Spring begins this month, meaning the doldrums of winter are finally winding down. Longer days and warmer temperatures will soon be here, bringing lazy days lounging by the pool, sitting underneath your favorite shade tree, or grilling up some yummy burgers and dogs on the back porch. Whatever your favorite warm-weather activity might be, it is guaranteed to be even better if you are sipping on an ice-cold glass of delicious lemonade. (But if you’re tired of waiting for the warm weather to arrive and you’re ready to book a trip so you can find it yourself, here’s a look at ten luggage brands to try.)
The very best lemonade is homemade, of course. But if you are squeezed for time (pun very much intended), you can also pick up some lemonade at the grocery store. That is where things can get a bit more complicated, though. There are significant variations in quality among store-bought lemonade brands. You don’t want a sweet backyard barbecue to turn sour because you served inferior lemonade, right? How do you know which lemonades will keep those summer vibes rolling for you and your family and friends?
Compiling the List
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After “weighing” the merits of numerous lemonade brands, we compiled a list of six brands that we highly recommend you try. These lemony treats taste like summertime in a glass!
24/7 Wall St. compiled this list by consulting seven food review websites, blogs, and vlogs. We also referenced customer reviews on retail store websites. Lemonade preference is highly subjective, obviously. To make this list as objective as possible, we used an aggregate scoring system where each review was weighted equally. The lemonades on our list are ranked from 6th to 1st place using that scoring system. The prices listed were accurate at the time of publication but may vary by store or location.
Before we get started, though, here are a couple of products that we did not include in our lemonade survey.
Powdered Products
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First of all, we did not consider powdered lemonade products such as Country Time, 4C, or Kool-Aid. These are popular options, especially for children who love the pronounced sweetness of the products. However, they are essentially sugar water. These powdered concoctions hardly qualify as true lemonade, therefore they were excluded from our list.
Sugar-Free Lemonade
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On the other side of the sugar spectrum, we also did not consider diet and sugar-free lemonades in our survey. There are some good sugar-free options on the market, such as Uncle Matt’s No Sugar Added Lemonade. If you need to watch your sugar intake, this is certainly a good brand to try.
However, comparing sugared and sugar-free lemonades is not an apples-to-apples comparison (our apologies for the mixing of fruit metaphors), so we focused solely on traditional sugared lemonades.
With those caveats in mind, here is our list of six lemonade brands that you can feel good about adding to your shopping list. As we all dream about the warm weather that is coming, remember…summer is too short to drink bad lemonade. These selections are worthy of your grandest summertime celebrations.
6. Newman’s Own
Source: Glearybarsim / Wikimedia Commons
- Expected Price: N/A
- Size: 59 fl oz
Newman’s Own Review
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Newman’s Own traces its roots back to 1980 when actor Paul Newman and author A.E. Hotchner teamed up to give away some homemade salad dressing as holiday gifts. The dressing was such a hit that the Newman’s Own brand of dressings was born two years later.
The company has the most admirable of missions: all after-tax profits are donated to charity. Newman famously said, “Let’s give it all away!” And that is exactly what the company has done.
Not only that, but the Newman’s Own brand is famous for its high-quality products that now extend far beyond salad dressings. As seen in the picture above, the brand has forayed into the world of coffee. It also produces some tasty lemonade. In fact, Newman’s Own Old Fashioned Roadside Lemonade was a favorite among the reviewers we consulted for this story.
One reviewer said this lemonade “evokes a sense of freshness” and has “an excellent lemony bite.”
Another said this lemonade features an “extra oomph of acidity that can be so refreshing on a hot day.”
Some reviewers actually rated Newman’s Own as their top choice among all store-bought lemonades, so why did we rank it in sixth place? One word: availability. We couldn’t find this lemonade in any grocery store or even online. It is still listed on the company’s website, so it seems this lemonade is still in production. We struck out in our search for it, though. Hopefully, it will be easier to find this summer!
Thankfully, the rest of the lemonades on this list are much easier to find in retail stores, online, or both.
5. Milo’s
Source: Courtesy of Mike Edmisten via 24/7 Wall St.
- Expected Price: $3.49
- Size: 1 gallon
Milo’s Review
Source: Courtesy of Mike Edmisten via 24/7 Wall St.
The list of ingredients in Milo’s lemonade couldn’t be simpler: filtered water, pure cane sugar, concentrated lemon juice, and natural flavors. That’s it.
Because there are no artificial ingredients, there is no off-putting fake taste when sipping Milo’s lemonade. That’s a big deal, given the number of lemonade products at the grocery store that are packed full of artificial junk. These products taste more like a science experiment than lemonade.
The one possible knock against Milo’s is that is very sweet. Some reviewers in our survey preferred a more tart lemonade, so that brought Milo’s down a bit in our rankings. However, if you’re looking for a naturally sweet lemonade, Milo’s ought to be on your list.
One reviewer noted that Milo’s is “packed with sugar but it has a pure, honest flavor.” That same reviewer also noted that this sweetness makes Milo’s a great option for mixing cocktails.
4. Tropicana Lively Lemonade
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- Expected Price: $3.49
- Size: 52 fl oz
Tropicana Lively Lemonade Review
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Tropicana Lively Lemonade will certainly liven up your taste buds. A reviewer we consulted gave it one of the highest compliments a lemonade can receive by comparing it to a freshly shaken lemonade from a state fair. If you’ve ever needed to cool off at a fair, you know that these strategically positioned lemonade booths can call to you like a siren’s song.
As the reviewer noted, these fair-style lemonades are “super fresh and…a little mild.” That’s what you’ll experience when you sip on Tropicana Lively Lemonade.
There are no artificial flavors or ingredients in this lemonade. Just natural summertime goodness.
3. Nature’s Nectar
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- Expected Price: $2.19
- Size: 52 fl oz
Nature’s Nectar Review
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ALDI is an offbeat grocery store where shoppers must “rent” shopping carts and bring their own bags. However, this quirky chain is also experiencing rapid growth. The company recently announced plans to open 800 new stores nationwide.
Over 90% of the products sold at ALDI are private label. However, the quality of these products often rivals the comparable national brands, and at a fraction of the cost. This lemonade is no exception.
Nature’s Nectar, sold exclusively at ALDI, contains no artificial ingredients. That natural taste really comes through. One reviewer said, “The flavor profile was tart on the front and back ends with a balanced sugar taste in the middle. And it wasn’t super acidic…This is what lemonade should taste like.”
And, not surprisingly since it’s from ALDI, this lemonade is also the cheapest on our list. Is it any wonder why this is the fastest-growing grocery chain in the nation?
2. Florida’s Natural
Source: Courtesy of Mike Edmisten via 24/7 Wall St.
- Expected Price: $2.39
- Size: 59 fl oz
Florida’s Natural Review
Source: Courtesy of Mike Edmisten via 24/7 Wall St.
Florida’s Natural is best known for its delicious orange juice (which we highly recommend, by the way), but its lemonade is also super tasty.
As the brand name suggests, you’ll only find natural ingredients in Florida’s Natural Lemonade. Forget about any off-putting flavors or concerns about artificial colors or ingredients. This is a naturally delicious lemonade.
One customer summed it up quite succinctly, saying, “Easily my favorite lemonade…”
One reviewer noted, “This pleasantly pale yellow lemonade had a nice sweet finish…”
This is not as sweet as lemonades such as Milo’s, but it is certainly not an overly tart lemonade, either. If you’d rather not pucker but instead prefer a lemonade that leans toward the sweeter side, give Florida’s Natural a try.
1. Simply Lemonade
Source: Courtesy of Mike Edmisten via 24/7 Wall St.
- Expected Price: $2.99
- Size: 52 fl oz
Simply Lemonade Review
Source: Courtesy of Mike Edmisten via 24/7 Wall St.
Simply Lemonade scored the top spot in our survey of the best store-bought lemonades. Nearly every review we consulted had nothing but the highest praise for this tasty treat.
One reviewer said Simply Lemonade “has a nice, clean, bright lemonade flavor.” Another noted that “the sweetness is pleasant and rounded.”
This lemonade contains some pulp, but it is not overly pulpy. This texture adds to the legit lemonade vibes that are contained in Simply Lemonade.
Customers agreed with the assessments of the reviewers. One customer said, “My family loves Simply Lemonade. We go through it really quickly. It’s also great as a mixer in your cocktails. It tastes fresh and real.”
Another commented, “Love the taste of fresh lemonade without all the fuss? Try Simply Lemonade. Tastes great without all the crazy ingredients you find in many bottled drinks.”
This lemonade is about as close as you can get to a quintessential lemonade flavor and texture without making it yourself. The next time you are planning a summertime get-together, keep it simple with Simply Lemonade. You and your guests will love it!
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