These apple cider vinegar-flavored drinks make downing the healthy elixir that much more enjoyable.
Apple cider vinegar is popular for the amount of health benefits it offers. It is a miracle drink, with the ability to kill bacteria, improve gut health and cholesterol levels, making it an essential drink for those with a variety of ailments. But at the same time, the drink is also known for its taste: it tastes like heated death (or ice, if you want it cool), and most people can't stomach it. Fortunately, there are a selection of drinks that contain apple cider vinegar while providing a much better taste, including sodas, mugs, and more.
Do you want all the potential benefits of apple cider vinegar, but don't want to drink it straight? Don't worry, there are other alternatives. These apple cider vinegar-based drinks are mixed with fresh fruit juice, honey and ginger — also known for their health benefits — and are meant to be enjoyed, not tolerated.
If these ACV drinks don't hit the spot, don't worry—it's not a total loss. Share leftovers with friends or family as a careful post-holiday treatment. After all, it is the season of giving, and nothing goes to waste.
I tried seven options, including apple cider vinegar (ACV) sparkling water, several blends of ACV and fruit juices, and several flavored shots of premixed vinegar. Below, you'll find a list of my favorite drinks and quick shots to help you get your everyday apple cider vinegar fix, along with what I thought of their taste.
Read more: The ABCs of Apple Cider Vinegar: Benefits, Precautions, and Correct Dosage
Watch this: Taste testing 6 drinks with apple cider vinegar
The best drinks with apple cider vinegar
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Braggs Refreshers contain apple cider vinegar along with juice, lemon and other natural ingredients to create a refreshing drink anchored by healthy apple cider vinegar. The drinks come in four flavors, but I liked the Ginger Lemon Refresher best. The 40-calorie refreshers have a lot of kombucha flavor and are best consumed cold or over ice.
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Sides aren't your typical sugar-packed soda. These fruity and tart sodas mix healthy ACV with plum, strawberry and mango juice and a dash of New Zealand honey. All three recipes I tried were excellent; not too sweet and perfectly refreshing. I enjoyed the plum strawberry the most and found that the fizzy drink was best when topped with ice.
Affiliates aren't cheap. You can order a 12-pack from the website for $39.
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This fun and flashy line of low-calorie sodas is marketed as a digestive health aid and boasts apple cider vinegar as the third ingredient after water and cane sugar. Poppi prebiotic sodas come in several flavors; I tried lemon-strawberry and ginger-lime and found them both delicious. The apple cider vinegar taste is milder than some other drinks I've tried, and with 4 grams of sugar, the sodas aren't too sweet and only have 25 calories.
A 12-pack of Poppi's Healthier Sodas is $30 at Walmart or $8 for a four-pack at Target.
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If you prefer to reduce your ACV by one sip, you can try pre-mixed apple cider vinegar-based shots. Remedy's version is meant to aid digestion and contains apple cider vinegar, prebiotic zinc and vitamin D along with ginger, honey and cayenne pepper to balance the tart taste.
A pack of 12 2-ounce shots costs $50 on Amazon.
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Bragg has a line of apple cider vinegar shots available in several flavor combinations. All of them are pretty tasty, but the carrot-ginger and pineapple-cayenne were my personal favorites. The 20-calorie shots are sweetened with organic honey and fruit juice and go down smoother than rum in July. A package of four 2-ounce cups costs about $13 on Amazon.
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If you like your apple cider vinegar with an extra dose of immune-boosting vitamins, try Emergen-C's Immune Support Daily Packs with added botanicals for energy. Each 35-calorie package contains 260 mg of dehydrated ACV. It's not clear if powdered apple cider vinegar is as potent as vinegar in its liquid form, but the powdered elixir is high in vitamins C, B-6, and B-12, so it's certainly not harmful to stick some mixed with water during cold. and flu season.
These drink mixes taste good, but were my least favorite of the bunch. I missed the fresh juice and tanginess that comes with the other drinks on this list. An 18-pack costs $10 on Amazon.
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I'm a huge soda drinker, so it's no surprise that I connected with this ACV drink. It is lighter and less intense than Bragg's Refreshers. The sweetness of the blood orange and a little stevia help offset the acidity of the vinegar.
ACV is the second ingredient after water in this 5 calorie drink, but this balanced sparkling drink is one I could see myself happily drinking every day. If you normally drink seltzer, it will probably be easy to incorporate it into your daily routine.
For more information on general health, find out if unpasteurized milk is safe to drink and how to do it an all natural home cleaner with only three ingredients.