You know when you've been Mangoed! (Britvic J20 Apple & Mango)

Member Name: werewolf2

Product:	Britvic J20 Apple & Mango
Date:	10/02/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: non - alcholic so suitable for a designated driver

Disadvantages: not available in all pubs and clubs, can be expensive

Britvic's new soft drink Apple and Mango, is a wonderful drink and not too expensive, as most soft drinks are.

Britvic's new soft drink J2O comes in 4 new flavours: -
Apple & Melon; Apple & Mango; Orange & Cranberries; Orange & Passionfruit
Each bottle costs about £1.09 (Wetherspoon outlets) to £1.80 (clubs) and contains 275 ml and all are alcohol free. However, there the similarities seem to end, as each juice drink has different quantities of juices and all have very individual tastes.

The Apple & Mango drink has more apple juice than mango juice, yet the Mango teases and tickles the taste buds and can clearly be detected.
The Apple & Mango drink is rather tangy but with a bit of an aftertaste, so those with a sweet tooth may prefer the Orange varieties as these seem sweeter. I prefer the Apple and Melon drink to the Apple and Mango as it is that bit tarter in taste and I have fun guessing the type of Melon and Apples used.

The ingredients used are Fruit juices (Apple Juice, Mango juice), Water, Sugar, Flavourings, Citric Acid, Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid). Unfortunately the flavourings is not broken down and it is not clear if there are any e numbers to avoid
The bottles look good and the drinks are interesting colours. The apple and mango drink is a good drink to have with a meal and particularly good if you are driving as it is alcohol free.

As I am teetotal due to medication, I was initially wary of this drink because it looked so much like Hooch that I thought it would contain alcohol. Overall, for designated drivers, this is a good soft drink choice: -
1. It looks and sounds like an alcoholic drink (such as Reef, Bacardi Breezer, Hooch), but IS alcohol free.
2. 4 flavours to choose from
3. Similar price to lemonade and cola but much more fun to drink
4. No difficulty getting up the next morning for work!

Now my only trouble is
 which flavour to have ....
Apple & Melon,
Orange and Cranberries,
Apple & Mango, or
perhaps Orange & Passionfruit

Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd., Chelmsford, produce the drinks which are best served chilled. I prefer them straight out of the bottle but that is my personal choice and it tastes OK from a glass too. If you do have a glass, I would definitely recommend using ice as this helps add to the flavour of the drink and keeps it chilled for longer.
I just wish that Britvic would bring out more choices of J20, perhaps Apple and Cranberry, Apple and Passionfruit or Orange and Mango

In the County Hotel, Queens Head Public House and Local Heroes Public house at Chesterfield, a J20 (any flavour) costs £1.50 - so I tend to only buy them in the Wetherspoons outlets as this saves me 45p!!
Discovered that you can buy 4 bottles of this drink for £2.98 at Tesco's.

I had this drink at the Rutland Arms last night (13 Feb 2004) with a bendy straw (I can see no benefit in using a straw with this drink, though).

The bottle stated NEW TASTE, but reading the ingredients I could not see any changes to the overall make up of the drink but reading my review above, I see that they have added a Stabiliser (Pectin). Unfortunately I would not say this has improved the taste - it tastes as good as it did before - and no better.
Wetherspoons now do non-alcoholic cocktails using this product, £2.95 for a jug and £1.49 for a glass:

Tropical Tease: Apple and Mango topped up with pineapple juice.
Other cocktails include Summer Sunset, Apple Crisp and Summer Berry Cola.

werewolf2

Summary: Great soft drink, ideal for designated drivers