Syrup Review: Orange Crush Water Enhancer

From the makers of Otter Pops, among other things, comes Orange Crush water enhancer.  I first saw this displayed by the manufacturer at a trade show back in November.  I've often thought of trying MiO and some of the other water enhancers with carbonated water, but this one is just begging for the chance.

So while I work on recipes that will some day make it to these pages and while R.E.M. bounces around my head, I decided to pick one of these up.

I really like this stuff because it mixes so easily.  There's no actual sugar to thicken it up, so you just squirt some into the bottom of the glass, fill with carbonated water, and drink.  You don't have to struggle to get it to mix like you might with a thick syrup.  The flavor is good, and the (artificial) color is vibrant.  The sucralose and ace k taste like expected, so if you don't like artificial sweeteners, then this is not for you.  If you want a diy Diet Crush, then this is right up your alley.

Grape is also available, and it seems like the company displayed strawberry at the show as well, though I haven't seen it on shelves.

One downside (other than artificial sweetness) is that the instructions are a bit ambiguous.  It's 1 squirt for an 8oz serving and 2 squirts for 16oz bottle.  It shoots out in a thin stream, and I'm not sure how big of a squeeze is a single serving.

The economics of it is only a bit better than buying your Crush as is.  One $3 bottle makes 24 8oz servings.  That comes to about a gallon and a half or three 2-liter bottles.

So... all in all, it's not too bad, but I don't know if it's a must have.