28 February 2016

Fentiman's Sparkling Lime & Jasmine botanical drink (by @NLi10)

Unboxing video!


There are few companies that I like more than Fentiman's. They seemed to be part of the first wave of adult soft drinks, and always seem to have something exciting on the horizon to keep up with the competition. It's great that most decent bars in Birmingham stock at least one or two varieties now, and once when I asked for a Pepsi in a restaurant they appologised and asked if Fentiman's was Ok! 

We got this large box in the post (see the video above for the full unboxing experience!) so I cracked it open to see what delights awaited us.


It was six bottles of new flavour Sparkling Lime and Jasmine.


There was also a conspiratorially sealed letter with the usual details about how it's a sophisticated drink for grown ups and is not just fizzy water and sugar.

In fact this is the first thing that stuck me - it's not as sweet as I'd expected, and it's not as sharp either. The Victorian Lemonade that is my current go-to is a very sour experience and fantastic for it. This is closer tonally to the Rose Lemonade and is all about the subtle layers within the flavour. 

Limeade seems to be a little out of fashion (although I think Sprite contains a hint of it) and only really shows up in the cheaper ranges and the high-end flavours. This is certainly in the high end with five different botanical ingredients (lime flower, hyssop, myrtle leaf, juniper berries and jasmine flowers) as well as orange and quinine for flavour.  This isn't as muddled as it sounds as these come through in waves.

I bemoaned the recent tonic drinks for not being as drinkable without alcohol as the Fever Tree range, but this retains the subtle refreshing hit that I'm looking for in a drink when out. 

It has a definite green tea vibe to it and is something that I think I could drink all night instead of my usual route of a strong Victorian Lemonade followed by bottled water. A definite hit, and one that after the remaining five bottles have been drunk I'll certainly be after more of.

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