Apricot soda is a sparkling soft drink built around the flavor of apricot — a stone fruit that sits somewhere between peach and plum, gently tart with a honeyed edge. The best versions taste like ripe fruit instead of candy: bright, a little tangy, and not too sweet.
It’s one of the more underrated flavors in the craft soda aisle. Cola and root beer get all the attention, and cherry has its loyalists, but apricot is the quiet one that surprises people. Here’s what it is, what it tastes like, and how to tell a good one from a sugary imposter.
What does apricot soda taste like?
Apricot is a stone fruit, so it shares a family with peaches, plums, and nectarines. On its own, a ripe apricot is soft, floral, and lightly tart — sweeter than a plum but tangier than a peach. Turn that into a soda and you get a flavor that’s fruit-forward and refreshing, without the heavy, syrupy pull of an orange or grape soda.
A well-made apricot soda leads with fresh-fruit brightness, carries a little tartness through the middle, and finishes clean. If your apricot soda tastes like melted candy or a scented marker, the recipe leaned too hard on sugar and artificial flavor. Apricot flavor should taste like the fruit — not too sweet, on purpose.
What’s actually in apricot soda?
This is where craft soda and mass-market soda part ways. A lot of fruit sodas get their color and flavor from artificial additives and a heavy dose of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. The fruit is more of a suggestion than an ingredient.
Craft apricot soda takes the opposite approach. The goal is to taste the fruit, which means natural flavor, natural color, and a lighter hand with the sweetness. When the sugar comes down, the actual apricot character finally has room to show up.
How Reckon makes apricot soda
Reckon Apricot starts from an old-world recipe and gets brightened with sun-ripe apricot flavor. It’s naturally flavored and naturally colored — the warm golden hue comes from carotenes, the same pigments that make apricots and carrots orange, not from a lab dye.
Each 12 oz can is 80 calories with 12 grams of sugar — less than half the sugar of a typical cola. It’s caffeine-free, small-batch, and based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. (One note for the label-readers: Reckon contains wheat.) The result is a soda that’s tart, golden, and easy to drink without the syrupy heaviness.
You can find it on its own in the Apricot 12-pack, or paired with our tart cherry in the Cherry + Apricot variety pack if you can’t pick a side.
When to reach for an apricot soda
Apricot’s brightness makes it a natural for warm-weather afternoons, but it earns its keep year-round. A few ideas:
- With food: Its tartness cuts through rich, savory plates — grilled chicken, pork, a sharp cheese board.
- As the interesting option: Put it out at a gathering and watch it disappear. Apricot is unexpected in the best way.
- As an everyday upgrade: When you want something more grown-up than a cola but still want it to be fun.
Cherry or apricot? Why not both
If tart-and-bright apricot is the golden one, our tart Cherry is its deeper, ruby-red counterpart at 90 calories and 15 grams of sugar per can. Different moods, same not-too-sweet philosophy.
Curious? Browse the whole lineup at Shop All Fizz and start with whichever one sounds like your afternoon. It’s Gonna Be OK.
Frequently asked questions
Is apricot soda gluten-free?
No. Reckon Apricot contains wheat (barley malt), so it’s not gluten-free, even though the color comes from carotenes and the flavor is a natural apricot flavor.
What does apricot soda taste like?
A well-made apricot soda tastes bright and lightly tart, closer to a ripe apricot than to a peach or orange soda. Reckon Apricot is naturally flavored and colored with carotenes, with 80 calories and 12 grams of sugar per can.