San Pellegrino Limonata

€1.25 for 330ml; €3.78 per litre

This is a real find. It is not the cheapest lemonade you will come across but it certainly one of the best Pricewatch has ever tasted.

0 of 3

The ingredient list is pretty pure and it is made with water, lemon juice – 16 per cent lemon juice in fact (although it is reconstituted) , sugar (a lot) and lemon flavouring.

And that is it. A can has 149 calories – less than some of its rivals but it also accounts for 37 per cent of our sugar intake, which is most disappointing. We're not sure where all the sugar has gone, mind you, as it does tastes pleasingly sour to us. It is not the most readily available of soft drinks, which is a downside.
Verdict: Lovely but sugary
Star rating: Four stars

TK Red Lemonade

€1 for 2 litres; €0.50 per litre

This is as Irish as Tayto or Barry's tea and we wouldn't feel comfortable slagging it off because it formed an integral part of Pricewatch's youth and while it is not exactly the most
wholesome product in the world – or even the nicest tasting – we would be sad if it ever disappeared from our shelves.

It is very sweet and tastes no more lemony than a Chomp bar but it is very cheap and – if served cold – is rather refreshing. It is also red – well, reddish.
Verdict: Old school
Star rating: Two stars

Sun-Sip Lemonade

€0.55 for 2 litres; €0.28 per litre

The best thing we can say about this bottle of fizz, which we sourced in Tesco, is that it is cheap, very, very cheap. In fact, it is 10 times cheaper than the dearest product we tried but even at this price we are not sure it is worth the money.

It is fizzy at the outset but it has a sweetness that did not appeal to us at all. It also lost the effervescence fairly quickly, which left us drinking a faintly sickly, fairly flat sugar water which is not where we wanted to be at all.
Verdict: Cheap in all sorts of ways
Star rating: One star

7 Up Lemon And Lime
€2.39 for 2 Litres; €1.20 per litre

When it comes to fizzy lemon drinks this is the market leader. It pales in comparison to the Pellegrino and lacks any real zing or complexity but it is by no means by and if we were presented with a glass or a can of this we’d drink it without any problems.

It is by far the most widely available of the products we tried and is utterly reliable. It is more expensive than we thought it would be but then again someone has to pay for all the advertising and that somebody is you – and Pricewatch, betimes.
Verdict: Fairly good
Star rating: Three stars