Mixers

Sparkling Water

Sparkling water is water with carbon dioxide in it, from the spring or added, and no sugar or alcohol. In the UK it is often a natural mineral water, which regulation 6 of the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007 allows nothing added except the gas, so it carries only its source's own minerals; soda water, by contrast, has salts added. In our punches it goes in last, 500ml to a bowl, to lengthen the drink.

Quick Facts

ABV0% ABV

Legal categoryNon-alcoholic

Flavour Strengthlight

Our keeping timeSealed: to the date on the bottle. Opened: a day at best before it flattens.

Storage

Sealed and cool until use, then refrigerated; once opened, we recap it hard and we use it within a day.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Sparkling Water

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

CleanNeutralEffervescent

Tasting Notes

No flavour by design: texture, lift and dilution, with the label’s mineral content the only variable.

Sparkling water is water and gas, and the label says where both came from

The plainest fizzy water on a British shelf is usually a natural mineral water or a spring water. Natural mineral water comes from a recognised underground source and, under the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007, may have no addition other than carbon dioxide. The label then says how the gas got there, which tells you nothing about taste but a good deal about what else is in the bottle: nothing.

What the label on a sparkling water means (the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007)

Naturally carbonated natural mineral water

Where the gas comes from: The spring itself, at the level found there
Anything else added?: No
In a drink: Gentle fizz; minerals vary by source

Natural mineral water fortified with gas from the spring

Where the gas comes from: The spring, with extra of its own gas
Anything else added?: No
In a drink: Livelier, same water

Carbonated natural mineral water

Where the gas comes from: Carbon dioxide from another origin
Anything else added?: No
In a drink: Fizz level set by the bottler

Sparkling spring water

Where the gas comes from: Added carbon dioxide
Anything else added?: No minerals added
In a drink: Neutral and clean

Soda water

Where the gas comes from: Added carbon dioxide
Anything else added?: Yes: salts such as sodium bicarbonate
In a drink: A faint saline edge

Label wording	Where the gas comes from	Anything else added?	In a drink
Naturally carbonated natural mineral water	The spring itself, at the level found there	No	Gentle fizz; minerals vary by source
Natural mineral water fortified with gas from the spring	The spring, with extra of its own gas	No	Livelier, same water
Carbonated natural mineral water	Carbon dioxide from another origin	No	Fizz level set by the bottler
Sparkling spring water	Added carbon dioxide	No minerals added	Neutral and clean
Soda water	Added carbon dioxide	Yes: salts such as sodium bicarbonate	A faint saline edge

Soda water and sparkling water overlap in the glass

The differences are on the label rather than in the glass: soda water is dosed with salt, sparkling water keeps only what its source gave it. In a mixed drink either can go in at the measure given; the soda's bicarbonate is the only difference, and lemon or lime usually hides it. Where a recipe names sparkling water, it is asking for unsweetened, unflavoured fizz, not a particular bottle.

In a punch or a soft drink it goes in last

The Cauldron Punch and Green Batched Punch each take 500ml, added cold as guests arrive and stirred once. In single drinks it is the length in the Sparkling Elderflower Lemonade, 150ml over 25ml each of elderflower cordial and lemon juice, and in the Rose Lemonade Fizz, about 100ml to fill a flute. Add it ahead of time and it reaches the glass with no lift left.

Using it

Using Sparkling Water

Usage

Added last, chilled, from a bottle just opened: 500ml tops a punch bowl, 100 to 150ml lengthens a single soft drink or fizz. Stir once, gently. In a punch, hold some back and add it fresh partway through the evening.

Pro Tip

In a punch, pour the sparkling water down the side of the bowl rather than into the middle, then lift once with the ladle. A hard pour into the centre throws off most of the gas before anyone has a cup.

Top Tips

Read the label for "natural mineral water". The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007 allow nothing but carbon dioxide to be added to it.
Chill the bottles and the punch base separately, and combine them only as guests arrive.
Choose a low-mineral water for mixing. A strongly mineral spring water can taste salty or chalky against fruit.
We keep a second bottle back to refresh the bowl. Fresh water halfway through does more than a full bowl made early.

Possible Substitutions

Soda Water: the same job at the same measure, with a faint saline edge

Production Method

Water charged with carbon dioxide. Natural mineral water may be naturally carbonated, topped up with gas from its own spring, or carbonated with added carbon dioxide, and nothing else may be added to it (Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007, checked 11 October 2026). Spring and table waters can also be carbonated.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is sparkling water?

Water containing carbon dioxide, either naturally from its source or added in bottling. In Britain the bottle is often a natural mineral water or a spring water, and the label says which. It has no sugar, flavour or alcohol unless the name says so, as with a flavoured sparkling water.

How is sparkling water different from soda water?

By what else is in the bottle. Under the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007, a sparkling natural mineral water may hold its own minerals and carbon dioxide, nothing more; soda water has salts like sodium bicarbonate put in on purpose. In a drink they overlap almost completely: both are unsweetened fizz, and soda tastes very slightly saltier.

What does "carbonated natural mineral water" mean?

That carbon dioxide from somewhere other than the spring was added. Regulation 8 of the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007 defines three effervescent kinds: naturally carbonated, where the gas is the spring's own; fortified with gas from the spring, where more of the spring's gas is added; and carbonated, where the gas came from elsewhere. All may contain nothing else.

Does sparkling water change a drink's flavour?

Mostly by dilution and texture. A low-mineral water adds bubbles and length; a strongly mineral one can taste faintly salty or chalky next to fruit and citrus. It never sweetens or bitters a drink, which is why it suits a balanced punch that only needs stretching and lifting.

How do I keep a punch fizzy?

Chill the base and the water separately, add the water as guests arrive and stir once. Our Cauldron Punch and Green Batched Punch both work this way with 500ml a bowl. We keep some back and top up later; a bowl made to full volume at the start goes flat long before it is empty.

Can I use sparkling water instead of soda water?

Yes, measure for measure, in any of our Collinses, fizzes, highballs or spritzes. You lose the faint salinity of the added bicarbonate, which few people notice once citrus and spirit are in the glass. Choose a lightly mineral water, cold and freshly opened.