My taste buds were not ready for that.
“Okay, my pilates instructor makes this drink almost everyday,” user @mandyvjones said in the clip. “It’s a healthy alternative to a coke and I am not joking you, it tastes just like a coke and you’re gonna think I’m insane.”
“You do a splash of balsamic vinegar with ice in a cup, and then take any sparkling beverage — I’m picking La Croix and it can be any flavor, this one’s the Guava,” she continued. “Now, you’re gonna mix it together, and see, it already looks like a coke.”
People in the comments were definitely a little skeptical. I mean, I know I had my doubts.
@mandyvjones / TikTok
It is worth noting that adding vinegar to sparkling water is not necessarily that bizarre of a concept, since it has been, and continues to be a common ingredient in a lot of mocktails.
However, I was certainly curious about how it would taste since there was so much buzz around it, so I decided to try it for myself. I even bought a real coke to compare the two drinks — here’s how it went:
I started by gathering the ingredients. As the original poster mentioned, all you really need for the drink is balsamic vinegar and any type of sparkling water. She used a Guava La Croix, but I couldn’t find that flavor at my local grocery store so I decided the plain would have to do.
I then filled my cup with ice.
After I had my ice ready, I poured in about two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. User @mandyvjones didn’t specify the exact amount, but I decided that two tablespoons would probably be a good amount to start with.
After the vinegar, I poured in about half a can of the plain La Croix. I will admit, it did start to look a little like a Coke.
I was actually pretty curious about this, so I got a real can of Coke and decided I would compare the two, side by side:
After further inspection, I noticed that the balsamic drink is definitely a little lighter than the real Coke, although I’m sure adding more vinegar to it would make it more comparable in color to the real thing.
Now that I had the real Coke ready for reference, I braced myself and took the first sip of the balsamic drink.
I was definitely… confused? After the first few sips, I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. I could sort of taste hints of the Coke-y flavor because the balsamic vinegar gave it a tangy, natural sweetness, but it surely didn’t resemble a real Coke. The overall flavor was a little disappointing and even a bit underwhelming.
I then took a few sips of the regular Coke, and then it really confirmed my doubt about the balsamic drink. The actual Coke was wayyy sweeter, and I don’t think any amount of balsamic vinegar in sparkling water could achieve that same taste.
I will say that after taking a few more sips of the balsamic drink, I started to get used to the taste and could tolerate it a little bit more.
I think this drink is definitely worth a try for those trying to kick a soda habit, and I would also imagine that using a flavored sparkling water miiight be able to replicate more of a sugary flavor, or at least make it taste better.
I did later see that people were sharing their favorite ways of making the drink, which included using fruit-flavored balsamics…
@healthylittlepeach / TikTok
… as well as black cherry seltzer water.
@healthylittlepeach / TikTok
I’ll definitely try one of those next time!
Have you tried this? Let me know in the comments.
