A friend of mine began raving about how delicious 'Crabbies ' alcoholic ginger beer was, around six months ago. After trying - thanks to that recommendation - I have become slightly obsessed with it and find myself feeling disappointed when a bar or shop I enter doesn't sell it.

The bottle itself looks nice, simple and classy - emblazoned with the trademark Crabbies label incorporating the traditional Scottish thistle. The label describes it as 'original alcoholic ginger beer', and states that it is made to a unique recipe with fruits, spices and real ginger. Sounds good to me so far, and thumbs up to the aforementioned unique recipe.

On checking the reverse of the bottle, I see that there are no ingredients listed or nutritional information which is a shame as it would be helpful to know just how bad it is for you - however it does admit to containing sulphites, sugar and sweetners....hmmm....maybe this is the reason I'm getting fatter each week !
The bottle also tells us that the drink is 4 % alcohol - around the same strength as bottle of lager.

What I enjoy most about this drink is the taste. It has a strong fiery ginger taste, and is also nice and spicey with just the right amount of sweetness. To me, it is refreshing and doesn't taste too strongly of alcohol - perfect to enjoy on a warm day with plenty of ice.

The bottle advises that Crabbies is best severed chilled over ice, with a slice of lemon, but I also enjoy it without the lemon but always with ice. I hesitate to admit it, but I also find it delicious with a dash of vodka in there too.

As you can probably guess, I recommend you try this drink - one drawback though, being that it is not as widely available as I would like. Asda stock it now, as does one of my local shops, but not many bars actually sell it so I have to change my tipple on a rare night out. A 500 ml bottle costs around £2 from a shop, or £3 in a bar.

If you like delicious, refreshing drinks that get you tiddly - then you will probably like this.