Franklin’s Drinks Review, a thorough honest look at Franklin & Son’s soft drinks and mixers, with a fabulous mocktail and boozy sorbet recipe included.
Firstly, I really need to say that this was one of the best reviews I’ve ever undertaken.
Carrying out the Franklin’s Drinks Review has been an absolute pleasure. Not only were the company a delight to deal with their product completely wipes out the competition in terms of taste, variety and drink-ability.
Gone are the sticky, sickly sweet soft drinks that line supermarket aisles. In their place we have a company founded by three brothers in 1886, creating soft drinks and mixers using real fruit juice. Each soft drink and mixer easily drinkable on it’s own, or with the mixers a multitude of cocktails, classics and creative new possibilities abound.
Franklin & Son’s is a British Company producing the very best drinks using natural ingredients. No artificial additives, preservatives or colours are allowed into their drinks and they taste all the better for it.
I was sent 5 different flavours of soft drink and 3 different mixers. It should be noted before I go any further that, I have never liked tonic water – until now!
Franklin’s Soft Drinks:
Sicilian Lemonade and Elderflower with crushed juniper – ooh if you like lemonade you will love this. The juniper hits your nose as you breath in the tantalising aroma. Once sipped, the tart lemon, which in my humble opinion should be how all lemonade is made, immediately awakens your tastebuds. Mellowed and softened by the hint, I could detect no more, of elderflower, creating an incredibly refreshing drink. I imagine, this drink alone would make a wonderfully balanced sorbet. Just how lemonade should taste, a firm 9.5 out of 10.
Dandelion and Burdock with star anise – the drink of my childhood, the reason I wanted to carry out this review. Unlike any other drink, dandelion and burdock has a unique, fruity, spicy flavour. This drink has a deeper, more complex flavour than the others with layers of flavour lingering on the palette as it is drunk. The slight anise flavour from the star anise could be too overpowering, yet again, the balance is perfect. Exceptionally delicious, not too sweet, not too spicy. I cannot find fault, not that I’d want to, so a firm 10 out of 10.
Ginger Beer with malted barley and a squeeze of lemon – this is the ginger beer of old. Intense, throaty, warming as you drink it and yet refreshing at the same time. Although not a mixer, I could see this pairing with a really good rum. Likewise, as the weather turns cooler, I have reserved a bottle for making ginger pudding with. True ginger in taste, the barley adds a slight softness, although it was hard to detect any lemon. This drink does not disappoint. A firm 9.5 out of 10.
Apple and Rhubarb with cinnamon – my personal favourite. This very more-ish drink reminds me slightly of the rhubarb in rhubarb and custard sweets, without any artificial flavour coming through at all. The balance of apple and rhubarb is exquisite. A very faint hint of cinnamon is present when the drink is poured, although I could not detect any specific cinnamon flavour on my palette. If I had to pick one drink, that I had to drink for a whole year, this would win. Again the freshness of the fruit flavour, without being lip puckeringly tart is perfect. A very easy 10 out of 10.
Strawberry and Raspberry with a twist of black pepper – oh my, this drink is utterly delicious. Freshly poured the smell of cracked, black pepper hits your nose and lends a spicy aroma to the strawberry and raspberry. When drinking, the perfect fruit combination is balanced by the black pepper and the lack of over sweetness. A beautiful drink both in appearance and taste, this gets a firm 9.5 out of 10.
During this Franklin’s Drinks Review not one single soft drink disappointed. The fruit juice and complementing flavours, even if I couldn’t detect them, meant they were extremely well balanced.
I thoroughly recommend Franklin & Son’s Soft Drinks, for their natural flavour achieved without an ingredient list as long as your arm. The truth is in the taste. No obscure chemical after taste was present in any of these drinks.
Why not see how I made this Franklins Fruity Summer Drink, using Franklin’s Soft Drinks. It’s alcohol free but tastes suspiciously like another, famous, British Summer drink!
Franklin’s Mixers:
To say I felt vastly under qualified to review a drink I didn’t even like, would be an understatement. I am of course, talking about tonic water – or so I thought.
I received 3 mixers to try, Sicilian Lemon Tonic, Natural Tonic Water and Light Tonic Water. I won’t be giving them scores out of 10 as I feel that would be a little unfair, simply my views on their taste.
It took one glass on Natural Tonic Water, over ice to convert me! Such a refreshing drink, especially with a slice of lime or lemon. Maybe more importantly it made THE BEST gin and tonic, my new favourite tipple.
The Light Tonic Water, was just that, lighter in flavour, however, I was just as happy to drink it in a G & T, or over ice with a slice!
Sicilian Lemon Tonic, oh how I wish there had been more bottles of this in the box I received. Utterly delicious, it is key to giving the Franklin’s Fruity Summer Drink just the right balance of flavour.
I shall be ordering more soft drinks and mixers, especially as I want to try Franklin’s signature drink 1886 a mix of sloe gin and their Sicilian tonic water. Perfect for warm summer evenings, or cool Autumn nights.
Me being me I wanted to try and create a sorbet using Franklin’s Natural Tonic Water. I decided to make my own Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup add a couple of measures of good gin and see if it would work!
This Strawberry Sorbet with Gin & Tonic was an absolute success. Perfect as a grown up dessert, or let it melt a little and you have a rather yummy, adult slushy!
To Make Strawberry Sorbet with Gin & Tonic:
600mls Natural Tonic Water – from
200mls Fresh Strawberry Simple Syrup – see here
Double measure of Gin – I used Bloom Gin
- Pour the tonic water into a jug and allow to sit for a couple of hours, until almost flat.
- To the flat tonic water add the strawberry simple syrup and gin. Stir to mix.
- Churn in an ice cream machine until the mixture has a slushy-like consistency.
- Pour the sorbet into a freezer proof tub, pop on a lid and place in the deep freeze overnight.
- To serve, remove the tub from the freezer 10-20 minutes before serving. This allows the sorbet to soften slightly.
- Scoop balls of sorbet and serve in a martini glass for an elegant dessert. Alternatively, you could wait a little longer and serve the sorbet as an adult slushy in double shot glasses!
I have had so much fun carrying out this Franklin’s Drinks Review. Not only will I be ordering more delicious drinks, I have plans to keep experimenting with them too!
If you have enjoyed this Franklin’s Drinks Review you may also like these:
Refreshing Tropical Fruit Sorbet
Whatever you do this weekend, remember it’s not a party unless there are Franklin’s Soft Drinks available. Perfect for those who cannot, or choose not to drink alcohol.
Sammie xx
Franklin’s and Son’s sent me a selection of drinks to review. All opinions, views, content and photographs are my own. I was not paid to write this review, please see my Disclosure Policy.