Cranberry juice vs cranberry cocktail you ask? Let’s break it down.
The classic cranberry juice drink you’re probably used to is cranberry cocktail. It’s a fruit juice made from cranberry concentrate with water and added sugar to make it less tart or more palatable to drink.
Cranberry juice or 100% Juice Cranberry is also made from cranberry concentrate. However, instead of adding sugar other fruit juices are added to make the drink less tart and sweeter to the taste. Grape, apple, and pear juices are mixed with cranberry concentrate.
From a macronutrient standpoint, cranberry cocktails and cranberry juice are near identical. Let’s take a look at Cranberry Juice Cocktail vs 100% Juice Cranberry from ocean spray.
Cranberry Cocktail
Calories: 110
Total Carbohydrates: 28 grams
Sugars: 25 grams
Vitamin C: 100%
100% Juice Cranberry
Calories: 110
Total Carbohydrates: 28 grams
Sugars: 25 grams
Vitamin C: 100%
The difference really comes down to sweetening the tart flavor of cranberry juice with sugar directly or sweeter fruit juices like grape, apple and pear.
If you want to enjoy cranberry juice with no added sugar of any kind than opt for pure cranberry. Pure cranberry juice has about half the calories, 60 vs 110, and 10 less grams of carbohydrates, 18 vs 28 g, per serving. Without the added sugar the bold tart flavor of cranberry really shines.