The objectives of the current investigation were to: (1) describe the neural responsivity to water presented as a taste stimulus in cells of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and parabrachial nucleus of the pons (PbN) and (2) describe converging evidence that water is an independent taste modality. We characterized four different water-responsive cell types in the NTS and PbN of the rat. Most notably, we observed “water best” cells that responded more vigorously to water than to any other taste stimulus. We argue that the classification of water as an independent taste modality is supported by physiological evidence and has important implications for taste-mediated regulation of ingestive behavior.