When I’m out and about for meals/drinks, I often like to alternate my tipple of choice (if you didn’t know it was gin) with soft drinks (hello responsible drinker over here!) or to find something other than the usual tonic water or soda mixer. However standard pub offerings are fairly disappointing with the usual Coke or other sugary fizz on offer. Maybe, depending on on the establishment, i might be lucky to find something more delicate and fruity like a San Pellegrino. Recently however, I started spotting that Bon Accord Soft Drinks on my social media horizon, and I was delighted to find out more about this Scottish favourite from yester-year!
Liking the look of their product range, I got in touch to find my nearest Bon Accord stockist. The bad news for me, was that it is over 80 miles (at the excellent Storehouse at Foulis), but the good news was that the kind folks at Bon Accord offered to send me some samples!
Once I had received my samples, one of my (few!) local blogging pals Lynsey saw my soft drink haul and told me how back in the day, her granny and grandad used to sell these Scottish drinks in their cafes and sweetie shops in Wick.
I had no idea about the familiarity with Bon Accord that many Scottish people will have had – memories of chugging their bottle of juice (because that’s what you call it here), and returning their used Bon Accord bottles for a 20p refund. Indeed, the iconic yellow and black lorries would have been a familiar sight, delivering stocks from their depots and factories across Scotland.
Image from http://www.bonaccordsoftdrinks.com/
The Bon Accord business ran for over 100 years before closing in 2000. Fast forward more than a decade later, and Bon Accord has been revived by the founder’s great, great grand-daughter, with a new image, new flavours and a new refined sugar-free approach!
I received bottles of Bon Accord Rhubarb Soda, Ginger Beer, and Tonic Water. Also in the range is a Cloudy Lemonade which along with the Ginger Beer, won Great Taste Awards in 2017!
I also received a bottle of a special collaboration Bon Accord/Lucky Liquor Co Salted Grapefuit soda which i tried first. The sharpness of the grapefuit was tempered really well by a subtle salty flavour
Next up was the ginger beer, on opening the botle a lovely fresh and strong ginger aroma, very much like if you had just chopped up some root ginger yourself! This is a ginger beer which is definitely at the fiery end of the spectrum, and would make a great Dunnet Donkey cocktail with Holy Grass vodka!
Last up in today’s post was my personal favourite – Rhubarb Soda. The punchy and non-artificial rhubarb scent actually transported me back to those lovely rhubarb and custard sweets I used to get as a child!
What’s really impressive about Bon Accord drinks is the way they have used naturally occuring sugars to elevate their fruity flavours, using coconut nectar and honey to give a refined sugar free sweet boost. A 275ml bottle of Rhubarb Soda contains 99 calories and 7.7g of naturally occuring sugar. I’ll definitely be stocking up next time I get the opportunity, which might well be when we head to the Spirit of North Hop festival in Dundee on the 24th November!
Thanks to Bon Accord Soft Drinks for sending me samples with no obligation to blog about them. I enjoyed learning about the history of the business, and drinking them even more!
Ah Bon Accord which brings back many memories not just of my childhood but my first ever job. I was lucky enough to work for their enemy in the Highlands. A company called Lemons & Co which I believe originated from Dingwall. It was a great job with great memories delivering throughout Caithness. Sadly I joined the forces and it all became memories. Thanks for the story