Drink of the Week: Rockaway Soda Lemon Lemongrass

If there’s ever been a better time to embrace the wide world of soda water, I haven’t experienced it. Supermarkets and specialty stores teem with classic options from generations-old brands, an array of flavor infusions, and seltzer-adjacent arrivals like functional beverages and craft sodas. Within this bounty lies Rockaway Soda, a New York label whose Lemon Lemongrass flavor is a crisp, refreshing way to toast the new school.

The soda has a round texture and tangy citrus notes. Its short ingredients list includes organic cane sugar and sea salt, with no alternative sweeteners in sight. Pop one open to sip around a firepit, to upgrade a weekday lunch, or as a crowd-pleasing nonalcoholic happy hour sipper.  

The company has an admirable philanthropic bent, too. Named for a beachy peninsula in Queens, New York, Rockaway Soda is a member of the organization 1% for the Planet. One percent of all sales benefit the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for clean water and ocean and coastal preservation. 

The sodas are pricier than your average six-pack of supermarket soda water, but they also taste more substantial. There’s no tinny aftertaste, either—just bright, herbaceous citrus with a salty-sweet finish. $35.99/12-pack, drinkrockaway.com