Ocean Spray Cran x Watermelon Juice

Hmm. This has sugar added, but sometimes a sweet drink is OK. Unfortunately, I'm just not in the mood for it. I think watermelon juice on its own (which is really fun and good and probably goes with sugar) or cranberry juice on its own (which I wish to be unsweet) would both be better than this slightly bitter watermelon combo. At least it is just a small bottle, 100 calos and a little snack. Less sugar than a smaller martinelli apple juice, even! But at the same time, it's giving liquid medicine if you mouth-squint. So. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10 

Ocean Spray Craisins (The Original)

These are cute! Good for baking, snacking, etc. The bag says "Peanut Free" which we love. Also "no need to refrigerate once open", the transparency of which we also love. Of course, all the other fun styles of dried fruit, even from Ocean Spray, are may-contain city, but at least the OG remains accessible. Something I lament about the OG, though, is that there's sooooooo much sugar added (like 50% DV in 1/4 cup). We all know I love sweets, but fruit is already sweet!! The tartness is the whole point of cranberry, let me experience it!!! Alas, I gotta buy fresh cranberries in the 2 week window they're available if I want to experience actual cranberry. But these are still very fun and tasty, just a totally different thing. Craisins is a good name because raisins are hardly fruit anymore and we accept that. Yes we do.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10 

Ocean Spray Cranberries

I actually don't think I'd ever made cranberry sauce before! I rectified that today, since I like cranberries and they are also safe in all ways. It was fun and very easy. Happy Thanksgiving to me! (And you, I guess). These were particularly fun to cook with because they pop like popcorn. Is that why people string them on trees with popcorn? Probably not. My Christmas anthropology needs work. The only downside to these is that they aren't washed and I was a little lax in rinsing them and therefore nervous that I missed some major dirt (but I don't think I did). A nice bitterness but also some antioxidants. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Ocean Spray Sparkling Cranberry Juice Cocktail

Mm, cocktails. But no, this is just cranberry-grape fizzy juice. It's in a nice slim can, and brain-diet-approved, but the reason I usually stick with 100% cranberry juice is not because it's lower sugar (I think it is clear that I enjoy sugary candies, chocos, cereals, etc) but instead because grape juice tastes bad. And this tastes like fizzy grape juice. It turns out years of wine drinking did not change my long-held opinion of grape juice. However, it is something to consume!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce

A Thanksgiving classic! My parents always think I like this version better than the whole-berry version, which is false. But it tastes the same, really; the only difference is in the texture. It's hard to eat a lot of this, since it's very sweet and homogeneous, but it goes great with turkey et al, and it comes in a convenient can shape. I'll never not put a little bit on my plate!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Ocean Spray Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

So I will admit, the picture on this can does not look super appealing and is oddly dark. But I do enjoy this whole berry sauce, definitely with turkey 'n the fixins but also on its own for a sad pseudo-holiday for one, too. I had one such event just last week to celebrate my July 14 in Quarantine. The whole berries make the texture a lot more fun than the no-berry type, and the taste is basically the same but maybe a tiny bit tarter/less sweet (although it is still very sweet). This is probably a good 4 portions. I think it is nut free and the antioxidants are probably in there or something. In general this is a nice tasty canned snack.

Overall

Cost: 6/10

Taste: 7/10

Ocean Spray Unsweeted Pure Cranberry Juice

This is a tart juice!! I associate it strongly with vodka crans, because that's the only cocktail I drink at home on the reg. It's perfect for two reasons: (1) this stuff is so tart/overpowering, you can't taste the vodka at all (or if you do, you know you really overdid it), and (2) it's supposedly good for UTIs and also has some nice vitamin C and other health benefits. You gotta get the 100% pure shit though, not the cranberry juice cocktail (80% apple juice).

Sadly, tonight (and for the last 3 months)  I have not had any alc, due to my coronal and/or post-coronal total body shutdown. You can tell it's getting to me because I'm now swearing in my blog. But this juice tastes exactly like it does mixed with vodka, so I'm almost getting pseudo-drunk off of it, which is quite an innovation. You really can't chug it, regardless, it's super tart and makes me feel like my teeth will burn off. But supposedly cranberry is good for teeth, so what do I know. This isn't necessarily tasty, but it makes me feel and also feel vaguely healthy, even though there's still 9gs of natural sugar. So I'm into it in moderation. Once I have to start going back to work in person I'll probably start drinking again, so stay tuned, my little juice! :)

Overall

Cost: 4/10 (Pricy for a juice -- about 5$ for this slender 1L bottle)

Taste: 6/10

Vibe: 8/10

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice Cocktail with Lime

I know that pretty much all drinks are peanut free, but I just bought this cranberry lime cocktail and thought it was surprisingly good, so I wanted to make a note of it. I really like cranberry juice straight, but sometimes it's a little too strong to guzzle down, and I'm not a big grape juice fan, which is basically in every cranberry juice cocktail no matter what. So this one is a great option for me. It's got a great lime flavor, quite strong but not overpowering the cranberry. It tastes like a flavorful limeade! I will definitely buy this again if I can find it.



Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10