A Sweet All-Rounder (Britvic Robinsons Special R Squash No Added Sugar Apple and Blackcurrant)

Member Name: DocDan3

Product:	Britvic Robinsons Special R Squash No Added Sugar Apple and Blackcurrant
Date:	28/07/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, Thirst-Quenching, Sweet With No Added Sugar, For Summer + Winter, Unique, Value For Money

Disadvantages: Three Litre Bottle Is Hard To Handle

Robinsons produce a range of drinks but this one has to be my favourite as it has a wonderful strong flavour and is great on a summer's day. It tastes just as good as Ribena with the added bonus of an apple flavour too. It can be had hot or cold, depending on the time of year and it is perhaps the most flavoursome squash that Robinsons produce.


Packaging
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The squash comes in a transparent plastic bottle. It is available in 3 sizes - 1 litre, 2 litres and 3 litres. None of them have a handle or any easy way of holding them so as the size gets bigger, they become harder to hold. I currently have a 3 litre one as it works out at around 98p a litre but the 1 litre bottle is over £1.00 itself. The bottle has a label across the front with the Robinsons logo on a green background like a bridge across the top. Below are pictures of blackcurrants and apples with the 'Fruit Squash' description below. The most attracting thing about this drink is the rich, juicy and flavoursome looking appearance of the squash inside. The squash has a bright crimson red colour and tastes just as good as it looks.


Taste Test
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As I mentioned earlier, this squash is by far the most tasteful Robinsons fruit squash you can get. It has no added sugar, but still has a very sweet taste. As you take a glass towards your mouth, you can smell the slight sweetness of the drink. You can immediately taste the blackcurrant flavour and the apple flavour comes after. I wouldn't say the blackcurrant flavour is as authentic as Ribena but it's still sweet and tasty. The apple flavour that follows gives a very refreshing and satisfying feeling, making the drink seem full of flavours.


My Thoughts
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The drink is really thirst-quenching, especially with an ice cube on a summers day. However, it can also be great with hot water instead of cold. You are meant to add around 1 part squash to 4 parts water, depending on how strong you like it. I have found with this flavour that it goes really well with hot water on a winters day. I would recommend adding a bit more squash for this to intensify the flavours. It's lovely to have the mouthwatering aroma lifting from the mug and being able to sip a lovely warm mug of apple and blackcurrant. It tastes just as fantastic when hot compared to being ice cold, and is ideal for the winter.

The one drawback in my eyes is that the bottles aren't easy to handle. Once open, air can rush out and as you hold them to pour a drink, you can easily lose grip as they become moist in the fridge too. The 3 litre bottle has been dropped a few times by me as it's quite large to hold, and almost impossible to handle without 2 hands. It would be better if the bottles had some sort of design to improve handling efficiency.

Besides this, I think the flavour really is great as it does contain a mix of flavours. The fact it can be had cold or hot in summer or winter is excellent, as it tastes great in slightly different ways whatever you decide to do. It has no added sugar so won't rot your teeth too quickly. It still has a sweet taste though so it satisfies a craving for sugar. It's ideal for exercise if you want some flavoured water as it's thirst-quenching too and easy to drink as it has the consistency of water without gas. I have never tried this squash with gassy water but I imagine it could be nice.


Price & Availability
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You can buy this squash in three different sizes at a variety of supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Co-Op, Budgens and many other small supermarkets. It's a popular drink and will be found amongst the other drinks with the Robinsons merchandise. Here are the three sizes and their respective prices:

1 Litre - £1.10
2 Litres - £1.98
3 Litres - £ 2.93

As you can see, the greater the quantity, the cheaper it is per litre. This is value for money, so you are best off buying the larger one, despite its difficulty to handle. It's great as it will last a long time rather than lasting a couple of days. £2.93 for a long lasting, delicious drink isn't bad at all. It has all the advantages of water, as this is it's main consistency.


In Conclusion...
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I think this drink is delicious and I would highly recommend it. It has many advantages as opposed to the one disadvantage of handling the larger three litre bottle. It has a unique sweet taste, with no added sugar and it's really thirst quenching. It can be had in the summer with an ice cube or in the winter with some hot water as it tastes fabulous either way. It is good value for money as it lasts long due to the fact you add around four parts water to one part squash. I would recommend trying it out as it's a great introduction to the Robinsons squash drinks.

Thanks for reading

Dan ©

Summary: An ideal drink for the whole year with ice cold water for the summer or hot water in winter