Best Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks, All Tested by Us
Drinking apple cider vinegar has health benefits galore, but it can be harsh to swallow. These six ACV-based drinks make downing it a delight.
Our Experts
Our Picks
Apple cider vinegar is known to have a wealth of health benefits from improved gut function to blood sugar regulation and plenty more in between. ACV advocates say that just one shot per day can balance important bodily systems, but not everyone has the stomach for pure vinegar in the morning. Apple cider vinegar can be harsh when consumed straight, but there are tasty ACV-based drinks to make stomaching the superfood far more palatable. I've tested several to find the best apple cider vinegar drinks to buy.
These flavored Apple Cider Vinegar drinks make downing the healthy elixir a whole lot more pleasant.
If you want the potential benefits of apple cider vinegar without having to drink it straight, there's a lineup of tasty apple cider vinegar beverages and sweetened shots to ease you into that healthy ACV lifestyle. These apple cider vinegar-based beverages are mixed with fresh fruit juice, honey and ginger -- also known for health benefits -- and are meant to be enjoyed, not endured.
I tried six in total, including an ACV sparkling water, a few ACV and fruit juice blends along with flavored, premixed vinegar shots. Below you'll find the best sippers and shooters for getting your daily fix of apple cider vinegar without offending your teeth or tastebuds.
Read more: The ABCs of Apple Cider Vinegar: Benefits, Precautions and Proper Dosage
Best apple cider vinegar drinks
Braggs refreshers contain apple cider vinegar along with juice, lemon and other natural ingredients to create a refreshing beverage anchored by healthy apple cider vinegar. The beverages come in four flavors, but I liked the lemon ginger refresher best. The 40-calorie refreshers taste a lot like kombucha and are best consumed cold or poured over ice.
From Bragg's website, Refreshers cost about $5 or $6 each, but you can bag a four-pack for $12.40 on Walmart.com.
Remedy Apple Cider Vinegar Sparkling Water
I'm a massive sparkling water drinker so it's no surprise that I connected with this ACV drink. It's lighter and less intense than Bragg's Refreshers. The sweetness of the blood orange and a bit of stevia helps to offset the tartness of the vinegar.
ACV is the second ingredient after water in this 5-calorie beverage, but this balanced sparkling drink is one I could see myself happily downing every day. If you're a habitual seltzer drinker, you'll likely find it easy to incorporate into your daily routine too.
Poppi Prebiotic ACV Sodas
This fun and flashy line of low-calorie sodas is marketed as aiding in digestive health 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 both delicious. The ACV flavor is tamer than in some of the other beverages I tried, and with 4 grams of sugar, the sodas aren't too sweet and have just 25 calories.
A 12-pack of Poppi's healthier ACV sodas costs $24 on Amazon or $11 for a four-pack at Target.
Remedy ACV Immunity Shot
If you prefer to down your ACV in one gulp, there are premixed apple cider vinegar-based shots to try. Remedy's version is intended to aid in digestion and contains apple cider vinegar, prebiotic zinc and vitamin D along with ginger, honey and cayenne pepper to balance the tart flavor.
A 12-pack of 2-ounce shots goes for $50 on Remedy's website.
Bragg Flavored ACV Shots
Bragg has a line of ACV shots available in several flavor combos. 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 punch in July. A pack of four 2-ounce shots costs about $11 on Bragg's website or $12 on Amazon.
Emergen-C ACV Packets
If you want your ACV with an extra shot of immune-boosting vitamins, try Emergen-C's daily immune support packets with added botanicals for energy. Each 35-calorie packet contains 260mg of dehydrated ACV. It's unclear if powdered ACV is as potent as vinegar in its liquid form, but the powdered elixir contains loads of vitamins C, B-6 and B-12, so it certainly can't hurt to slug one mixed with water during cold and flu season.
These drink mixes taste OK but were my least favorite of the bunch. I missed the punch of fresh juice and tartness that comes with the other beverages on this list. A package of 18 packets is $12 on Amazon.
For more, find out if unpasteurized milk is safe to drink and how to make an all-natural home cleaner with just three ingredients.