Cawston Press - 4 Reviews

PSA: Do not be concerned when you drink an entire carton of this some evening, and then wake up groggy in the middle of the night to have to go to the bathroom. The discoloration that you see in the toilet is not blood, just beet juice. There is no need to be thrown into a panic for two seconds before you remember that you consumed an unnatural amount of this juice and that it's a perfectly normal response from your body.

This is nothing but apple juice and beet juice and it's wonderful. I know beets aren't for everyone, but I love their earthiness in juice form. The apple juice cuts that a bit, but it's still there enough to remind you that what you're consuming most certainly must be extremely healthy. You also probably shouldn't consume as much as I did, but you know what? Live your life. Make your own choices.

I had this whole idea for writing to Scotland and telling them that we were cool now and that all is forgiven for that Iron Bru garbage that they spewed into the world. Then, I realized that Cawston Press isn't made in Scotland. I just happen to have been there the first time I drank it. Well, it looks like I still have beef with Scotland, but my love for England is still running high, due to it being the home of these sodas.

No other company in the history of Thirsty Dudes has gotten a five bottle review consecutively for all of their products. They are truly a gift to the beverage world. With this soda that took their patented sparkling apple juice and added a top notch ginger beer to it. This has it all, flavor and burn. You can taste the flavor of actual ginger and not just an intense burn, but it has enough kick to keep you interested.

It seems like a bit of a hefty price at $7 for a six pack, but that's less than $1.25 per can, and that is not bad at all for this quality of soda. I can't wait until their other flavors make it over to the US.

There has been a lot of big moves happening in the beverage world this year. Ecto Cooler is back. Pepsi released its delicious 1893 line, and cold pressed juices are everywhere. To me the most important thing that has happened in the world of drinks is that Cawston Press is officially available in the States and that should be causing gigantic waves, but it's going mostly unknown. Until now I have only ever had Cawston products while in the UK and they are no joke. They produce sparkling beverages that are based on the most wonderful apple juice. I believe all of their flavors start with that same base and then more is added to create the desired flavor and so far they have all been flawless.

This past weekend I completely lost my mind around midnight on Thursday and decided randomly to fly to Atlanta the following afternoon in order to go see The Cure. I ended up with ridiculous seats and a set list that I thought only existed in my dreams. The show was the happiest I have been in a long time. The following day I hung out with some friends down there, ate some amazing food, and went to the Coca Cola museum. It was a wonderful day. As I was getting a ride to the airport to fly home this can was pressed in my hand by my friend, and fellow soda enthusiast, Dakota. Now I had two ridiculously wonderful days and this soda was the perfect cherry on top of a great trip.

As I stated, it has a sparkling apple juice base, but the addition of the lemon juice skyrocketed it to a whole new realm. This is the greatest sparkling lemonade I have ever tasted. It's like someone made perfect lemonade and then poured some perfect apple juice into it and them soaked some elderflower in it. It's a slightly appley lemonade with a light floral taste to it. This very easily could have been too tart, but the apple mellows it out and makes it perfect. Do yourself a favor and if you run into any Cawston Press sodas in your travels pick some up. You won't be even remotely disappointed.

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap.
I bought this in Edinboro, Scotland at a little shop where I got vegan haggis. I ended up getting a water to accompany my meal, and slipped this can into my bag where it went forgotten for a couple of days.

Cut to a couple countries later and I reach in my bag for a granola bar and find this floating around at the bottom, still somehow fairly cold. I didn't expect much from this from the get go. I'm not a huge rhubarb fan, and the sodas I've had of that flavor were perfectly fine, but nothing exceptional. This though, this is a game changer. I've been kicking myself ever since I drank it that I didn't drink it with my haggis. I would have instantly bought several more cans for my travels.

I suppose I should tell you what this glorious liquid tasted like, but I'm afraid I won't be able to do it justice. The Cawston Press company bases all of their beverages on apple juice, and they do that very well. Without the addition of the rhubarb this would have been a nearly perfect sparkling apple juice. Sure they add some sugar, which I normally frown upon, but they made it work and taste natural. You add a little bit of rhubarb to that and the flavor just skyrockets. You would expect the rhubarb to be overpowering, but it sits perfectly in the mix. It's a match made in heaven that no one else has seemed to exploit yet.

I need to stop thinking about this because it's depressing me that I don't know if I'll ever be able to taste this again. Perhaps I'll book another tour with the sole reasoning of acquiring more of it.