Cranergy Energy Juice Drink

Ocean Spray has a new drink on the market, Cranergy Energy Juice Drink. I saw a display at my local Kroger and thought I'd give it a try.

There are two flavors, Cranberry Lift and Raspberry Cranberry Lift. I picked up the raspberry flavor.

First the good. It has green tea extract, B vitamins, cranberry and raspberry juices from concentrate, plus grape juice also from concentrate. It's sweetened with Splenda, thus, per the label, "50% fewer calories and less sugar". You'll get 100% of your vitamin C requirements and about half of a multitude of B vitamins if you drink one cup (8 fl oz).

Filtered water is the top ingredient, grape, then cranberry, then raspberry follow in that order. It is 20% fruit juice.

The cost was $3.99 for a 46 fl oz bottle at Kroger. Prices probably vary somewhat.

I wouldn't have noticed it if it had been on the juice aisle as it is in a standard juice bottle. That's not necessarily a problem as this isn't a true "energy" drink like Red Bull or Monster or Rock Star tout themselves to be. There is no caffeine or any of those other rev-you-up additives like you'll find in the aforementioned drinks. It's a natural energy drink. I like that. I might suggest that they consider trying a handy smaller size container like the other traditional energy drinks - they might sell more if it's easy to grab and travel.

I haven't adjusted to the taste yet. It's somewhat tart, which I suppose I should expect with a cranberry drink. Green tea has its own distinctive strong flavor, too. I think I'd like it a bit better if it had more raspberry and a bit more sweetness.

Turns out the calorie and sugar claim is as compared to a traditional energy drink (like the Monster, Red Bull, etc.). I allow myself one energy drink a day, Monster being my favorite. I drink the no-cal, no-carb version so if I switch to Cranergy I'll be getting more calories and less caffeine. I am fine with moving from caffeine to natural energy. I'm not so sure about the extra calories.*

I've only tried one bottle. I still haven't decided whether I'm going to buy a second bottle. I like the idea but I am not sold on the taste. Hmmm.... maybe I'll mix it with a Monster and see what that's like! I bet that will be really good. The best and worst of both worlds.

Bottom line: Worth a try. Priced a bit high.

*I've been reading studies that show drinking and eating products made with artificial sweeteners can result in weight gains! More on that as I continue reading and researching.