The Diet Ginger Ale Brand We Aren't A Fan Of

It's hard to think of a food, drink, or snack where consumers are as brand loyal as they are to their preferred soda brand. If you're a Diet Coke or Diet Dr. Pepper drinker, you probably have been for years and aren't going to change your ways now. But with so many new diet soda flavors and prebiotic options coming to the market, it's interesting to compare how a few rising stars stack up to our favorites.

Chowhound writer Robyn Blocker can give you a clue on what to choose when shopping at the supermarket. She's ranked grocery store items from the best cottage cheese brand to the worst store-bought hummus. She's also figured out which popular diet sodas are worth buying and pairing with your preferred snacking spread. Blocker taste tested and ranked 15 different diet soda brands, working through well known options, sugar-free versions of familiar names, and newly popular health-focused soda alternatives. As costs were pretty much equal, apart from the swanky prebiotic options, she focused on versatility and taste, particularly if the "diet" aspect of the soda gave it a lingering, synthetic aftertaste.

Both her winning pick (Diet Dr. Pepper) and her losing pick (Diet Mountain Dew) are familiar classics. But another surprising result was just how far household staple Canada Dry Zero Ginger Ale fell to the bottom. Regular Canada Dry Ginger Ale is a standby at many family gatherings and holiday functions as a neutral, slightly more flavorful version of sparkling water. Unfortunately, Blocker found that the diet version lost its zippy, ginger-forward edge, making it not much better than plain club soda.

One of the most commonly available brands of ginger ale, classic Canada Dry is known for its strong ginger flavor. Robyn Blocker notes that when it was created in 1904, its inventor was looking to make a less sweet, or dry, version of the syrupy beverage popularly served with herbaceous gin. Still, in a taste test of regular ginger ale brands, you'll probably find that Canada Dry is no longer the driest version on the market.

Unfortunately, the zero sugar version of the drink, which swaps high fructose corn syrup for aspartame and acesulfame potassium, doesn't pack the same powerful ginger punch. But if you prefer your ginger ale on the lightly flavored side, this zero sugar version could work for you. Blocker also highlights that the lighter flavor could work better as an accompaniment for today's smoother liquors. Try it out in a ginger mojito or Pimm's Cup cocktail, but stick to the regular version of Canada Dry if you'll be sipping it on its own.