12 San Pellegrino Sparkling Drinks, Ranked

San Pellegrino is a mainstay in the world of sparkling water and has been around for 125 years and counting. It sources its mineral water naturally via the Italian Alps, and you can find the brand in stores in well over 100 countries around the globe. I only knew about the company's sparkling water and grew up with my parents consistently pouring a drink from the large green bottle — more frequently around the holidays when it was enjoyed as a special festive beverage.  

I was intrigued to discover that the brand has a wider scope of sparkling drinks aside from the plain one I was familiar with, and I wanted to taste test some of them. While there are more San Pellegrino products on the market than I was able to get my hands on, I found a few options in my area. I located three kinds of drinks: sparkling waters lightly flavored with fruit juice, stronger fruit-forward sparkling drinks, and options with zero added sugar. I tasted and ranked these drinks purely on flavor and personal preference. Come with me on a carbonated adventure to discover which drinks I couldn't stop sipping, but also those I wouldn't necessarily order next time.

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

The Ciao Blood Orange is one of San Pellegrino's flavored sparkling waters made with real fruit juices — there are a total of six on this list. These sparkling beverages are naturally low in sugar (this one has 1 gram) because they're mostly sparkling water with a hint of fruit juice to give them the advertised flavor. Keep this in mind, as there are three different types of drinks in this ranking.

The Ciao Blood Orange drink has blood orange and lemon juice concentrates to provide essence. However, this received the last place because it has a lingering bitterness that doesn't make it all that pleasant to sip. There isn't much dimension to divert your attention — blood orange and lemon both provide a tart, bitter profile — so the sharpness remains the focal point, solidifying its last-place spot.

Your classic limoncello has lemon zest, sugar, strong spirit, and water, but San Pellegrino's iteration doesn't have any of that (with less than 1 gram of sugar in a can). The Limoncello sparkling water is yet another option from the Ciao line; this time, we get a trio of lemon, blood orange, and orange juice concentrates. The aroma is faintly reminiscent of orange juice, but it tastes a bit flat. 

The canned drink is mildly lemony, like someone tried to squeeze a dry lemon into sparkling water, but only got a couple of droplets. The lemon is there but barely, and it doesn't offer much to the drink. I wouldn't call it limoncello. Instead, I would consider classifying it as a subtly lemony or citrus-flavored drink. While not astringent like the blood orange, I wouldn't sip this again solely because of the lack of flavor.

San Pellegrino Lemonade Zero Sugar Sparkling Drink is named as such because it has zero grams of added sugar. The name doesn't imply there is no sugar at all (here, we have 1 gram of total sugars) — this is an important distinction and is the second type of beverage you'll spot on this list. The Zero Sugar line has fruit juice inclusions (like the previous sparkling water options), but also contains sucralose to provide sweetness. This combination makes them more juice-like and sweet compared to the Ciao sparkling water ones.

This zero-added sugar lemonade has a very strange aroma, almost metallic, and it's not the most flavorful. The lemon is mild, and despite the addition of sucralose, it's not too sweet, which I can appreciate. Spoiler alert: The lighter sweetness is likely because it has 1 gram of sugar as opposed to the other zero-sugar options that have 3 and 4 grams. This is because lemon juice concentrate naturally doesn't have as much sugar as other options featured on this list. This fares slightly better than the Ciao Limoncello because the sucralose's sweetness gives it a better flavor, but not by much.

This Pomegranate & Orange Zero Sugar Sparkling Drink brings a more flavorful sip than the Zero Lemonade to solidify the ninth spot on this list. This time around, the sipper has 4 grams of natural sugars because of the pomegranate, orange, and black carrot juices. This juice blend gives it a complex fruity aroma that I wouldn't necessarily be able to put my nose on without reading the label. 

Initially, it's fruit-forward on the tongue — much more so than the lackluster lemonade — but the flavor goes away the moment the drink leaves your throat. The sucralose offers some more sweetness, followed by a mild aftertaste. While the pomegranate orange beverage is not unpleasant, I wouldn't go out to purchase it again. It tastes fine on its own, but there are many other flavors that are more interesting and better executed. That said, this flavor, as well as our No. 3 pick are available as a variety pack, and it's one of Costco's top hidden gems.

Despite the melograno and arancia moniker, this sparkling drink is actually the sugared-up version of the previous pomegranate and orange sipper. Rather than sucralose, we have sugar as the all-star ingredient, followed by the juice of orange, pomegranate, and lemon. This is the third type of San Pellegrino drink that I noted at the start; to recap, that means we have the sparkling water, sparkling drinks with zero added sugar, and then sparkling drinks with sugar — all of which contain real fruit juices.

The Melograno & Arancia with sugar has a similar aroma to the zero-added-sugar version but a much better flavor and aftertaste. Orange and pomegranate juices linger on the tongue, dancing with sweetened goodness. As I mentioned, the previous drink tastes good alone, but there is no comparison once pitted directly against this version. The sugar — 29 grams in total, to be exact — has a much better overall flavor that allows the fruitiness to shine stronger.

We're back to the sparkling waters, with the Ciao Cherry flavor. I like that this option contains sweet cherry, orange, and lemon juice to give it a little bit of a flavor boost. I don't see sweet cherry juice in many drinks; even sparkling waters that use real cherry juice tend to employ tart cherry. I don't need sugar or sucralose in my sparkling sipper to make it pleasant or worth drinking, which is why you'll see a couple more sparkling waters higher on this list — the cherry has 1 gram of sugar.

While I appreciate the real cherry juice addition, the orange and lemon detract from the red fruit's flavor. Although this cherry product only contains natural ingredients, something in the flavor comes across slightly odd, which is why I can't place it any higher.

Lime-flavored sparkling water is not revolutionary, but this San Pellegrino's version with 0 grams of sugar is still refreshing and a tasty drink option. The Ciao Lime is San Pellegrino's spin on a classic, no-fuss flavor, made with lime, orange, and lemon juices. It's crisp, a little zingy, if not slightly bitter, but it still brightens the drink when you want something that's not just basic sparkling water. The medley of juices also provides more dimension and real fruitiness, especially when compared to other brands that only contain sparkling water and natural flavors.

While this limey water isn't the most riveting flavor ever created, I'd still pick it out over anything I've discussed so far. I like the lack of sweetness and familiarity of lime, and my toddler really enjoyed this flavor, too. This would be the perfect sipper for a hot day by the pool. 

While other lemony San Pellegrino options lack strength, this Limonata Sparkling Beverage delivers a snappy flavor in each slurp. This is because it packs a trio of lemony wonders: lemon juice, lemon juice from concentrate, and lemon extract. This drink advertises 16% lemon juice from concentrate, which enhances the tangy profile, whereas the Lemonade Zero Sugar Sparkling Drink only has 10%. This amount, plus some sugar, makes all the difference, resulting in the best drink of the bunch (so far).

This sipper is like a light sparkling lemonade that's both refreshing and invigorating. The sweetness (26 grams of total sugars) acts as an equilibrium to the tart fruit to keep you going in for another sip. This is the perfect alternative to club soda and lemons in a lemony Tom Collins cocktail.

San Pellegrino's Aranciata Orange Sparkling Beverage is like a canned Orangina dupe. This creation blends orange and lemon juices, resulting in a bubbly beverage that's a delight to sip on. Lemonade is such a popular drink, but this orangey version takes the cake. Why isn't sparkling orange featured in more mocktails and cocktails? That's what I want to know.

This Aranciata beverage, with its 27 total grams of sugar, is like an alcohol-free mimosa that feels and tastes festive without any additions. Pop an ice-cold one open and enjoy it straight from the can for an after-work drink or a celebratory sip. The brand recommends adding some piney and citrusy juniper berries for a better experience, or you could add a touch of ginger ale to create a multidimensional non-alcoholic mimosa of sorts. This is a terrific option to have on hand for drink-making!

Despite the lower-ranking zero-sugar options, the Peach & Clementine Zero Sugar Sparkling Drink successfully wiggles its way into the third-place spot. The sucralose is mellowed because of the peach and clementine juices, which offer 3 grams of sugar, and it doesn't leave a lingering aftertaste like it was the case with other options. The peach is potent, fragrant, and juicy, while the clementine is sweet with a mildly tart twist. 

I truly love that all these San Pellegrino beverages contain real juice; it sets the brand's drinks apart from many other competitors since it offers a genuine fruity touch to each option. That element really benefits this specific flavor to round out the sucralose while also making it the best of all the drinks I sampled (yet). Another writer noted that the Peach & Clementine was the best of the zero-sugar options they tried, too, so it's a widely liked flavor. It's only beaten out by a couple of other options.

San Pellegrino's unflavored Sparkling Natural Mineral Water is the brand's classic representative that comes in glass or PET bottles of varying sizes, and a sleek can. This classic is the version I'm most familiar with, and its fuss-free, palatable flavor gives it high marks on my ranking. It's worth mentioning that it was also a runner-up in our ranking of popular bottled water brands. In those moments when you simply want sparkling water, without any added sweeteners or flavors, then the plain mineral water is the way to go.

It's delightfully bubbly and naturally contains sodium and calcium. There's a touch of barely-there acidity because of the carbon dioxide, but it settles as you swallow the water. This is the most versatile option of the bunch, too, allowing you to drink it as it comes, but you can also be creative with additional flavors. Try mixing this San Pellegrino sparkling water with coconut water, cordial, or non-alcoholic botanical spirits for some tasty alcohol-free mocktail options.

Ciao Peach Sparkling Water surprised me with its genuine peachy essence, but this shouldn't be all that surprising as it's based on natural juices. This flavor has peach, blood orange, and lemon juice concentrates that create a balanced flavor. It's still mostly peachy, so the blood orange isn't as bitter as it was in the previous blood orange sparkling water (which ranked last). I don't see peach juice featured in sparkling waters all that often, which makes this option an uncommon yet wonderfully executed beverage. 

I like that it has 1 gram of sugar that naturally comes in the juice, which makes it lighter and more refreshing to sip on than some of the sweeter drinks. I like it slightly more than the plain sparkling water just because it has that unique peach flavor added to the mix. I don't have to go out of my way to find and purchase peach juice to mix into the plain water, either. This is easily the best of the San Pellegrino sparkling drinks that I tried, and I'd happily incorporate it into my drink repertoire. 

I purchased several drinks from my local Albertsons, while San Pellegrino also supplied some as samples. There are a lot of flavors and options that I didn't see available at my store or near me, but it's worth looking into because the flavors seem quite fascinating. I tried all drinks in one afternoon and drank sips of water in between as a way to cleanse my palate.

Seeing as all the drinks have a similar foundation of carbonated water and then fruit juice or flavoring (plus other ingredients), I based my ranking on flavor and personal preferences. Beverages that were pleasant and hit the advertised flavor notes ranked high, while muted, uninteresting, or slightly bitter options ranked lower. I mention sugar content as a way to clarify the zero-sugar-added drinks and to give context to how sweet a drink is, as it plays a part in the overall flavor. Of course, my personal taste factors in, so you might be a big fan of one of my lower-ranking flavors — neither of us is wrong.