If you swing by the Condé Nast office and notice that Bon Appétit is the only brand with a desk-side beverage fridge, you can thank our inaugural Pantry Awards for the upgrade. Our team successfully lobbied for a Rocco Fridge so we could properly taste-test every nominee in this year’s drinks category. For months, we’ve been sampling cans between edit meetings, alongside our desk lunches, and through the 3 p.m. slump. Plenty didn’t make it back into refrigeration, while others earned a dedicated shelf (or two…).
So what makes a drink worthy of a spot in our office fridge? We were looking for drinks that delivered more than hydration.
Many of our favorites lean into culinary history, like Tractor’s Haymaker, which revives the farmer’s switchel of yesteryear; Bawi’s bubbly take on Mexican agua frescas; and Yuzuco’s cold-pressed Japanese yuzu juice blended with sparkling water. Others pushed flavor boundaries: Walker Brothers’ Forest Water is flavored with ingredients like white pine bark and clover blossoms, while Oomee’s tea-infused marine plant beverage is bolstered with algae-derived agar agar. And Ghia’s Blood Orange Le Spritz showed us that the nonalcoholic space still has plenty of innovation left in the tank.
After tasting our way through 170 drink submissions, these six stood out.
A Test Kitchen fridge filled with finalists.
Photo by Travis Rainey
YUZUCO Sparkling Yuzu + Minerals
Yuzuco
Sparkling Yuzu + Minerals
Yuzuco combines cold-pressed yuzu juice with sparkling water and minerals to craft a refreshing drink that tastes fresh-squeezed. We love it on its own straight from the can, but it makes for a mean cocktail mixer too.
One tester said: “Yuzuco knows its way around citrus, and its new sparkling water line is no exception. Labelled ‘yuzu + minerals’ (touting vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, potassium and Himalayan sea salt), it kinda-sorta-maybe sounds like a so-called ‘functional beverage’? But it doesn’t drink like one: It’s a juicy burst of citrus that washes one’s palate with light, refreshingly salty bubbles—it kinda gives paloma vibes over a post-run thirst quencher.” —Joseph Hernandez, director of culture
Bawi La Guyaba Agua Fresca
Bawi
La Guayaba Agua Fresca
Bawi adds a sparkling twist to the vibrant flavors of traditional agua fresca. Made with real fruit and just a touch of sugar, Pink Guava (a new flavor released last summer) is juicy and bright, with notes of hibiscus and orange.
One tester said: “Bawi sparkling water flavors are reminiscent of the huge containers of juice or agua fresca kept in my family’s fridge when I was growing up. Cold water infused with fresh fruit; pulp, rind and all. The sparkles are a refreshing upgrade on a classic.” —Leo Estevez, designer
Tractor Beverage Co. Haymaker
Tractor Beverage Co.
Haymaker
Haymaker is new to the Tractor lineup but has roots in a four-hundred-year-old tradition. According to the brand, the sparkling vinegar tonic is inspired by the switchels and shrubs made by Barbadian field workers in the 1600s. Today’s version is made with apple cider vinegar and flavored by natural ingredients like ginger, peach, lemon, and berries. It’s light, crisp, and tart—the perfect sip on a steamy day.
One tester said: “I usually avoid sparkling waters and similar beverages, but I really like the Tractor drinks and appreciate how much flavor they have while still tasting natural and refreshing.” —Oadhan Lynch, associate video producer
Ghia Blood Orange Le Spritz
Ghia
Blood Orange Le Spritz
The non-alc boom is still going strong, and Ghia’s been one of our favorite players in the space for years. The brand’s newest flavor of its canned Le Spritz combines sweet-tart blood orange juice with a hint of woodsy marjoram and Ghia’s signature apéritif base for a sparkling bev that’s balanced and complex.
One tester said: “This is my go-to non-alcoholic beverage. It’s delicious, bright, and the cans are the perfect size.” —Abi Lieff, assistant to the editor-in-chief
Oomee Marine Plant Beverage
Oomee
Matcha Marine Plant Beverage
Not everybody looking for a pick-me-up drink wants to crack open an intensely acidic and carbonated beverage that comes in flavors like lethal lemonade or Barrett’s esophagus blueberry. Compared to those energy drinks, Oomee is practically a vagus nerve reset. The matcha-based flavors are a refreshing mixture of tea and fruit juice, and the added agar agar makes it go down even easier.
One tester said: “Oomee looks like the kind of brightly colored energy beverage I’d normally pass on. However, the flavors are subtle and not overly sweet (my favorite is the matcha lemon mint), with the most apparent flavor being tea. They aren’t carbonated either, so the overall drinking experience is smooth and pleasant.” —Wilder Davies, senior shopping writer
Walker Brothers Forest Water
Walker Brothers
Forest Water
Forest water isn’t a drink for everybody, and that’s a good thing. Complex botanical flavors have a way of evoking a range of reactions from people, especially when they have floral, grassy, or slightly astringent notes that aren’t common in a canned beverage. But for the people who love DIYing herbal tea blends, have a library of gins in their liquor cabinet, or simply like trying new flavors, this soda will provide exactly what you’re looking for in a drink.
One tester said: “The alpine flavor has fresh juniper and elderberry notes that are great as is, but would pair nicely with gin. The meadow variety contains a medley of florals and birch that tastes like a more nuanced Sprite.” —W.D.
