Review: Ripe Bar Juice
Sure, there’s nothing better than fresh-squeezed juices you press yourself. But fresh, cold-pressed, pre-bottled juices run a pretty close second.
Ripe makes a line of seven fresh-squeezed juice-based mixers — all refrigerated, natural, unpasteurized, lightly sweetened with agave nectar (all except the Bloody Mary mix), and uncut with preservatives. Essentially Ripe is a juice company, but with its eyes on the bar, not the breakfast table.
We tried six of the company’s mixers, and are itching to pour them by the liter into this year’s holiday punch. Thoughts follow.
Ripe Cranberry Cocktail Bar Juice – Made from cold-pressed Ocean Spray cranberries. Tart, but lightly sweetened, just about perfect for cocktail use if you want actual cranberry flavor to come through — rather than vague sugar and red color. Flavorful, but not too punchy, though drinkers accustomed to sweeter mixers might find it not sugary enough. B+
Ripe Classic Cosmopolitan Bar Juice – Take the cranberry mixer above and mix in lime and orange juices and you get this, highly appealing, straight-up pink number. The Cosmo has a bad rap — OK, a terrible rap — but this mixer is really appealing, featuring a melange of super-bright fruit and that kick of real lime (which grows stronger and stronger on the back end, finishing clean and crisp). A-
Ripe Agave Margarita Bar Juice – Take the cranberry out of the Cosmo mix and you’ve got this appealing blend of lime and orange juices, lightly sweetened and ready to go in any quality margarita. Just add tequila, and you’re good to go with a cocktail that offers powerful — but not overpowering — lime character. The agave is stronger and more noticeable on this one (as opposed to cane sugar), but that suits a margarita just fine. A-
Ripe Agave Lemon Sour Bar Juice – Lemon and agave, a simple sour mix that offers versatility and bright lemon notes. Sweeter than some of the other mixes, and less focused on the specific fruit than, say, the margarita mixer. B+
Ripe Bajan Punch Bar Juice – This “tiki sour” includes lime, pineapple, and orange, and is spiced with Angostura Bitters and fresh nutmeg. The most complex of these juices, it’s an instant tropical drink in a glass — even the nutmeg comes through clearly and expressively. Not overdone one bit, it’s perfect for when you need a ready-to-go punch. A
Ripe San Marzano Bloody Mary Bar Juice – Naturally there’s a Bloody Mary mix, and this one includes San Marzano tomatoes, celery and lemon juice, horseradish, balsamic vinegar, white vinegar, sea salt, pepper, and cayenne. A thick one, and in many ways sweeter-tasting than anything else in this lineup, thanks to the power of those tomatoes. Racy, but not too hot, with maybe a bit too much lemon flavor on the back end. Still a highly credible and delicious Bloody Mary mix. A-
$10 each per 1 liter bottle
Ripe Agave Margarita Bar Juice
$10
Good review Chris. I’ve tried the Lemon Sour thus far, and would describe it as a “sweet lemonade”. I have to admit that I like that refreshing taste, so I can’t wait for the weather to warm up. We’re the only other online source for the Ripe Bar Juice product range, and offer individual bottles for sale without the hefty shipping cost. Visit ChatsworthGoods.com
Good descriptive reviews. May I leave this message of my own reviews from my experience of the four I tried? I won’t use a grading system here.
Cosmopolitan: This was our least favorite and I bought this for my wife who loves a Cosmo. This mix is so potent you make faces when you drink it. Very strong and sour. The only way I could stand it is to change the ratio from the suggested 2-1 mixer to vodka to a 2-2-1 mixer-vodka-orange liqueur (the good 80 proof stuff not triple sec). My wife could stand it at 2-1 but diluted with sparkling water to make a full 12 ounce glass. We’ll probably pour the rest out at this point.
Agave Margarita: This one is really good. I still like it better at a 1-1 ratio though, but I’m hard core like that.
Agave Lemon: Another very, very good juice. Again, 1-1 ratio for me but the wife liked it a 2-1 shaken with crushed ice to dilute it a bit.
San Marzano Bloody Mary: Wow…another VERY concentrated juice. It did not solve my quest for my perfect bloody Mary by a long shot but it has merit. It’s way too thick for a bloody Mary like so many other bottled mixes, but, in to my third bottle I realized what was wrong…it needed to be diluted. That’s right, diluting this one by one part water to juice really made it more approachable. I am actually finishing my fourth bottle drinking it like I would V-8 or clamato juice…except diluted then in a glass full of rocks/ice to melt along with it and a splash of Worcestershire. I’m not even using it for bloody Marys any more.
I think I have discovered after testing about a dozen bottled bloody Mary mixes…you really can make a much bloody Mary from scratch. Nobody, I mean nobody, even the much touted Zinger has perfected the bottled bloody Mary in my opinion.
So, my experience with Ripe is they are no doubt very fresh. But, every single one I bought is VERY strong and can stand a lot of diluting or cutting, which is good because this stuff is expensive.
Of the four I tried, the Lemon and the Margarita were the most worth the money paid. The San Marzano is unique and very tasty…worth trying. But too expensive for what it was for me. The Cosmo?…well, they should maybe put that one back in the lab for some tweaking.
Bajan punch sounds great!Just add Rum!