Is Soda Better from the Tap, Bottle, or Can? Rhett & Link Find Out

Most people have, at one point or another, wondered what soda delivery method was best. As Link put it, “Some people are bottle lovers, some are can huggers, and some are soda fountain…tap…people.” But that doesn’t mean we all don’t question those opinions. Are we really getting a fresher pour from the soda machine? Does canned soda taste metallic? Is bottled soda less watery than fountain? On a March 2021 episode of Good Mythical Morning, Rhett & Link set out to answer all of these questions so we didn’t have to buy 12 different sodas and do it ourselves (everybody say thank you, Rhett & Link). Without further ado, here are their thoughts following a blind taste test.

Dr. Pepper

Best: CAN

Link doesn’t like Dr. Pepper, but even he could tell the difference between these three. He tried the tap first and immediately thought it was a little weak. Rhett pointed out that tap can be super inconsistent, so they both guessed (correctly) that the first one was fountain. Rhett even claimed he could taste the can in what turned out to be the canned one. Ultimately, they both preferred the canned Dr. Pepper because of its extra freshness and more intense carbonation.

Coca-Cola

Best: CAN

After that first round, we all thought they were going to be great at this game, but things kind of went off the rails with Coca-Cola. Rhett immediately claimed to taste the can in the Coke from a plastic bottle, while Link correctly thought it tasted more like it was from a plastic bottle. Rhett & Link were positive the canned one was from a glass bottle, and Link thought it tasted perhaps a bit sweeter and more carbonated than the first one. They could both identify the Coke that came from a tap and see that it was less saturated with color and flavor. The glass they thought was plastic. The moral of the story? Unless it is tap, any Coke is about equal. They did like the can the best in the end, though.

Orange Fanta

Link’s Best: TAP

Rhett’s Best: PLASTIC BOTTLE

They immediately identified the first one they tried as tap because they could supposedly “taste the syrup and the carbonation separately.” I mean, they were right but that’s such a strange assertion. Link actually liked the tap better than the can, which he thought tasted like diet Fanta (it wasn’t), while Rhett liked the bite of the canned one but ultimately liked the flavor of the Fanta from a plastic bottle best.

Sprite

Best: CAN

They both love Sprite, so this round was fun for them. Does that mean they did better? Well…no, not really. They thought that the first one, which was actually from a glass bottle, was from a plastic bottle because it was “good Sprite, not great Sprite.” The second one they tried was from the plastic bottle, which they thought was “totally different and better,” leading them to (incorrectly) believe it was glass or can. The third one Rhett said was “awful,” and that the “ratio was wrong” so they immediately knew this one was tap. They loved the flavor and bite of the last one they tried and correctly guessed that it was the one from the can.

The conclusion: Usually, the can is the way to go, unless you’re drinking Fanta. But ask yourself this: Why are you drinking Fanta? No judgment, I’m just curious.