Tried and Tested: 5 Fizzy Thirst Quenchers

Limonáda – generally characterized as a non-alcoholic carbonated beverages with herbal or fruit flavoring and lots of sugar – is the Czech summer drink of choice for teetotalers, the underage, and the designated driver. You can enjoy your limonáda točená, or on tap, like my personal favorite, malinovka, in pubs across Prague. Or you can be industrious and make your own from sparkling water, fresh squeezed juice or simple syrup, and sugar. Lately everyone from brewers to small-batch soft-drink makers are producing their own version of this summery bevarge. I tried five:

Staropramen rolled out its malt-based limonáda last July to much fanfare. The fact that this new non-alcoholic line looks deceiving like its beer products is purely coincidental, the company’s spokesman, Pavel Barvík tells me. “To stay only in the beer category means limitation,” Barvík explains.“A part of today’s consumers is looking for a natural alternative of soft drinks.” Currently there are just two flavors – original wheat and apple. I went with apple. Going down, Staropramen’s Sládkova limonáda tasted just like all the other sparkling apple juices I’d tried (and liked) in the past … except for the strong malt jolt at the end that lingered for a bit too long in my mouth. Found: Billa; 22.90 CZK per can

Černá Hora has also jumped on the limonáda bandwagon, though this brewer’s fizzy drink is a little bit harder to get your hands on, as none of the big-name supermarket chains, nor the smaller mom-n-pop stops seemed to carry it. I found it at Pivovarský Klub in Karlín and picked out a colorfully labeled “Vita” (orange and peach) and a “Grena” (grapefruit and lemon). Not sure if “Vita” exactly fits into the limonáda category, as there was not a drop of fizz in it. Perhaps it was a dud bottle? “Grena”, on the other hand, was sweet and sparkly and very much a winner. Found: Pivovarský Klub; 27 CZK per bottle

Launched in August 2011, this little startup is now a mainstay at hipster cafes around Prague. The drink offerings include flavors like rose hip, ginger beer, aniseed (reportedly the first of its kind) and coffee (black, no sugar.) “Our limonády are different. We use no synthetic stuff, and sugar is added only to the ginger beer,” says co-founder Cyril Holub. “We make exclusive, high-end soft drinks with real fruit content in it, and natural original flavors – yes, rose hip is from rose hip.” I ordered an apple cider at Sisters in Old Town before trekking over to Kino Světozor, one of my favorite center haunts, to sample Prager Cider’s pear edition in the funky downstairs lobby bar. Final verdict: A cute bottle, but there was nothing particularly special about the taste, especially for the price. I am, however, dying to try the company’s much-buzzed about coffee soft drink. Found: Bistro Sisters (45 CZK per bottle); Kino Světozor (32 CZK per bottle)

Fritz-Kola has a similar story: Another startup and another pair of BFFs, this time in Hamburg, Germany, deciding that the market needed a better soft drink option. The company debuted in 2002 and eventually migrated south to the Czech capital. I discovered a small selection at the All Vegan Potraviny in Karlín. At first, it seemed a rather odd spot for a carbonated soft drink until I read that Fritz-Kola touts itself as vegan-friendly. The line offers a variety of different flavors, including melon, cloudy sparking apple, a berry blend and coffee. I took home the traditional cola mix and an orange lemonade. A sucker for sparkling orange drinks, I immediately developed a fond affinity for Fritz-Limo. Despite the straggering price, I may be tempted to go back. Found: All Vegan Potraviny (40 CZK per bottle)

The No. 1 Czechoslovak traditional cola since 1960; a national heritage wonder. There are many ways to describe the country’s patriotic obsession with Kofola, which continues to reign as the region’s limonáda king. In fact, the company, whose original recipe hasn’t deviated in more than 50 years, claims that it has surpassed Cola-Cola and Pepsi in sales on the Czech and Slovak markets. Many of my Czech friends get a little dewy-eyed when reminiscing about their childhood drink of choice. Kofola comes in various flavors, but for the purposes of this novice taste test I paired the new Kofola Guarana Love Energy and threw in Vinea to balance things out. I couldn’t really taste much of a different between the original and Guarana, which apparently has way more caffeine. But Vinea, a carbonated grape juice drink, was slightly close to perfect in my book. Found: Billa (21.90 CZK per bottle); Albert (19.90 CZK per bottle)