Gwynedd Stuart
White Claw has only been on the market since 2016, but you could argue it’s already an institution. Nowadays, you can’t swing your purse in the beer aisle without hitting a dozen or so brands of fizzy, fruity alcoholic bevs, but White Claw is still at the top of the hard seltzer heap (at least according to stats from Drizly). Everyone has an opinion about what the best White Claw flavor is—but we’re ready to settle it once and for all.
A nice thing about White Claw is that it’s sold in three different variety packs with four flavors each. This is great if you like variety, but it also means a few cans of your least favorite flavors are going to take up permanent residency in your fridge. I included the variety pack number along with the seltzer flavor so you can choose wisely the next time you’re at the store (sadly, each one has some bangers and some duds).
Listen. I’m sure our hard seltzer tastes diverge here and there, but I think this is a helpful guide to the best White Claw flavors.
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- Passion Fruit (Variety Pack No. 2)
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Passion Fruit can tend to be a real neither-here-nor-there flavor and that’s the case here. It’s offensive in its mediocrity, but, worse yet, it smells kind of gross? As soon as I cracked open the can I was like, man, I love booze, but I kind of don’t want to drink this.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Pineapple (Variety Pack No. 3)
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I’d never had Pineapple White Claw before and now I think I know why! Turns out almost all of the more obscure White Claw flavors are also the least good White Claw flavors. Pineapple-flavored hard seltzer can be so summery and refreshing—I absolutely love pineapple-flavored High Noon—but this White Claw just doesn’t live up to its pineapple promises.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Lemon (Variety Pack No. 2)
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Is it just me or do a lot of lemon-flavored carbonated beverages taste like lemon-scented floor cleaner smells? In my opinion, that’s the case with this White Claw flavor. It’s stringent rather than tart. It’s not the worst White Claw flavor, but it certainly isn’t the best White Claw flavor either.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Blackberry (Variety Pack No. 3)
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I recently visited Knott’s Berry Farm for the first time—it’s cute and everything smells vaguely like boysenberries (seriously, they pipe the smell into the stores and at least one of the rides). Anyway, that’s what this White Claw flavor reminded me of. It’s very mild, so if you like a bold hard seltzer flavor, you probably won’t love this. It’s not unpleasant, but has a little bit of a bath product vibe.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Raspberry (Variety Pack No. 1)
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Okay, I know this flavor doesn’t have very prominent placement on this list, but it’s actually pretty good. It’s fruity and juicy and reminded me of one of those raspberry hard candies with the goo in the center (real grandma’s purse stuff). My (very personal) problem is that most raspberry-flavored alcoholic beverages taste nefariously like raspberry Smirnoff vodka, which I drank/vomited way too much of in college in the early ‘00s. Don’t let my hang-ups ruin your good time!
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Ruby Grapefruit (Variety Pack No. 1)
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Is it just me or is grapefruit seltzer sort of played out? Behind Mango (and maybe Black Cherry), this strikes me as the most accessible White Claw flavor, but I just don’t really think it’s among the best White Claw flavors. If you want a citrus seltzer, I highly recommend trying White Claw Natural Lime, but we’ll get to that …
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Watermelon (Variety Pack No. 2)
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White Claw isn’t really sweet (they’re all sugar free), but some flavors come off as sweeter than others—this is one of them. And it’s not a bad thing! This watermelon flavor struck me as a cross between genuine and fake watermelon flavor—fruity and refreshing, but with a little bit of a watermelon gummy edge. It’s quite nice and a real summertime refresher.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Tangerine (Variety Pack No. 2)
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I firmly believe tangerines are better than oranges. They’re smaller, easier to peel (depending on the genetic modifications, I suppose), and they have a gentler flavor, too. They’re smaller and they taste smaller, in a good way. This White Claw has that nice, small tangerine flavor that leans sweet rather than tart. It reminded me of a much-less-sweet Sunkist. It’s the best White Claw flavor if you like orange soda.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Natural Lime (Variety Pack No. 1)
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White Claw Natural Lime is leaps and bounds better than White Claw Lemon. It has a really fresh, genuine lime flavor—freshly sliced lime, not Skittles lime. It works perfectly with White Claw’s robust effervescence. This is a grown-up White Claw flavor, but a cool grown-up who still skateboards even though it’s bad for their hips.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Strawberry (Variety Pack No. 3)
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I love strawberry seltzer. Strawberry Spindrift is my seltzer of choice; it’s perfect. Strawberry White Claw is a good approximation of a good strawberry seltzer, and that makes it one of the best White Claw flavors, for sure. It’s sophisticated, but also reminds me just a little of Flintstones Vitamins in that nice, nostalgic way. I would drink a lot of these.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Black Cherry (Variety Pack No. 1)
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If hard seltzer is too subdued for you, try Black Cherry White Claw. This has a big, bold cherry flavor that reminds me of New York Seltzer Black Cherry (which is a soda, not a seltzer, really). It’s juicy, delicious, and accessible. Anecdotally, I see this one at a lot of bars and casinos—hey, I like Vegas. Sue me!
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
- Mango (Variety Pack No. 3)
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White Claw has only existed since 2016, but I swear to god, this flavor is already nostalgic to me. The flavor is so specific that every time I drink it, I’m transported back to an outdoor concert or Dodgers game where I enjoyed a big ol’ can of it. It’s also the only White Claw flavor that made our ranking of the best hard seltzers. As Sporked editor-in-chief Justine Sterling said, “It tastes like a beach vacation, refreshing and crisp.” It’s the best White Claw flavor of them all.
Credit: Liv Averett / White Claw
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Sporked Staff
Jordan Myrick
Luke Field
This list is really accurate. Some misses in the middle but mango is clearly the best and passion fruit without a doubt the worst. Job well done!
I cannot take any of these opinion rankings serious anymore cause youre all extremely biased towards Mango, which is the most nastiest flavor ever made. I will always omit your bias and no include anything mango in my assessments anymore of your rankings.
The Surf flavors are a step above all of these, and you didn’t even bother reviewing them! Citrus Yuzu is the perfect seltzer hands down, please try those and amend the list.
Your list is pure trash. Absolute nonsense. Poppycock. Inconceivable!
Does anyone at sporked have actual taste buds? Because artificial mango flavor is the worst thing in the world, and you should feel really bad about yourselves.
I would rather lick Caitlyn Jenner’s butthole that have a mango flavored White claw.
Get your act together!
Amen daddy
Completely agree arguably the worst flavor
Totally Agree. Mango is trash
Excellent list. Mango claws are derived directly from Jesus’ nipple. It is clearly the best flavor, and I totally understand why they assigned this dude and his superior pallet to make this list. Well done, friend (passionfruit being last is spot on too)