Whether you prefer your pickles dill or kosher, as spears or chips, in dill-flavored toothpaste or filthy martinis, 2025 is the pickle’s time to shine. As a pickle lover, I’m here for all of the dill-icious collabs, but I’d rather get my fix straight from the jar — pickle juice included. Luckily, Claussen is launching a brand new bottle of “Just The Brine,” which the brand says can act as a tangy mixer and hangover cure. But is drinking pickle juice actually good for you?
What is Claussen Just The Brine pickle juice?
Last October, Dua Lipa’s Diet Coke recipe went viral on social media, and the video of the singer mixing Diet Coke with pickle juice racked up more than 12 million views and thousands of comments. Claussen jumped into the conversation to tease a product called “Just the Brine,” and after thousands of fans requests, Claussen is delivering on that promise.
In anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day on Monday, many celebrants will be downing Guinness and Jameson by Saturday and needing a refresh by Sunday. Claussen, the iconic refrigerated pickle brand, has St. Paddy’s partygoers covered with their newest release: Just The Brine pickle juice.
Rather than drinking it straight out of the jar, Just The Brine is an eight-ounce bottle of, yes, just pickle brine. This single bottle of pickle juice is great for channeling your inner Dua Lipa with a tangy mixer at night, or for a refreshing electrolyte boost the next morning.
What are the benefits of drinking pickle juice?
One of the biggest benefits of drinking pickle juice is electrolyte balance, since pickle brine contains electrolytes such as sodium and potassium. While it’s not a complete replacement for water, taking a swig of pickle juice may be beneficial during intense exercise or in especially hot weather, since you lose electrolytes through sweat.
Given its sodium concentration, drinking pickle juice may also help relieve muscle cramps. Dehydration can throw electrolyte levels out of whack, which may cause muscle cramps, twitches, or spasms. And while pickle juice isn’t a guaranteed cure for cramps, some evidence suggests that drinking brine can provide quick relief.
A 2020 analysis in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that pickle juice was one of the most “practical foods” for athletes to prevent or treat their muscle cramps, which makes sense, given that pickle juice contains the sodium your body needs to maintain fluid balance and relieve a cramp.
Plus, the same study found that drinking pickle juice affects neuromuscular function and relieves cramps via digestion processes in your mouth. As soon as the brine hits your taste receptors, the pickle juice can stimulate reflexes and trigger changes to neurons in the brain that are involved in muscle cramping, which then signal your muscles to relax.
Beyond muscular health, pickle juice can potentially impact your gut health since it contains large amounts of lactobacillus, a probiotic that’s one of several healthy gut bacteria. But, since most pickle juice that’s commercially available or jarred has been pasteurized, the bacteria are likely inactive and won’t have a major impact on your gut health. Instead of pickled foods for probiotics, try fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir, or kombucha, which have probiotic benefits and a similar tangy flavor.
Is drinking pickle juice good for you?
Because of the sodium content, pickle juice can help the body retain water, which can help with rehydration. But, consuming too much sodium may cause the body to retain water in excess, which can increase blood volume and raise blood pressure.
Just two ounces of pickle juice may contain between 500 and 1,000 milligrams of sodium, and since the recommended daily limit of sodium for adults is 2,300 milligrams, consuming too much pickle juice makes it easy to exceed that allowance. Plus, drinking pickle juice can be especially problematic for people with high blood pressure, heart disease, or kidney disease, all of whom must be mindful of sodium intake.
Is pickle juice good for hangovers?
Drinking pickle juice can help with dehydration and relieve nausea — two common side effects of hangovers — but pickle juice shouldn’t be your first choice when rehydrating after a night out.
Because of its high sodium content, pickle juice may not be as beneficial as an electrolyte-packed sports drink when it comes to rehydrating. Plus, sports drinks or electrolyte beverages are often formulated with proper ratios of sodium and potassium for hydration. While pickle juice can help replenish electrolytes, it’s not ideal for hydration, and should not replace plain water.
TL;DR: Pickle juice may potentially help with muscle cramps, nausea, and dehydration in small amounts, but drinking a full 8-ounce bottle of Just The Brine may do more harm to your electrolyte levels than good.
How can I buy Claussen Just The Brine pickle juice?
Starting Friday, March 14, six-packs of Just The Brine pickle juice will be available via GoPuff in New York, Chicago, and Boston — three American hot spots with deep Irish heritage and legendary St. Patrick’s day celebrations. If you aren’t in those cities, it’s no big ‘dill’ —- fans can visit www.claussenjustthebrine.com for a chance to score a duo pack of Just The Brine, while supplies last.