It seems like the scientists at Ocean Spray spend every day finding new fruits to cram inside a bottle of cranberry juice. There are at least twelve different “Cran x Fruit” juice blends on shelves, not counting the 100% juice blends, diet blends, zero sugar blends, and whatever “Pure” means. Yes, there are dozens of Ocean Spray drinks available year round, but there’s only one limited edition holiday flavor in stores now: Ocean Spray Mulled Blackberry Pear. We got our hands on a bottle to figure out exactly what’s going on here.
- Ocean Spray Mulled Blackberry Pear
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Pros: This new Ocean Spray is a pleasant and unique mix of fruits. There is definitely a blackberry sweetness followed by a soft pear aftertaste—the most “flavor” you can really hope for from pear flavoring, let’s be honest. In a first for Ocean Spray, this is being promoted as a drink you can enjoy cold or hot. I did my due diligence and heated up a cup for you good people. I got more of the advertised mulled spice flavor after warming it up, so they might be onto something. This definitely feels like a holiday drink, and I’m not surprised it’s being promoted as a mixer.
Cons: It feels like this new juice doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Silly me, I saw two specific fruits on the front of this bottle and thought at least one of them would be the most significant flavor on my tongue. Unfortunately, I forgot a key factor in all Ocean Spray drinks: cranberries. This is primarily a cranberry juice blend—and it tastes like it. Looking at the ingredients, this contains juice from cranberries, pears, blackberries, and grapes(?) in that order. The mulled spices aren’t listed individually either, just “Natural Flavor.” I like this drink, but it’s leagues behind many other Ocean Spray juice blends I’ve had before. (If you’re going to try one this season, go for the recently rereleased Cran x Dragon Fruit. Spectacular stuff.)
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Where can I try this confusing juice for myself?
This is available at grocers far and wide, including Meijer and Walmart. It’s also available on Amazon, if that’s how you live your life. Wherever you find it, you’ll be getting a significant quantity; like most Ocean Spray drinks, this is only available in a 60oz jug.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!