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    Home » drinks » cocktails » Types of Sparkling Waters

    cocktails

    Types of Sparkling Waters


    Drank a bottle of Boylan's Seltzer Water for the first time last night. It was THE MOST refreshing "sparkling" water I have EVER HAD.

    Though this could just be my mild morning-afterglow talking. (!)

    Really though, I doubt that the seltzer water was more refreshing merely because of temperature. The flavor was different — or rather, the no flavor — and it seemed like the bubbles were bigger. And there were more of them. And it was so awesome that I took 9,000 pictures of a bottle of water at the bar.

    I asked myself many questions. How could this water be so much more refreshy than others? Was it the specific brand (Boylan's)? Was it the size and shape of the bottle?

    Was it...the type of water?!?!

    This, of course, reminded me that I have, in fact, been plagued by the unclear (to me) differences among the "sparkling waters" for months, and finally hurled me into a research fury this morning.

    So I have cleared it up, once and for all.

    Though this still does not explain why/how last night's bottle of Boylan's was so good. I will be continuing research.

    "Sparkling" Water Types

    from general to specific...

    • carbonated water ~ any water that is effervescent because carbon dioxide has been dissolved into it
    • soda water ~ synonymous with generic "carbonated water" (above)
    • seltzer water ~ artificially carbonated water with no other added ingredients
    • club soda ~ artificially carbonated water with added salts for flavor
    • sparkling water ~ naturally carbonated mineral* water with naturally occurring salts and minerals

    * side note no. 1 * "Mineral water" can be either sparkling or flat
    * side note no. 2 * Tonic water has nothing to do with any of these. It contains something called quinine that makes it bitter. It also has 100 horrible, wasteful calories per serving.
    * side note no. 3 * Yes, yes I know that sparkling water plaguing my sanity for months basically makes me a total psycho. Whatever. I also take pictures of gummi bears.

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    Comments

    1. Deana@lostpastremembered says

      September 17, 2011 at 11:51 pm

      i love their  root beer too!!

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        September 18, 2011 at 7:22 am

        deana ~ and i see that they also have ginger ale, too... which i will *of course* have to try!

        Reply
    2. my fudo says

      September 18, 2011 at 4:33 am

      Very Interesting Indeed!

      Reply
    3. Sarah Spigelman says

      September 18, 2011 at 8:21 am

      As someone who is obsessed with anything that bubbles, I find this FABULOUS! I am also a HUGE fan of Voss sparkling water. Stupidly expensive, stupidly delicious!

      Reply
    4. brighteyedbaker says

      September 18, 2011 at 10:40 am

      Seriously, I have always wondered about the difference between all of these things. Especially whenever I'm in an  airplane, and they have a choice of club soda, seltzer water, or tonic water (I think), I never know what the difference is. Thanks for clearing so much up!

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        September 18, 2011 at 10:51 am

        brighteyedbaker: good call on the tonic water, which is something totally different! i added a note about it. thank you! :)

        Reply
    5. Katharina says

      September 19, 2011 at 12:44 pm

      It's funny because I was randomly thinking about water this morning, and that I want to drink more mineral water again. I'm originally from Germany and people really like mineral water there. Some just like the carbonation so they'll buy water carbonators for the home. ANYWAY, thought that was a funny coincidence :)

      XO!p.s. I've been following your blog for awhile and I think it's wonderful! My friend and I are making a music video and the images on your blog are the perfect visual inspiration for what we have in mind :)

      Reply

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