Good Non-Carbonated Drinks

April 13, 2007 2:18 PM

What are some good non-carbonated drinks?

I'm on a new medication that makes anything carbonated taste flat and metallic. That means that most of the things I used to drink, both alcoholic and non-, now taste like crap. Help me find some new drinks.

I used to be a huge Diet Coke drinker, all day, every day. I've been drinking a lot of water at work, but that gets boring. Prefer something without a lot of calories, and I hate coffee.

For alcohol, I usually drank beer, rum and coke, or gin and tonic. All of those now taste terrible. Wine still tastes fine, and I like that, but I spend a lot of time hanging out in dive bars where I need to be able to drink something a little more lowbrow. What are some non-carbonated drinks I might like that won't make my bartender roll his eyes at me? I prefer not to drink a lot of juice because it's too sweet, but something with a little juice mixed with other stuff might be okay. Thanks!

posted by decathecting to food & drink (37 comments total)

whisky sour
posted by captaincrouton at 2:27 PM on April 13, 2007

As someone who can't drink a lot of carbonated beverages, when I get bored of water I drink Vitamin Water, PowerAde and Gatorade Rain.
posted by disaster77 at 2:27 PM on April 13, 2007

Zico Pure Coconut Water. Drinking some right now. If you want to "liquor up" add some rum- you will feel as if you are at the beach. If you want to quench your thirst squeeze in some lime.
posted by bkeene12 at 2:28 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

You might like a Gimlet - basically either vodka or gin with sweetened lime juice. I'm usually a vodka tonic or gin and tonic guy, and I like it quite a bit.
posted by chundo at 2:31 PM on April 13, 2007

Also, try tea at work.
posted by chundo at 2:31 PM on April 13, 2007

Seconding Vitamin Water, but I think the dark red ones taste the best. Do not get the lemonade. It tastes like lies.

Also, Pom Teas are mad delicious. My favorite is the Pomegranate Green Lychee Tea. I have only seen them at Whole Foods and you get the keep the glass after!
posted by spec80 at 2:41 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Although water does indeed get boring after a while, this is a great way to get yourself to drink less pop. I say this as a person who drinks about 2-3 cans of Diet Coke a day.

If water is boring, try adding a squirt of lemon or lime - even the bottled stuff is good for this.

Obviously this will not do in a dive bar, though. :)
posted by rossination at 2:45 PM on April 13, 2007

Non-alc - Crystal Light Peach Tea - Tastes exactly the same as Snapple Peach.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 2:46 PM on April 13, 2007

I like the Vitamin Water beverages. They're refreshing, not too sweet, and they're fortified.
posted by scarabic at 2:52 PM on April 13, 2007

Coffee with liquor in it? perhaps some sort of liquor straight up?
posted by mmascolino at 2:53 PM on April 13, 2007

You might try Guinness which uses a mix of carbon dioxide and nitrogen for carbonization. But if it were me and I couldn't drink fizzy booze, I'd go for the bloody mary.
posted by chairface at 2:54 PM on April 13, 2007

whiskey, neat.
posted by jpep at 2:59 PM on April 13, 2007

Tea, either hot or iced are great. If you want caffeine, I'd recommend black teas. However, green teas and white teas have a lot less caffeine, but also aren't quite as strong as black tea. There are a lot of great flavored teas, Republic of Tea has a great selection.

Propel is a really good drink. It's made by the same people who make Gatorade, but it's just a flavored water. I am picky about my flavored waters, because so many taste weird to me, but I love Propel, especially grape or lemon.
posted by Becko at 3:02 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

whiskey, neat.

Also one of my favorites (and will give you more street cred at a dive bar), but it can take awhile to appreciate if you usually only do mixed drinks...
posted by chundo at 3:03 PM on April 13, 2007

I'm a huge fan of Propel, and when I'm sure no one's looking, (sugar free) Hawaiian Punch.
posted by sourwookie at 3:19 PM on April 13, 2007

At home, ice cold skim milk.
posted by mdonley at 3:31 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Green tea, wine, whiskey.

You'll never need another liquid.
posted by milarepa at 3:58 PM on April 13, 2007

Mint tea in the afternoon is just about all that keeps me form going postal at work. Very refreshing and relaxing.
posted by lekvar at 4:01 PM on April 13, 2007

Nestea Zero. It's become my replacement drink since I was forced to give up my Coke Zero habit (4+ cans a day). It's flavored with Splenda (instead of aspartame) and even my bf, who despises all "diet" drinks, says it's not bad and is in fact drinkable. It doesn't have as much caffeine as (Diet or Zero) coke, but it does have enough to keep me alert during the day.
posted by cgg at 4:16 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Single malt Scotch neat (well, traditionally with just a hint of cold water), Irish whiskey on the rocks (one or two rocks, no more). I abhore bourbon.

Love da Vitamin Water, drinking one now.

Herb tea - my fave now being Celestial Seasonings Peach Apricot Honeybush, perhaps more for the name because it sounds like the next Bond girl ;)
posted by elendil71 at 4:17 PM on April 13, 2007

Sobe / Sobe lean, or Fuzion if you have it in your area.
posted by Industrial PhD at 4:28 PM on April 13, 2007

but it can take awhile to appreciate if you usually only do mixed drinks
if you've got a good reason not to turn your nose up instantly it doesn't take long, honestly
posted by muteh at 4:33 PM on April 13, 2007

Get your hands on a few Celestial Seasonings Herbal Teas variety packs. Once you've found a flavor you like, you can make your own dirt cheap "iced tea" by throwing a bag of tea into a half-liter bottle of water, adding sugar to taste (that is, if you'd normally use 4t of sugar for that much liquid, add it. If you want to go diet, Splenda or Stevia instead of sugar). If you leave the tea for 3-4 hours it will brew nice and dark and flavorful without having to be heated up at all.

For drinks, manly non-carbonated drinks include the Manhattan and the martini. Margaritas have a small amount of carbonation in them but it usually is so mild you won't notice.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:37 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Go to an Asian supermarket and buy a two-liter container of green tea or barley tea. Or you could buy bags and brew your own. Oolong tea also goes quite well with a relatively tasteless liquor like vodka (best with Japanese shochu, in my opinion) in a highball glass. You probably won't be able to find that at your local bar, I'm afraid...
posted by armage at 4:37 PM on April 13, 2007

alcoholic: Jamesons, neat.

non-alcoholic: Naked Juice is good.
posted by jonmc at 4:39 PM on April 13, 2007

Dive bars can usually manage a nice Manhattan.
posted by oneirodynia at 4:40 PM on April 13, 2007

Margaritas have a small amount of carbonation in them but it usually is so mild you won't notice.
posted by Deathalicious at 7:37 PM on April 13

In what universe?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:57 PM on April 13, 2007

I like Fruit 2O, the Dasani flavored waters, etc., etc.. Folgers also makes coffee bag singles now (like tea bags) that taste really good. And mint tea is a real pick me up. By the way, if you're taking Topamax, I discovered that a regular Coke is okay for a sip or two, as is Dr. Pepper. But don't go for the third sip. *shudder*
posted by headspace at 5:06 PM on April 13, 2007

Seconding Vitamin Water, but I think the dark red ones taste the best. Do not get the lemonade. It tastes like lies.

@spec80 - i hope that isn't a typo for limes, because something that tastes like lies sounds much cooler!
posted by kidsleepy at 5:41 PM on April 13, 2007

Honest Tea Black Forest Berry with vodka (or without). One 16 oz bottle only has 16 grams of sugar/carbs, and it's DELICIOUS, tastes like fruit juice without the acidity. Sometimes I throw in a little piece of lemon for a bit of tartness.
posted by WaterSprite at 6:18 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

You can buy little packets of Propel-drink-powder to add to plain water -- also, Target has the generic "fitness water" equivalent packets, and there's at least one other supermarket generic as well. A box of 10 packets costs about $3 (here). The stuff has B vitamins and makes water taste good.
posted by oldtimey at 8:14 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Sugar-free Grape Kool-Aid. As a bonus, if you drink enough, it'll turn your pee blue and grape-smelling.
posted by commander_cool at 8:44 PM on April 13, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

decathecting, thanks for this question! I believe I'm on the same medication as you, and even though I've been on it for years, I never thought to ask this question on here. These answers have really helped me out.
posted by Four-Eyed Girl at 8:50 PM on April 13, 2007

Long Island Iced Tea, neat and hold the coke.
posted by winks007 at 9:25 PM on April 13, 2007

Deathalicious, I think there are some health risks associated with sun-tea style brewing. My Lipton tea used to say something to like "when making sun tea - discard tea within 24 hours and wash container." I brew my own tea, add a lot of sugar 1.5 cups per gallon, refrigerate, and I'm set.

BTW, I just checked and it's not there anymore.
posted by winks007 at 9:38 PM on April 13, 2007

Cask-conditioned ales, the ones that need to be drawn with a hand pump. They're still cool and hoppy and delicious but they have low to zero carbonation.
posted by ikkyu2 at 9:30 AM on April 14, 2007

Wyler's Light Pink Lemonade. Love it.

I'm also a big fan of cranberry juice and juice blends - I go for the 100% juices though.
posted by SisterHavana at 11:38 AM on April 14, 2007