Can't Handle a Pure Shot of Apple Cider Vinegar? Try These Tasty ACV Drinks Instead
If you want the healthy benefits of apple cider vinegar without the harsh taste, these delicious ACV-based drinks will have you slugging it all season.
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Apple cider vinegar drinks deliver all the benefits of ACV without the harsh taste.
Apple cider vinegar is a true darling of the wellness community, especially during cold and flu season since it's thought to kill germs. The pungent fermented apple juice is known to have loads of other health benefits, too, from managing blood sugar to improving digestive health and even aiding in weight loss.
Those who subscribe to the cult of ACV maintain that a shot every morning will resolve and prevent a host of ailments, but apple cider vinegar is, well, vinegar, and can be harsh to drink straight, even when it's cut with water or chased with juice.
If you seek the potential benefits of apple cider vinegar without having to down a sour shot every morning, there's a growing lineup of tasty apple cider vinegar drinks to ease you into an ACV lifestyle. These vinegar-based beverages are often mixed with fresh ffruit juice, honey and ginger (also thought to have health benefits) and are meant to be enjoyed, not endured.
I tried six of them including an ACV sparkling water, some fruit juice blends and a few premade shots. Below you'll find the best sippers and shooters to get your daily fix of apple cider vinegar that won't strip the enamel from your teeth or turn your stomach inside out.
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.
