R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice Unfortunately Underwhelms!

The Good: Comparatively not overly expensive
The Bad: Overly carbonated, Sharpness in the aroma, Sour, Not accurately flavored
The Basics: R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is a good idea that is executed in an unimpressive way for what it is supposed to be.


2017 got off to an unfortunate start for my wife and I. We picked up some treats in order to ring in the New Year with a little celebration and the two foods we got for it were not very good at all. We decided to do a little Not-Wine And (what turned out to be Not) Cheese Event and neither were overly good. The cheese portion of our celebration was Williams Smoked Cheddar (reviewed here!), which I realized too late was a cheese product, not an actual cheese, but we thought we knew what we were getting into with the R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice bottle we picked up.

R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is very carbonated and not at all caramel flavored and the sour flavored and sharply scented making for a less thrilling beverage.

Basics

R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is a bottled flavored apple juice that is sold at grocery stores. Each 25.4 fl. oz. glass bottle houses the translucent brown/orange liquid, which looks just like apple juice. The bottles look unremarkable, but professional and uniform.

The glass bottle represents about three servings of R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice and that is what we got out of the bottle.

Ease Of Preparation

R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is a liquid in a clear 25.4 fl. oz. bottle. Preparation is as easy as opening the bottle by twisting the bottle cap off and drinking the liquid inside. I recommend refrigerating the bottle first as it brings out more of the flavor than at room temperature.

Taste

The aroma of the R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is strongly one of apple juice. The caramel scent does not come out at all; this is a very apple-scented beverage. The apple scent is strong and somewhat reminiscent of vinegar . . . there is something subtly off in the apple aroma.

As for the flavor, the Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is very sparkly and tastes like apple juice. The apple flavor is entirely sublimated to the carbonation and the juice flavor comes out only after the carbonation bubbles off the tongue. The R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice does not taste at all like caramel; it is slightly sour and fruity, but not at all sweet or buttery like what one expects from something supposed to be caramel flavored. The Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice becomes more sour, even as it gets flatter, undermining its value.

The R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice has a vaguely caramel aftertaste after all of the product is swallowed and gone from the mouth. This apple juice transitions from sour to slightly dry on the tongue in an aftertaste that lasts for about three minutes after the last of it is consumed.

Nutrition

As a Sparkling Apple Juice, one might expect this to have unpronounceable ingredients related to its carbonation. However, R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is made of sparkling filtered water, apple juice concentrate, and natural flavor. There are no other or unpronounceable ingredients in this and R.W. Knudsen makes natural sparkling juices!

Nutritionally, R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is not enough to live off, but it is not as bad as soda. R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice has 110 calories, 28 g of which are carbohydrates, 15 mg sodium and no protien. R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice has no fat and the only mineral listed on the label is 2% of the RDA of Calcium! Like most juice concentrates, there are no other nutrients, not even vitamin C in this drink!

Storage/Clean-up

R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice comes in a glass bottle and I was surprised by how long it lasted. The bottles we bought in late-December for the New Year's celebration had a August 3, 2018 expiration date!

This drink is lightly colored and if it gets on anything that is light colored, it will stain. Consult a fabric guide for getting juice out of fabrics if it gets on something.

Overall

R.W. Knudsen Caramel Apple Sparkling Apple Juice is sour, over-carbonated and less flavored than it could be . . . but at least it was inexpensive!

For other beverages, please check out my reviews of:
Paradiso Wild Berry Italian Mineral Water
Stephen's Gourmet Pumpkin Spice Hot Cocoa
Ayala's Lemongrass Mint Vanilla Herbal Water

1/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Drink Review Index Page for a complete listing of all the foods I have reviewed!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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