I Tried And Ranked 10 Liquid IV Flavors

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The summer heat is in full swing, and with it comes the risk of dehydration. According to the National Library of Medicine, dehydration is a main reason for hospitalization in the United States, leading to about 1% to 3% of all hospital admissions. For children and older adults especially, the risk of dehydration is one to take seriously, which means being prepared.

Water is, of course, the original hydrator, but the human body needs other things to function properly. Electrolytes like sodium and potassium are key for muscle function — which is why bananas are good to prevent cramping — but these elements aren't found in water alone, which is where products like Liquid I.V. come into play.

Thanks to sweet flavors that include either real sugar or a proprietary amino acid-allulose blend that helps speed up fluid absorption in the brand's sugar-free lineup, Liquid I.V. is designed to hydrate quickly and keep you that way. The real question, then, is what flavor to pour into your water. I tried 10 of Liquid I.V.'s most popular flavors. Read on to find out which ones you should be sipping on this summer.

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

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Of the 10 flavors I tried, six of them were sugar-free, including the Sugar-Free Rainbow Sherbet. Sweetened with allulose — a naturally occurring sugar found in figs, raisins, maple syrup, and more foods – this flavor promises the sweetness of rainbow sherbet with fewer calories. At 20 calories per serving, less than half of the standard flavors, at least one promise is fulfilled, even if it's lacking in taste.

This flavor needs more punch. If you know the aim is rainbow sherbet, it's hardly a surprise after a taste or two, but this isn't a flavor I'd be able to blindly guess. While color is hardly a driving factor in my ranking, the Sugar-Free Rainbow Sherbet has the most off-putting appearance, thanks to its cloudy, muted yellow. Add in a smell that's good, but not anything amazing, and this is a flavor that's not bad so much as underwhelming. That'll be a common theme through the back half of this list: flavors that simply need to be more in order to succeed.

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Whether you call it a Firecracker, or a Rocket Pop, you know the taste of a red, white, and blue popsicle on a summer day is hard to beat. Liquid I.V. isn't the first brand to put its own twist on the iconic frozen treat, some of which come with wildly mixed results. For Liquid I.V., the Popsicle Firecracker should be renamed to something a bit less explosive, perhaps a sparkler.

At 50 calories per stick, this is one of the traditional flavors made with cane sugar. Real sugar plus the promise of a popsicle-inspired flavor would lead you to believe this one would be sweet, but it falls a bit flat. Most of the flavor lands in the aftertaste and even that is muted. Maybe it's the sodium — 500 milligrams — making it difficult for the sweeter notes to come through, but this is a flavor that simply can't live up to the hype of its name. Plenty of Liquid I.V. flavors taste sweet, but this one doesn't measure up to the expectations it sets.

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From one end of the sweetness spectrum to the other, we've arrived at Cotton Candy. One particularly fun element of this flavor is that in a 16-stick package, half are Pink Cotton Candy flavored and half are Blue. I tried both and now feel super uncertain about my position as a professional food writer.

One thing that both flavors have in common is that they're super sweet. However, they both contain the same 11 grams of sugar and dextrose, a high-intensity sweetener. The Blue Cotton Candy also has stevia leaf extract, another sweetener, but it's far enough down the ingredient deck that I doubt it's making much of an impact. Still, these two flavors are far sweeter than any others I tried, which makes sense when you consider cotton candy is just spun sugar. They're also the most vibrantly colored by a mile.

My real dilemma came when deciding between the two flavors. The Blue is like drinking a shot of straight sugar. If there's a flavor beyond sweet, I'm not getting it, which is why I prefer the Pink, which is a little more muted and has more traditional cotton candy vibes. However, I'm not entirely sure the flavors are actually that different. My mind may very well be playing tricks on me. Either way, if you're into super sweet beverages, this one might be for you, but if not, keep it moving for more balanced flavor options.

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The newest addition to Liquid I.V.'s lineup is another childhood-treat-inspired flavor. The Ring Pop is the ultimate example of a good concept with poor execution. There's simply no way to consume one without ending up with sticky fingers, so getting the opportunity to enjoy the flavor by drinking it seems like a slam dunk. Instead, it's more of a layup: effective, but not quite as exciting as it could be.

The flavor itself is spot on, but like with the Popsicle Firecracker, it's not all that strong. I don't need the overwhelming sweetness of the Cotton Candy duo, but this is a drink inspired by a candy, so it should taste like it. There's no coloring to the drink either, which I don't mind because half the time, the powder is being added to a non-clear water bottle, but with an underwhelming flavor and zero visual evidence to prove otherwise, it's easy to dismiss this as a simple cherry flavor rather than something more fun. It's not a total misfire, and I'll definitely be drinking this flavor as I work through my stash, but the promise of a fun, sweet, nostalgia-fueled hydration break falls short.

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All the sugar-free flavors I sampled contained between 15 and 20 calories, except the Sugar-Free Ring Pop Cherry, which contains 25 calories. The sodium levels are similarly uniform: most flavors contain 500 milligrams, regardless of sugar content, with a few outliers reaching up to 520 milligrams. That's to say, there's a lot of uniformity across the various flavors, which means taste is really the most defining factor from one to the next.

In the case of the Sugar-Free Strawberry Watermelon, the scent is also worth noting: it smells artificial. The taste follows closely behind, with an unmistakable mix of artificial watermelon and strawberry that's reminiscent of Laffy Taffy. Between the two flavors, the watermelon is more dominant, which is why this one doesn't rank higher for me. I'm not in love with watermelon candy, but if you are, this will definitely speak to your palate. The flavor is strong without being overpowering, and it works well enough to balance out the naturally salty nature of a hydration drink for a tasty beverage that isn't my favorite but could easily be yours.

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It's no secret that there's a strong connection between scents, tastes, and memory. If you've ever taken a bite or a whiff of a food and been transported back to a specific place and time, you've experienced a Proustian moment, a sensory experience that triggers a rush of memories often long past or even seemingly forgotten. For me, a taste of Lemon Lime Liquid I.V. shot me back to middle school soccer camp, where I spent hours on a 100 degrees Fahrenheit turf field in the middle of July with nothing but the sweet, sour, salty taste of Lemon Lime Gatorade to keep me alive.

If the yellow version of the OG sports drink is your go-to, you'll love Liquid I.V.'s spin on the flavor, and according to the data, most people do. The company sent me a list of the top 10 selling flavors, and I tried all of them except for the Sugar-Free Lemon Lime because the standard flavor was also on the list. If Lemon Lime appears twice in the top 10, it's clearly a winner. The only possible knock on this one is that the salty flavor does come through more than in some other flavors, but I think it's part of the charm rather than a negative.

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We've officially left the non-fruit-flavored options in the rearview. No offense to popsicles, suckers, and sherbet, but I prefer the taste of real fruit in a drink, which is what the Sugar-Free White Peach offers. This is another flavor that's more on the muted side, but it actually works better that way. The smell of peaches gives this one an almost tea-like feel that carries over into the first sips.

White peaches are lower in acidity and generally sweeter than their traditional counterparts, which blend sweetness with tart notes. In the case of Liquid I.V.'s take on white peach, the sweetness is tasked with balancing the salty side and does so handily. Of all the flavors, this one might be the most casually drinkable, making it an ideal fit for a sweltering summer day rather than after an intense workout. Regardless of when you choose to drink it, though, this flavor is a winner.

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Sometimes simpler is better. While I enjoyed the Sugar-Free Strawberry Watermelon enough to slot it into the middle of the list, I much prefer the basic, standalone flavor. With 520 milligrams of sodium per stick, the Strawberry flavor has the highest sodium count, but you wouldn't know it from the taste. Without another competing flavor, the single fruit is allowed to shine through in a way that never reaches syrupy, but is strong enough to counteract the salt. Like the others in the top three, I would recommend this to anyone looking to try Liquid I.V. for the first time as a good introductory flavor.

As one of the traditional varieties containing sugar, Strawberry comes in a package with 16 servings. The sugar-free varieties, on the other hand, come in packs of 14. You might think there would be a price difference, and there is, with the standard option retailing for $24.99 online while the sugar-free varieties are marked at $21.84, meaning both even out to $1.56 per serving. At the very least, that allows you to shop based on preference rather than price.

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Mandarin oranges are not really oranges. I know, mind blown, right? They're close, though, and as a member of the citrus family, we'll give you a pass for not having their exact taxonomy memorized. The taste of a mandarin is generally sweeter and less acidic than that of a typical orange, making it perfect for counteracting the all-important sodium in Liquid I.V.

Like the Strawberry flavor, this one is beautifully simple. The drink smells like mandarin oranges and tastes like them, too. Orange-flavored drinks can be tricky because they run the risk of winding up tasting like watered-down orange juice, but the additional sweetness of the mandarin helps avoid that pitfall. The salty and sweet combo gives off margarita vibes, more than even the Lemon Lime, which makes this another flavor that works just as well in a relaxed environment as at the gym or after a run.

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Thanks to the smell of this flavor, I felt like I was on a tropical beach before I even took a sip. I love a good tropical flavor, and Liquid I.V. absolutely nails it with the Sugar-Free Mango Pineapple. The taste is just as good, thanks to sweet notes of mango and pineapple in equal measure. As with the Mandarin Orange, the salty notes pair really well with these fruits, giving the entire drink a great balance and wonderful flavor that I'll be coming back to frequently.

On the whole, this list of flavors has few weak points. Yes, some underwhelm, but none are bad. If you've never had a Liquid I.V. or similar hydration drink, you have to know what you're getting: a sodium-packed beverage that's designed to replenish any liquids that you've lost. That means they're salty by design, which is why finding the right balance of sweetness is so important. I'm excited to see what Liquid I.V. comes up with in the future, but for now, I'll be staying plenty hydrated.

Sam Zwick/Mashed

Liquid I.V. recently reached out to me, offering samples of the latest flavor release, Sugar-Free Ring Pop Cherry. Rather than just reviewing the new flavor, I wanted to try the best the brand had to offer, so Liquid I.V. sent me the top 10 flavors along with the newcomer.

I mixed up a packet of each in a 16-ounce water bottle, snapped some photos, and began hydrating. My evaluations were based on taste, smell, and overall execution of the promised flavor.