The winner of the SodaStream giveaway has been emailed, so check your emails people! The lucky winner will receive a SodaStream Source Starter Kit and all three Ocean Spray mixes to try.

If you didn’t win, you can buy select starter kits up for 50% off plus get free shipping on Cyber Monday, but you need to order a coupon now!  Click here to get a coupon for this offer from their facebook page.  It is likely to be the best of the year at 50% off and since they are shipped Purolator and the CO2 canister requires an additional payment for ‘dangerous goods’, shipping is typically costly on them so shipping can be around $40 – so free shipping is a huge discount!

They were also kind enough to send me the new Ocean Spray flavours to try.   Made exclusively for the SodaStream home soda making system, the Cranberry, Cranberry Raspberry and Cranberry Grape flavors are a good source of Vitamin C and help bring festive, fizzy refreshment to SodaStream users.  They are only 35 calories per 250ml serving (if the mix is used at the correct ratio) and are made with actual juice, not just flavours and are  high fructose corn syrup and aspartame free for a healthful, refreshing choice.

I am not the hugest fan of cranberry flavoured stuff, so was very happy to see the Cranberry Raspberry and Cranberry Grape but was surprised to find that the Cranberry was actually quite delicious.  I recommend not over-carbonating your water when using these, they do not need a lot of fizz.  I usually buy the Orange or Crystal Light Lemonade and make the water very fizzy but on a second attempt, these were better with just 2 lights on my Source machine’s fizz indicator.

I tried the Ocean Spray Cranberry Grape flavour first, probably just because of my love of purple things. I generally prefer raspberry flavours to grape, I find some grape flavours taste like medicines of my childhood or just overly sweet.  This was neither, you could still taste the cranberry through the grape flavour but it gave it a delicious sweet taste and would likely be a favourite with children.  I know we will likely buy it again.

Then I tried the Ocean Spray Cranberry Raspberry, I found it sweeter than the grape which surprised me a little.  It was still delicious and is a great sweet treat.

Ocean Spray Cranberry was actually the last one I tried, as I mentioned above, I was surprised to find I liked it – likely because I had worked out how much fizz to include, you can see from the foam on top of the glass that it took a few tries to get the carbonation perfect on it (third time was a charm).  It is the only one I would likely not buy based on personal taste preferences but it will be great for adding to cranberry cocktails.

All three have a thicker formula than I am used to after using the Crystal Light flavours for a while now, if your family prefer different flavours, you can also add the sodamix syrup direct to your cup, great if you want to make different flavoured cocktails while entertaining over the holidays!

Again, if you want to buy one, grab a coupon from their website.  The Genesis model is the most cost effective starter kit (which includes a bottle of CO2 and they usually give you a pack of 12 sample flavours too) at $99.99 regular price but I love the look of my SodaStream Source.

The winner is now confirmed.  Congrats MaryAnn D