Ribena's latest addition to their dilute drinks range is their strawberry flavour drink. They have been producing a popular 288ml sized strawberry carton drink for some time but now manufacture a 500ml sized bottle of ready-to-dilute liquid. I have always enjoyed strawberry flavoured drinks and in the past have tried the Ribena cartons as well as shops own high juices in this flavour and also drinks made especially for kids' such as the strawberry Fruit Shoot mini bottle. I was eager to see if this hyped up product would satisfy my sweet tooth!

The drink is sold is transparent plastic bottles. These are made from 100% recycled material and can also be recycled after use. The bottle has a easy to remove screw top. I find the bottle tops to be very secure - you can lay them on their side and they won't drip out. The design of the bottle is very attractive - the top being encased in a special gold foil as if this is a bottle of champagne! The distinctive red colouring and strawberry splash design helps identify this from the other flavours in the range. Full ingredients are listed on the label. There is also a handy easy-read nutritional guide to fat, calorie and sugar contents. Each 250ml serving (diluted) contains 113 calories and nil traces of fat.

The ingredients state that in order of quantity, water and sugar come tops and strawberry juice from concentrate is the third largest. The juice constitutes 6% of the volume with overall juice content being 30% before dilution. There are also blackcurrant and black carrot extracts included. I have never actually heard of black carrots before. A quick Google, though, and you'll discover that this type of carrot is considered to have health benefits which outwiegh that of the regular orange carrots! According to a study conducted by the Telegraph newspaper, Ribena strawberry had the highest real strawberry content of all products tested in a fruit-content trial of popular fruity snacks. The drink is also rich in vitamin C - an excellent reason to drink up!

The juice smells very strongly before dilution. It is a syrupy, overpowering, almost soapy smell that is more reminiscent of treacle than fresh strawberries. It is an aroma that makes you want to drink some juice quickly though! The instructions for use state that this should be diluted one parts to four parts water. You can more or less experiment until you find the strength you enjoy. I personally like mine quite weak and watery. I find the stronger it is the more it becomes like a jammy, syrupy, ice-cream sauce kind of thing. It offers a more refreshing, thirst-quenching experience if you have it weak.

The strawberry flavour is very obvious and is quite sharp and very sugary. It is very similar to raspberry flavour drinks - it has that same ultra sweet taste with no bitterness to counteract this sweetness. I really love the flavour as I have a very sweet tooth. I think most children would find this very appealing too. When you swallow the drink feels cool and has a calming effect on me. It is a great drink to quench thirst in the summer heat.

In my opinion this is definately one of the best strawberry juice drinks on the market. The strawberry Fruit Shoot has a strange, throat-burning effect and also tastes a little bit chemically. This Ribena is cool and easy to drink in comparison. Although there are similar squash and high juice drinks on the market Ribena are obvious experts in the drink manufacturing market and I would recommend trying this strawberry drink above all others out there!