly drinkable. Moreover, its flavor is strong, unlike some other sparkling lemon-flavored waters I've had. It's a good, refreshing can that I actually finished during this tasting. 

1. Grapefruit

Last but certainly not least, my top choice of Kirkland's sparkling waters was a wholly unexpected favorite. For that reason alone, its can of Grapefruit Sparkling Water had to take the No. 1 spot. I don't like most grapefruit-flavored things; I often find them bitter, without the sweetness I look forward to in citrus fruits, and they're frequently too mellow for my liking. This, however, was none of the above.

This can captures the essence of grapefruit without transmitting any of the negative qualities I normally find in grapefruit flavors. Rather than being bitter or tart, it's bright and fruity and even led me to understand why some people love grapefruit flavors. Although its flavor is strong, it's not overwhelming. My final "pro" for this can is that it left the strongest aftertaste of any of the canned sparkling waters, and I think that's a good thing — it just lingers for a while after finishing the sip. 

Methodology

To compare all of Kirkland's sparkling waters, first, I had to track them all down, and I'll admit being somewhat surprised that my local Costco only carried a few different cases (thankfully, two cases had a variety of flavors). Though I tried to be as objective as possible, obviously, personal preference plays a role; since I don't love super sweet waters, the bottled flavored ones got spots near the bottom of my list.

I generally preferred the cans to the bottles because the cans tasted like my favorite sparkling waters. Each captured the essence of its flavor without being overwhelming — in fact, the lime was even too subtle. The bottles, on the other hand, tasted like the sucralose used in them, and they weren't even super carbonated. This wasn't a hard ranking to do, but if your preferences differ from mine, you'll likely have a different opinion on Kirkland's sparkling water offerings. 

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