We received some samples of Ocean Spray Cranergy energy juice drink from Mom Central. I love cranberry juice and so does Primo so I was excited to try it.

From the Ocean Spray folks:

Do you need a little help to get through your busy day? We sure do, which is why we created Cranergy™, a delicious and naturally energizing juice drink. Cranergy™ is made from our refreshing cranberry juice, which we’ve enhanced with natural energizers like green tea extract and B vitamins. Made with Splenda® brand sweetener, Cranergy™ has only 35 calories per eight-ounce serving, 50 percent fewer calories than other leading energy drinks and traditional sodas. Cranergy™ is a “good for you” kind of energy that helps you get stuff done!

We received both an original “Cranberry Lift” flavour and a “Raspberry Cranberry Lift” flavour.

The Good:
+Green tea extract (Mmm, green tea…) has tons of benefits
+B vitamins. They’re called “the energy vitamins” and are a perfect addition to an energy type drink.
+Vitamin C. It’s a strong anti-oxidant and bonds with free radicals to prevent many diseases.
+Only 35 calories per eight-ounce serving. With almost everyone watching their weight these days, the fewer calories in your drinks, the better.

The Bad:
-Made with Splenda® brand sweetener (also known as sucralose). Some would think of this as a good thing because it’s 600 times sweeter than sugar so adds no calories in the small quantities in which it’s used. I, on the other hand, debated putting it in the “ugly” category. Anything un-naturally sweet like that can’t be good. Either way, it tastes bad. I couldn’t drink these samples because of the horrible aftertaste. I had a mouthful of each and that’s all I could stand.

The Ugly:
-Nada.

The Verdict:
If you like Splenda, you’ll probably like Cranergy. I know lots of people who love Splenda and use it in everything. This is for them.

I’d much rather some straight juice. If it needs sweetening (which it doesn’t) toss in half a tablespoon of organic sugar and I’m sold. Ditch the fake crap and let’s leave our “food” tasting like the food it’s supposed to be.