Six supermarket lemonades were tested against Schweppes - and a 32p bottle won

Whether you like it cloudy or sparkling, there's no denying that lemonade is one of the most refreshing fizzy drinks out there.

With the promise of sunnier days and warmer weather on the horizon, there is almost nothing better than a pitcher of that sweet and zingy liquid to cool you down.

And if you can't whip up a batch that is homemade, then bottled lemonade will just have to do.

Which is where Schweppes comes in, as it is arguably the most popular branded bottle of the fizzy drink that you can find - aside from 7-Up and Sprite.

But, can a supermarkets own-branded bottle of the carbonate drink match the popular brand at all?

Well, that's one one reporter The Manchester Evening News decided to find out, as they picked up six supermarket branded bottles to pit against the mighty Schweppes.

Visiting M&S, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Asda, Aldi and Tesco, the taste test found that one supermarket matched the taste of the popular brand.

Here is how Bethan Shufflebotham got on as reported by MEN.

Six supermarkets were visited for their own-branded bottles of fizz (MEN)

Schweppes

Firstly, I had to remind myself of the lemony flavour of Schweppes. It was very fizzy with a bubbly mouthfeel, and felt like a very premium beverage. I suppose you’d hope so seeing as it retails in excess of £1 in most supermarkets.

And hopefully I would be able to uncover a lemonade similar for a snip of the cost, and ditch my brand loyalty in the name of saving pennies.

M&S

One litre of M&S lemonade will set you back 65p. I was unable to find a two litre bottle in store or online, so I assume I’d have to buy two bottles at a cost of £1.30 if I was looking for a large bottle.

The M&S lemonade is ‘made with lemon juice’, with the ingredients revealing it’s 1 per cent lemon juice from concentrate.

It felt quite astringent in the mouth, and drying like you can find with some wines. To me it tasted more like tonic water than a lemonade - though some people might prefer that for a G&T.

For me, I was looking for something a little sweeter, though.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury's own bottle cost 40p (MEN)

Two litres of lemonade by Sainsbury’s costs just 40p, and offers a sweet and tangy lemon flavoured drink.

There is 8.8g of sugar per serving, and it is one of those lemonades that make you pucker your lips a touch.

However, there’s no real lemon juice included, so it certainly loses points for that.

Morrisons

Also priced at 40p a bottle, Morrisons’ lemonade opened with such force that it scared my dog.

It was very lively upon pouring, but soon lost its excitement after sitting in the glass for about 60 seconds.

It had a rather soft and balanced flavour, but wasn’t my favourite in the list. One shopper did dub it as ‘as good as Schweppes’, but I can’t say I agree with them.

Asda

Much like Morrisons’, Asda’s lemonade contains 5.3g of sugar per serving, and had a rather dramatic fizz on breaking the seal.

Thankfully though, none of the fizzy drinks erupted over my living room rug, meaning they all get a bonus point for that.

Asda’s 40p lemonade felt quite aerated, with big fizzy bubbles in the mouth. But for me the flavour tasted quite artificial and synthetic.

Tesco

Tesco’s lemonade scanned through at 40p, which seems to be the average cost of supermarket own brand lemonade.

The retailer's bottle was well filled with a fun pinstripe label which reminded me of a pick n mix.

Speaking of sweets, it did taste quite sherbetty, but there wasn’t much going on in terms of fizz. The aftertaste was a little soda-like, so not my favourite of the bunch, but was inoffensive and would be refreshing on a hot summer’s day.

Aldi

Aldi's was the closest to Schweppes in bottle design and flavour (MEN)

Even looking at Aldi’s Vive lemonade - which is made with 2 per cent lemon juice, so more than M&S - you can see where they got their packaging inspiration from. It certainly wasn’t R. Whites.

It opened with a pop and made a satisfying fizz as it entered the glass. It smelled very fresh and there was a definite lemon scent, but not so much that it smelled of cheap cleaning products.

In terms of taste it was a nice balance of tart, sweet but also soft and rounded. Enough to make your cheeks go tight just the right amount.

It comes in the cheapest at 32p, meaning shoppers can save around 75 per cent on the cost, and I think this is the drink that tastes most similar to Schweppes.

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