Health & Wellness

Dr. Will Cole’s Team Just Ranked Every Sip of Summer Worth Drinking in 2026

May 20, 2026

Summer drinks used to be simple. Lemonade. Iced tea. Maybe a suspiciously blue slushie from a gas station if the day was going off the rails.

Now the beverage aisle looks like it got a wellness rebrand. Everything has electrolytes, prebiotics, monk fruit, real fruit juice, “cellular hydration,” or a can design so cute it makes plain water feel underdressed. And with more people reaching for functional options, the official sip of summer suddenly feels like a much bigger decision than it should be.

On The Art of Being Well, Dr. Will Cole and his team took on the only question that matters when it’s 95 degrees outside and everyone’s pretending sparkling water counts as a personality trait: What are we drinking this summer?

Here’s the unofficial ranking.

Iced Jasmine Tea

Andrea’s ride-or-die. “It’s my organic jasmine tea that I steep in a cup and then dump in another cup and add some ice. It’s a process,” she says. The benefits of putting jasmine tea in your summer rotation:

Naturally caffeinated, no afternoon crash
High in antioxidants
Gentle on the gut compared to coffee
Pairs with literally any meal or moment

A pro tip: brew an extra-large batch on Sunday and keep it in a glass pitcher in the fridge so future you doesn’t have to think about it.

Swoon

Andrea’s other summer staple. Swoon sweetens its drinks with monk fruit instead of sugar, which means the sweet hit without the energy crash an hour later. “If I’m out by my swimming pool, if I’m on my porch, like this is what I want. It feels summery to me,” Andrea says. Her ranking:

Pink lemonade (the GOAT)
Half lemonade, half tea (Arnold Palmer energy)
Peach
Original lemonade

Dr. Cole’s review: a little too sweet for him. Emily’s review: “more for us.” A divisive sip, but a beloved one nonetheless.

Spindrift

Emily’s sip of the summer, hands down. “I love sparkling water,” she says. “They have so many flavors and there’s just real fruit juice in here, so you can’t go wrong.” The ones worth grabbing:

Pineapple
Raspberry lime
Strawberry
Half and half (lemon iced tea)

Dr. Cole’s take: “I prefer this over the Swoon. It’s not as sweet. It’s just like mild.” Spindrift is the more grown-up sip if Swoon feels a little too sugary for you.

Waterloo

If Dr. Cole had to grab one drink from a regular grocery store, this is it. Waterloo runs extra fizzy and serves up the kind of bubbles you can feel in your nose three sips in. “If that carbonated water is not burning my mouth, get away from me, Satan,” he jokes. The team’s top picks:

Tropical punch (Dr. Cole’s top tier)
Guava (Emily’s criminally underrated favorite)

Pro tip: pour it over nugget ice with a squeeze of lime if you want your sparkling water to feel emotionally expensive.

Dr. Cole’s Mason Jar Mocktail

Feeling extra? Dr. Cole’s mason jar mocktail is the daily ritual that goes harder than any can ever could. He stacks ingredients that hit hydration, skin, hair, and nervous system support in one drink. The build:

Filtered water (the base)
One packet of Longevity RX Cellular Hydration (electrolytes plus a 1:1 sodium-potassium ratio, magnesium, Celtic sea salt, coconut water, celery, watermelon)
Holy Mane (marine collagen and pearl powder, for hair, skin, and nails)
Holy Radiance (MSM and phytoceramides, for the skin glow)
A GABA-supportive add-in like Chill (myo-inositol for nervous system regulation)
A fresh squeeze of lemon
Ice
A mason jar

The mason jar isn’t required, but as Dr. Cole says, it’s “part of the ritual.” Five minutes of prep, one drink that hits half your wellness checklist, and a glass cute enough to bring out on the porch. Summer of intention, secured.

Listen to the full episode on The Art of Being Well with Dr. Will Cole, available wherever you listen to podcasts.