Home > Categories > Beverages > Syrups, Cordials and Concentrates > Lite Lemon, Lime & Bitters review
We enjoy Lemon, Lime & Bitters at the end of a long hot day or after a hard session in the garden. We've crafted it to deliver a delicious citrus bite finishing with a refreshing dash of bitters. By adding a touch of natural sweetener it means *less sugar and fewer calories.
*41% less sugar when compared to Barker's Lemon & Lime fruit syrup.
• Gluten free
• Makes 25 glasses
• Low calorie
• No artificial sweetener
• Preservative free
• Made in New Zealand
• Shake before use - Refrigerate after opening
Product reviews...
I love lemon, lime and bitters...albeit the naughty version! I don't often eat sweet/sugary drinks - but when I do want one I do prefer a more natural or reduced sugar version. Having this concentrate suits me as I probably only drink these around 1-2 times per week but it is nice to have on hand when I do feel like it. This has a beautiful zesty flavour, but unlike many commercial brands it is not overwhelmingly sweet and you can actually taste the bitters which I love!
I like that this a relatively guilt-free syrup that I can keep on hand. I have even mixed this with a little vodka and soda water to make myself a little low calorie cocktail when the mood suits! It's nice that this is a New Zealand made brand and this definitely lasted me over 25 glasses as I suspect I like this less concentrated that many people.
One thing is that this does separate in the fridge after a while which can look unappealing, however a quick shake up and you're back to normal. This is actually a pro as it means they use reduced preservatives in their products! I would repurchase this but I am still going on the last one.
When it comes to my kids and food n drink, especially a new product that they have not seen before, sometimes you have to be really quick to try it before them because if they really like something they will consume it all without a thought for anybody else in the household lol My oldest son loves Lemon, Lime and Bitters drinks, and so we had to be really quick to give this one a go once our review parcel was unpacked. The trouble with kids is, sometimes they will just open and eat or drink without a second thought. This is the case with this cordial. My son did not bother to read anything, he simply just poured and drank.
Turns out straight from the bottle is not so great lol, it definitely needs watered down first haha the label states to add 1 part cordial to 6 parts soda. At the time of opening, we did not have any soda so my son, after trying it straight from the bottle, then added water. Although not fizzy he still liked it. In fact he loved it. He said it was the perfect blend of flavours, and even mixed with water was still really good. When we finally got some soda for him, he said, it became a little sweeter with the soda, but was still so good! I waited till we had soda before trying it, and agree with him re the sweetness. It is really nice though.
I only got to sample the one drink unfortunately and my boy managed to consume the entire bottle within 48 hours of receiving but I can confirm that it is full of flavour, it was really nice chilled and I would make sure that it is kept chilled all the time. I don't think it would be as nice if it was not really cold. Like all Barkers products, it is high quality, full of flavour, a really great product and you absolutely get your moneys worth.
I must admit I am not normally a huge drinker of sweet drinks but I was interested in reviewing this lemon lime & bitters drink to see if it could sway me. I have reviewed a number of the Barker's products through KIWIreviews and have really enjoyed them all so was hoping I would feel the same way about this. First off when I opened the bottle I gave it the sniff test. It smelt a wee bit sweet with a hint of citrus smell.
I don't have a soda stream maker so decided to grab some ice from the freezer, top up the glass with some ice cold filtered water and add in some of the lemon lime & bitters. I wasn't really sure on how much to add so I started with a small dash of it which didn't really appeal, so added some more until it was just right. I actually really enjoyed this drink and found it refreshing and I think it would be the perfect drink on a hot summers day mixed with a bit of soda water to give it that fizzy drink feel.
I was really surprised that the bottle makes approximately 25 glasses so I think this is really great value for money. My 4.5 year old also got to enjoy a small drink of this as it was gluten free which is a huge win in my eyes as my daughter is coealics so quite often she misses out on things. I didn't feel an ounce of guilt letting her try it as it is the lite version with less sugar which I really liked the idea of. Another fantastic Barker's product that I would be keen to try again in a different flavour.
I grew up with Barkers blackcurrant juice, my mum "prescribed" it to me whenever I was feeling a bit poorly and today (many more years later than I care to admit), I'm pleased to say the Barkers brand it still going strong.
Barkers have now expanded their range to include jams, syrups, curds and preserves, and the best thing is they still operate from little old Geraldine in South Canterbury. Their latest offering of Lite Lemon Lime & Bitters fruit syrup hits two spots for me; combinations of flavours and reduced sugar, so I was really excited to try it.
I was impressed by the generous 710ml bottle which by my simple maths gives you over 4 litres of drink once mixed with water or diet lemonade, which is such great value at approx $5.80 a bottle. I tried the first glass with water and ice and I must say I very impressed, the taste was really good and best of all not too sugary. The beauty of fruit syrup you are able to mix it yourself and decrease and increase the syrup to water/fizzy ratio to suit your tastes.
I would recommend this Lite Lemon Lime & Bitters syrup anyone who likes to enjoy a great tasting refreshing drink without the guilt of consuming the excessive sugars that most syrups offer.
I love Lemon Lime and Bitters, an enjoyment that I have passed along to my two daughters but not my son. I have tried a few different brands but had yet to try Barkers of Geraldines, so getting a bottle of this in my KIWIreviews parcel was a lovely surprise and of course my girls and I couldn't wait to give it a try. I did initially make myself a single serving but made a guess as to how much syrup to add to the cup and as such it ended up a tad too strong and didn't quite taste right, so adding off the cuff would take a little more finessing.
I have a soda stream machine and so made myself some soda water and added some of this syrup to the bottle, this time taking a little more care in quantity and attempting some maths so as to get as accurate an amount as possible and ended up with a rather nice cup of fizzy lemon lime and bitters. I ended up in a rush, making dinner far later than normal and with one child near meltdown mode, I skipped making soda water and went straight to adding this to the cold water we already had out, making sure I stuck with 1 part syrup to 6 parts water (as per the instructions on the bottles label). I ended up far preferring it without any fizz to it, I didn't tell the kids what they were getting but I got the expected results, my son spat it out whilst the girls guzzled it down and requested more.
This was a nice refreshing drink which didn't leave any bad aftertaste like a lot of 'lite' drinks do, I can see us getting this in the future.
I love a good lemon lime and bitters drink but no longer have a lot of sugar and the sparkling varities available in stores have a huge amount of sugar in them so I was really excited to try this as I can't find a lot of drinks these days that don't have a high amount of sugar in them and I find sugar really upsets my stomach. I also restrict my childrens sugar intake so they think it is a real treat when they are allowed a sweet drink like this.
The bottle is a good size and makes more than the serving amount suggested by the bottle as you do not actually need to add as much as suggested as it is quite sweet with just a small amount/ My children do like to have it with sparkling water to make it more of a fizzy drink but I am happy to have it on its own in a glass of cold water which is very refreshing. The lemon and lime flavour to me is great as it is very refreshing on a hot day.
We did get through this bottle very quickly as we had family around and everyone wanted to try a glass it was very popular with all the kids as my sister also doesnt let her children have a lot of sweet drinks in their diet. I did intend to try some baking but in this case it just did not happen. I will definitely buy this product again in the future as for me it was a great way of having a drink I loved in the past without too much suga
Barkers of Geraldine is one of those companies that has been around a lot of years and although I've only tried a few of their products they've always come out on top of my list for a lot of reasons with the most important of course being the great taste. I was curious to see whether this Lite Lemon Lime & Bitters was going to add to that list or it was going to join my failing list of "light" drinks that have that very distinctive aftertaste that just puts me off completely. As I'm writing this I'm honestly wondering why on earth I haven't tried more of their products as once again Barkers of Geraldine has done it again with a totally delicious product. I will definately be searching the supermarket shelves for more to try from now on!!
When I opened the bottle and took my first smell I was pleasantly suprised and reminded of younger days when I used to drink lemon lime and bitters while out in town mixed with vodka. I followed the directions on the bottle and mixed this with soda for my first try. I don't normally drink soda nor appreciate the taste so again I was pleasantly surpised that this tasted just like a pre made lemon lime and bitters with a perfect balance of flavour.You can taste the citrus. You can taste the bitters. You can taste just pure yummy-ness! I went on to try this drink mixed with water as well as lemonade and also with a dash of vodka added just for old times sake haha. It is such a yummy drink that each time I tried it, no matter what I had mixed it with, I was quickly finishing my first drink and was reaching for a second before long at all.
I have to mention again that another really stand out point for me is the fact that for a "light" drink, there was totally no nasty after taste at all, this alone speaks mountains and I am so happy to have found a drink thats slightly better for me (as in I don't have to have quite as much guilt for enjoying a few drinks). I also tried making iceblocks with this and was happy that the results were great - the same perfect taste and nothing changed with the product being forzen. A definate win and these will be coming out next year on hot summers days for sure
The design and look of this large 710ml bottle is simple yet effective and stands out amongst the crowd I feel. I like that all of the Barkers range has the same labelling so you are able to identify their range immediately. This bottle makes 25 glassses of lemon lime and biiters drink which makes the purchase of this product very cost effective! Definately one that is going to be added to our shopping list in the future. A ten out of ten all round from me, I really can't fault this product and can't recommend highly enough that you go out and try it for yourself today
I like a lot of Barkers products so was pleased to try this new flavour. It tasted great with a glass full of ice while sitting on the deck in the sunshine! Tall glass filled with ice and soda water was the perfect blend.
I can't drink much these days so Lemon, lime and Bitters is my go to drink at a pub. This new Barkers drink tastes like the real pub version and because its a syrup, you can blend your own strength. Has quite a high level of sugar in it (even though it is lower is sugar) so would have to be a wee bit careful so that I don't overload my system with sugar. No nasty after taste either which was a real bonus.
Easy to use bottle too.... which made storage in the fridge and pouring nice and simple.
So, will I be buying this again? Definitely! Not sure I will drink it in winter, I will have to revert to my usual black currant variety to keep me warm, but this cordial will definitely be in my trolley on a regular basis come the return of summer next year. Thanks Barkers! Nice to see the new product lines coming out!
I have never yet tried a Barkers product that I have not enjoyed, so I was fully prepared to enjoy this one. However, the friend who volunteered to try it with me was not so sure. She said she had tried several brands of drinks that included bitters and had not liked any of them, so she did not want to try this one at all. However, I said she could have a sip of mine then if she did not want to finish it I would drink it for her - all in the cause of getting a fair review, of course.
She picked up the bottle and sniffed it then said it reminded her a bit of the ginger beer I had given her a few days before (another of the same range). I poured it, following the instructions exactly and diluting it with soda. Then she tasted it. I asked her if she wanted me to finish it. The response was a clear order to get my own! Obviously it had passed the test that all the other brands she had tried to date had failed.
I poured another for myself and took a tentative sip. It was really nice! Almost a cross between a home-made lemon-and-honey and a ginger ale which was surprising because neither honey nor ginger feature in the ingredients list. The sweetness comes from stevia (which I don't usually like because of its brassy after-taste) and erythritol (which is similar in effect to stevia but without that bitterness). Neither of these sweeteners is anywhere near as bad for you as sugar, so the resulting drink is low in calories but high in sweetness. The fruit content (lemon and lime) contributes around 10% of a child's daily intake of Vitamin C.
I liked the smell of the drink once it had been mixed and standing for a few minutes. The contact with air seems to release the spicy aroma of the bitters, the third main ingredient. The composition of the bitters is not listed on the bottle, but traditionally bitters are a combination of several aromatic herbs such as gentian, cassia and cinchona which are brewed and then added to drinks in very small quantities to enhance the effect.
I like it when labels do include all the ingredients as that gives the buyer an idea of what the product is going to taste like. In this case, I probably would not have purchased the drink; but, because I was asked to review it, I got to try it. I am now happy to buy it again as it is actually really nice! As for my friend, she downed her first glass and immediately requested a top-up so that was one satisfied customer.
As a non-drinker I am always in search of a special drink for when everyone else is drinking. Lemon, lime and bitters has become my drink of choice at restaurants and bars. I hadn't found a nice and economical option for having at home. There are small bottles out there but they are expensive and there are big bottles that are cheap in price and taste it too. I was pleased to discover that Barker's have made a Lite Lemon, Lime and Bitters syrup.
The instructions are simple: Dilute 1 part Barker's with 6 parts soda or to taste. As I have a Soda Stream machine I always have access to soda water. I like that I can add as much or little syrup as I would like as well as control the fizz factor. I was concerned that being low in sugar it might have an artificial sweetener after taste but it tasted great.
My husband and I both loved the taste of drink. We both wanted it to be a bit stronger than how I had made it but as I just added a couple of splashes of syrup it is hard to tell if I made it to the 1:6 ratio or not. Though that enjoy their alcohol might want to use it as a mixer. This is certainly a drink I will be recommending to other to have on hand both for themselves and for visitors.
I love Barkers of Geraldine fruit syrups and currently have their Lemon, Honey & Ginger and Blackcurrant Lite syrups in my fridge. I was therefore extremely happy to be able to trial their Lemon, Lime and Bitter syrup. The first time I tried it I thought I would try it with plain water (I didn't have any soda water or lemonade) and found it to be a lovely refreshing drink with a tangy lemon flavour and a nice bitter aftertaste. I was surprised and very happy to find that there was no nasty artificial aftertaste that is usually associated with 'Lite' drinks but Barkers does promise No artificial sweeteners and you can tell! From now on, I plan to add a few drops of the syrup to my bottled water I take to work to give it a little kick.
I finally managed to get some lemonade and added the recommend 1 parts Barkers with 6 parts soda (or lemonade in my case). I was amazed at the transformation and can honestly say that this tasted better than a lot of ready made Lemon, Lime & Bitters I have tried on the market. It had the perfect sweetness/ bitterness combination which made it a refreshing drink that I will be thoroughly enjoying over the summer months.
It has 41% less sugar than other (Barkers) syrups, is low calorie and preservative free. Considering it makes 25 glasses, it's also an economical option for your Lemon, Lime & Bitters. This is now my favourite go-to summer drink and I recommend you try it now so it can be yours too!
I have enjoyed every Barker's product that I have tried in the past and was quite excited to see their Lite Lemon, Lime and Bitters come up for review. I want to shout out a HUGE thank you to Barker's and to KIWIreviews for bringing me another absolutely fantastic product to enjoy.
I was so excited to try this that I had to do so straight away. I had no soda water in the house, but I did have a small bottle of lemonade so decided that would have to do. I put some of the Barker's syrup in the glass and then topped it up with lemonade. I could smell the most amazing smell - and perfect mix and lemon, lime and of bitters.
I am not a big alcohol drinker and lemon, lime and bitters is one of my favourites to have when out for dinner or in the pub. I am a bit fussy though - I don't like many of the premixed varieties and prefer it when it is made with lemon and lime syrup and mixed with lemonade. Knowing that this product was a Lite version also brought a little bit of doubt as sometimes lite products don't taste as good as the regular varieties. As I took the first sip I was pleasantly surprised. I could taste a little of everything - lemon, lime and the bitters and it was just amazing! I don't think they could have got it more perfect. It tasted much better than the premix varieties and tasted just as good, if not better, than the regular full sugar versions of this popular drink.
This drink is going to become a summer staple in my house. Luckily for me my husband doesn't like lemon, lime and bitters so I can enjoy the entire bottle to myself! Next time I do the groceries I will get a bottle of soda water to try it with to see if there is a difference in the flavour. I would also like to try making some ice blocks with the drink for on those hot days as lemon, lime and bitters ice blocks are one of my favourite.
Lemon, Lime & Bitters is a drink which I quite often get when we go out for dinner or the likes, however this tends to be the only time I drink it. When I saw that Barkers had released a Lemon, Lime & Bitters syrup and that it was available for review I decided to jump at the chance to review it as I thought it would be great to have on hand for the upcoming summer months chilling in the fridge for when we have visitors over for BBQ's.
It just so happened that a few days after receiving this product we had a group of friends over for a potluck dinner and that one of them had shown up with a bottle of pre-mixed Lemon, Lime & Bitters to drink, later on in the evening I pulled out some chilled soda water and the Barkers syrup and offered everyone a taste, my friend who had brought the pre-mixed drink along couldn't believe it, she told everyone that it tasted so much better than what she had brought, let's just say that she changed what she was drinking very quickly! Almost everyone else who was at our house loved the taste, although my partner did not, he screwed his face up at when he took a sip which I was quite surprised at as he usually likes lemon flavoured drinks! The children all whom are under 7 had a small sip each and also appeared to quite like it, they all said it tasted of lemons as this was by far the most obvious flavour.
I have been loving mixing up this syrup and am over half way through the bottle now, not only have I prepared it as suggested on the bottle by diluting 1 part of syrup with 6 parts soda which I must say to me is spot on taste wise, I have also mixed it with some lemonade which tasted great also though I found I needed to reduce the syrup level to half so it wasn't to sweet. Another use I found the syrup good for was to mix it up as per instructions and use it to take ice blocks, these were delicious and have been sampled several times already by Miss 3 and myself, they are going to be great to suck on on a hot summer's day, I was worried that the freezing may have affected the taste of the Lemon, Lime & Bitters but not at all!
The bottle of syrup contains enough syrup to make 25 glasses of drink, and price wise I feel that this is great value for money as in stores to buy a 4 pack of bottles is at least $6. It is super quick to prepare and can be adjusted to suit your own taste buds which is a bonus as not everyone is the same. Being a lite drink means it is low calorie, and contains no artificial sweetener, so you can feel good drinking it knowing it is not packed with sugar. Best of all it tastes amazing and the flavours are perfectly matched with strong notes of the lemon and the bitters definitely present, and perfect to my liking.
Once again another great product by Barkers, that is totally worth a try, this makes me want to go out and try other flavours in their range of syrups as syrups are never something that I thinking of purchasing and trying out!
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