I never get liquid water enhancers because I hate them. There’s just something about the taste that’s…flat. The powders generally have a believable sweetness that hit the tastebuds roughly the same way sugars would. For example, Fit & Active’s Lemonade drink mix sticks – also available from Aldi – somehow manage to taste like a lemon shake-up. They taste like there’s sugar in them, but without the actual sugar. But the liquids all tend to have the same dull flavor profiles. They add a syrupy texture, but can’t come close to giving off the same experience of actual sugar. I guess that’s good for health reasons, but they make my tastebuds boil with untethered rage.
Yet, I set aside my differences in order to try PurAqua’s “all natural” version. Actually, I wouldn’t have set it aside at all were it my own personal decision. I guess I should say that the only reason I grabbed it was because our son wanted it. I wasn’t all that disappointed, though: Given how great their powdered lemon drink mix was, I figured this couldn’t be all that far off.
You know how sometimes you make general assumptions that end up being nowhere near reality? Yeah, this was one of those times. It tastes – and smells – like one of those terrible pre-made bottled cocktails you can get at your local supermarket. You know, with an ABV low enough that it can be sold in the store itself, instead of a liquor store. It’s absolutely disgusting. Like “I’d rather drink my own piss” disgusting. And I really don’t think I’m exaggerating. The mere thought of putting this anywhere near my mouth makes my intestines tense up and coil even tighter.
I’ll admit, as I essentially already have in the first paragraph, that I was biased headed in. But never in my wildest dreams did I expect something like this. It’s far and away the worst water enhancer I’ve ever had. Period. It might even challenge those terrible drink mix sticks I got from Dollar Tree years ago as the worst I’ve ever had, period. It’s that rare kind that actually makes me long for regular water. It’s unfathomable. I don’t care how “natural” it is, nothing in the world should ever taste like this. If someone served it to me, sight unseen, I’d swear they were trying to poison me.
As a counterpoint, my wife tried it, and felt the exact same way. She of more advanced palate. As a second counterpoint, our son seems to like it, but he’s also five-years-old. At the risk of sounding rude, I think the adult opinions carry more weight in this instance. Stay far away from this junk.
Overall: 0/10. It’s a stomach-churning, vulgar mess that disappoints from the initial whiff, and somehow manages to take a deep dive downhill once it’s actually tasted. I can’t even fathom how in the world this made it on any store shelf. It tastes like a cheap, pre-bottled cocktail, only without the benefit of at least getting you buzzed. It’s that rare water enhancer that makes you long for regular water. Also rare that I honestly think I would rather drink piss than to ever try this again. No joke. The thought of this makes my stomach feel like it wants to run away, while the thought of piss just makes me gag. Avoid this junk at all costs. It’s abysmal.
