6 Sprite Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

I have a confession to make: This job has turned me into your classic drink girl. I've never craved carbonated drinks, water is always my beverage of choice, and coffee and cocktails are the two alternative beverages I'll indulge in. But since trying and reviewing more than my fair share of bubbly probiotic beverages, various grape soda flavors, and even Pepsi's newest offerings, it's hard to get through the day without a can of something sparkling — yet somehow, I hadn't yet taken the opportunity to explore Sprite's range of offerings.

It's a little embarrassing to admit that I didn't know Sprite had more than a couple flavors to choose from. There's the obvious lemon-lime variety, and I was vaguely aware of the existence of a zero-sugar alternative. But a tropical can? A lemonade-inspired beverage? One that mixes Sprite with tea? Apparently Sprite lives in a limitless world, so I figured it was high time to expand my own knowledge on the offerings. While I could enjoy some again, others were decidedly lackluster, so without further ado, here's my definitive ranking of the company's flavor lineup.

So, it's clear that Sprite was going for its own version of an Arnold Palmer-esque drink here — and I thoroughly hated it. I'm saying this as a general fan of Arnold Palmers and similar lemonade-tea mixes, which I usually find bright and refreshing. Usually, I'm of the opinion that a shot or two of something can save many an iffy beverage, and spiked Arnold Palmers are typically a treat, but I'm convinced not even a dram of my favorite liquor could save this can. 

Unfortunately, what seemed a promising concept didn't deliver, partially because of the Sprite's signature lime flavor (which proved to be a clashing note in more than one drink). The black tea and lime flavors fought for attention and the black tea was entirely too strong. Instead of getting a cohesive tea-lemonade beverage, I got a potent sparkling black tea with undercurrents of lemon-lime. I may have liked this can more had the black tea been slightly more muted; as-is, it's an unbalanced drink that easily took the bottom spot on this list.  

Are you surprised to see the OG Sprite only taking the fifth spot? Yeah, when having Lemon-Lime alongside all the other options in this ranking, I just couldn't give it a high score. Actually, my first reaction after taking a sip was to wonder if the company had changed the formula in the past few years since I'd had it last. I used to like getting the occasional Sprite when driving through a fast food joint — it was always a light, refreshing drink. This, however, was not. 

So I did my research and, as it turns out, Sprite did change the recipe to both its OG and Zero Sugar flavors in 2023. Its goal was to appeal to a younger audience. While I'm no longer in my twenties, I feel I can definitively say that this was a change for the worse. I found its lemon-lime flavor to be more subtle than I was accustomed to, and it had a bitter aftertaste that I don't remember ever experiencing with the drink. I actively disliked the original Sprite flavor and, assuming this is what's used in the following flavored cans, it explains why I preferred the flavors that masked this odd attempt at a lemon-lime improvement.

As it turns out, adding cherry into the mix did make for a slight improvement to Sprite's base flavor, which I really wasn't expecting. I'm not the biggest fan of cherry flavoring, and I thought I'd give this a lower score than this — though, to be sure, I can't really call getting fourth place out of six a high spot. I'm not sure why the brand chooses to dub this bottle Chill (perhaps cherry is supposed to bring a cooling aspect to the drink?), but it seems to be fairly effective branding nonetheless.

I can't really wax poetic about it, though, because the cherry flavor was the only thing I liked about this Sprite variety; in fact, I found myself wishing Sprite had ditched its own profile entirely in favor of something more fruit-forward. Cherry and lime clashed big time in this bottle, and a plus was that I got more cherry notes than lime notes. Overall, I can call this a bright, refreshing drink that fans of Sprite would probably enjoy (unless you prefer yours unadulterated). I just found the following to be better twists on the original.

You'd think that a sugarless drink would taste nearly identical to its sugary counterpart, wouldn't you? So did I, and fortunately, I was mistaken. Perhaps it's just that I'm used to aspartame-enhanced sugarless drinks, but I thought this was noticeably better than classic Sprite. I do have an inkling that Sprite made with real cane sugar might surpass both these offerings; should I get my hands on some, I'll let you know.

Where I thought the aforementioned lemon-lime Sprite was very subtle, I got way more flavor toward the beginning of the sip with this bottle. It also seemed slightly more effervescent, though I'd call that a very small difference. I also didn't get as much of a bitter aftertaste as I did with the other bottle. I will say, I think I noticed these differences because I was looking for them, and I'm not sure how much of a difference the casual Sprite drinker would sense between these two bottles, especially if not tried in succession. For me, it's an easy pick over standard Lemon-Lime.

Sprite Tropical Mix snagged my number two spot, but it might be hard to get your hands on — I had to order a whole case of this flavor through Walmart's website. Giving it the second-to-top spot could be a controversial opinion. It doesn't taste like regular Sprite, which (as you may be able to guess by now) is why I liked it so much. There aren't any tasting notes indicated on the can, but though I wasn't sure what to expect, it somehow still delivered.

I got some pineapple and orange notes here, and they cast a pleasant shadow over the lemon-lime profile that I couldn't endear myself to. Moreover, it was perhaps the most flavorful of all the types I tried; it actually vied for first place, but I think the following is a more universally palatable pick. This can is bright and zesty, and I only called it a potentially controversial beverage because if you're attached to the original Sprite flavor profile, you may be disappointed by this one. However, if your opinions on Sprite are neither here nor there, this is worth giving a try — provided you can find some, of course. 

I'm going to call it coincidence and not bias that I picked the lemonade flavor as my top choice in both this ranking and my ranking of Logan Paul's Prime drinks. Well, technically, this one is dubbed Lymonade, but the intent is the same. Given that this emphasized lemon notes over lime, I wasn't surprised to find that it was pretty easy to put in the top spot; after all, I took the most issue with the lime notes in the other bottles that I had qualms with.

If personal preference were at the forefront of my decision-making, I may have given the number one place to Tropical Mix. But for fans of Sprite looking for an upgraded version of the drink, this fits the bill — it capitalizes on all the good things about OG Sprite, while putting a welcoming twist on the beverage. It does indeed taste like an effervescent lemonade, but it's more tart than you'd expect from your typical lemonade. I, however, liked the slight zing this lent the beverage, and it's one I would have again (and one I can unquestionably recommend to Sprite devotees).

To compile this ranking, I grabbed one of every flavor I could find — and some were hard to track down (as with the Tropical Mix cans). Ranking them wasn't a difficult task, as I found some flavors kind of clashing, like the can that included black tea. On the whole, I was surprised to find that the classic lemon-lime variety was among my least favorite flavors; typically classics have some staying power, but I found nearly every other entry to be stronger. 

My top two flavors featured harmonious flavors that offered something a little more than the original Sprite, and I fluctuated between each of them in terms of choosing my number one pick. However, I thought Lymonade deserved the honor — it was the ideal upgrade to Lemon-Lime Sprite without veering too far from the original. I'll definitely keep a few Sprites on hand to use as mixers, but I can't say I'll go out of my way to get my hands on many of the brand's selections.