White Claw is one of the most popular spiked seltzer brands, and its “light” taste, along with the fact that real fruits are used, lends many consumers to believe it’s a healthy alcoholic drink option.
But what’s actually in White Claw other than alcohol? Are there any unhealthy additives? Which White Claw flavor is the healthiest? And is White Claw more healthy or less healthy than other popular "healthy" alcohol brands like NÜTRL?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in White Claw to give our take on whether it's healthy or unhealthy.
We’ll also compare White Claw to other popular alcoholic drinks marketed as "cleaner" options, to pick our winners (and losers) from a health perspective.
Key takeaways:
- White Claw is relatively low in calories
- Contains some unhealthy additive ingredients
- We consider White Claw to be unhealthy
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in White Claw Black Cherry flavor are shown below:
We’ll start with the good news first:
- This drink is relatively low in calories (only 100 calories per can – 33% less than one standard beer according to the USDA). This suggests that White Claw may be a good option for those trying to lose weight.
- Contains real fruit juice which is clinically shown to be rich in antioxidants.
- 5% alcohol by volume is similar to other alcoholic drinks of the same size, and is unlikely to cause accidental intoxication.
Here are the potential downsides:
- Alcohol has negative effects overall, according to a medical review published in the Global Heart journal. The healthiness of alcoholic drinks are on a relative scale, and abstaining seems to be the healthiest choice.
- Refined sugar intake may promote obesity according to a 2020 clinical trial. The sugar dose (2 grams) in White Claw is low, but we would much prefer a drink sweetened with fruit juice only
- Citric acid has been clinically shown to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals, as documented in our review of Vitamin Water ingredients.
- Natural flavors is a healthier alternative to artificial flavors, but still may pose some health concerns according to a medical review published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal.
Overall, we consider White Claw to be unhealthy due to the fact that it's an alcoholic drink, and due to the flavoring ingredients highlighted above.
White Claw vs. Popular "Clean" Alcohol Brands
Here's how White Claw compares to other popular alcohol brands that market themselves as cleaner alternatives:
NÜTRL
This brand uses real fruit juice like watermelon, which is clinically shown to have "nutraceutical benefits," and which may offset some of the inflammatory effects of alcohol in the body.
The use of flavored vodka is a negative, but NÜTRL is free of citric acid and refined sugar, so we give the brand the advantage from a health perspective.
Winner: NÜTRL
Gratsi
Gratsi is a keto wine brand, and red wine is one of the healthiest types of alcohol due to its potent antioxidant effects.
However, as documented in the above-linked review, Gratsi is packaged in plastic, and we consider the risk of microplastic contamination (particularly considering that red wine is acidic) to outweigh other health considerations.
White Claw has the advantage due to its packaging.
Winner: White Claw
Anejo Organic Resposado
This is one of the healthiest brands of tequila.
It's organic-certified, packaged in glass, and free of any unhealthy additives.
Anejo is the clear winner from a health perspective.
Winner: Anejo Organic Resposado
Our Clean Alcohol Pick
Spindrift Spiked is our top hard seltzer pick.
All flavors of this seltzer brand contain less than 100 calories per can, and are free of refined sugar and flavoring additives.
The brand does use citric acid, but we can’t find any spiked seltzer products free of sugar, flavoring additives and citric acid at the time of publishing this article.
If we do find one, we’ll update this article and recommend it in this section.
