Every Squirt Flavor Ranked Worst To Best
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The soda brand Squirt was first invented during the Great Depression as a carbonated grapefruit-flavored beverage meant to taste citrusy and fresh (via Retro Planet). The original recipe was concocted by entrepreneur Herb Bishop at a time in U.S. history when fresh fruit and sugar were scarce. Bishop was able to find a way to make a crowd-pleasing fizzy beverage using limited resources, and gave it a name inspired by the fact that it "tasted like a slice of grapefruit exploding in the mouth." That was 1938, and Squirt's wide-reaching appeal has endured well into the new millenia.
Unlike certain soda brands like Coke, which have so many flavors you can't count them all on two hands, Squirt has kept its lineup of products pretty limited. Still, there are some notable differences between the three available options, and of course, fans of the citrusy beverage have been vocal about their favorite flavor of Squirt. Time to pop open a can of your favorite fizzy, sit back, and see if the rankings surprise you.
#3: Diet Squirt
Though ranked worse out of the three, a lot of Squirt fans actually appreciate Diet Squirt for its light citrusy flavor, zero calorie nutritional label, and for the fact that it's uncaffeinated (though other Squirt products are as well). All-in-all, many Amazon reviewers really enjoyed Diet Squirt. However, others felt strongly that Diet Squirt was lacking in the flavor department and reported that it had a strange aftertaste. One reviewer who was a big fan of other Squirt products even wrote that Diet Squirt "...did not have the wonderful citrus burst of flavor I was expecting. It was a sour, pure chemical mess."
It may just be that Diet Squirt isn't the best choice for those who aren't a fan of aspartame, a sugar alternative found in most diet sodas that can have a distinctly acrid taste to certain palates. Or it may be that Squirt simply missed the mark. After all, a lot of reviewers couldn't help but compare Diet Squirt to the original.
#2: Ruby Red Squirt
A standout red beverage in the Squirt line of sodas, most reviewers on Amazon seem to also enjoy Ruby Red Squirt, a bright red soda marketed as a hybrid citrus-berry drink. One reviewer said that they didn't think regular Squirt could get any better before they tried Ruby Red Squirt and that the soda "definitely turns your tongue red, but the complex flavor and sweetness is worth it". Others have shared similar sentiments, sharing that Ruby Red Squirt is one of their favorite sodas outside of the Squirt line.
One of the main downsides of Ruby Red Squirt (and perhaps also one of the things holding the flavor back from gaining a larger fanbase) is that it seems to be hard to find. One Amazon reviewer shared that he couldn't find it anywhere along the East Coast, with people all over the country even asking Squirt fans on Reddit if anyone knows where they can find Ruby Red Squirt.
#1: Original Squirt
It can be hard to beat the original. While there were many fans of Diet Squirt and even more fans of Ruby Red Squirt, if the Amazon reviews are any indication, it seems like the Squirt from the 1930s has remained the overall favorite. A lot of Squirt drinkers have been lifetime fans — one reviewer shared that he enjoyed Squirt as a child and still thinks it's "the best soda on the market." Not only do many people seem to love Squirt for its notable citrus flavor, but it also seems to quench their nostalgia.
While original Squirt was ranked the best flavor out of the three, it's still sometimes a rarity to find in stores. Just like with Ruby Red Squirt, people have scoured the internet looking for info on where to find the nearest Squirt distributor. "I can't imagine why it's no longer widely distributed nor is it properly promoted," said one Squirt fan on Reddit. Fortunately for lovers of Squirt, all three flavors of the soda can be ordered online from a variety of retailers.