What is 7UP and Sprite?
Posted by hurtloam@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 248 comments
Am I wildly wrong for referring to it as lemonade?
In language classes at school we were told not to ask for lemonade on the continent because we would get served a bitter lemon drink. Instead ask for Sprite or 7UP.
I'm confusing Americans in the Gen x sub.
One-Conference1531@reddit
When I was getting to know my ex, she told me she loves lemonade. I bought a bottle of Sweppes Lemonade for her in prep for the first time she was going to stay at my place. She saw it and said, "Oh, I like 7UP". This was one of many instances that she put down as a sign of me being autististic lol
Not only does 7UP contain lime as well as lemon, but it seems odd to me to ask for lemonade when you want 7UP or Sprite. I wouldn't ask for "the cherry drink" if I wanted Cherry Coke. These brands and drinks are so popular that they should be referred to by name
Paperbacksociety@reddit
So that’s sprite (7up) not lemonade this seems to be a pretty common thing the Brit’s do everywhere else it’s called lemonaid even the Italian twist on the classic which the Italians call “limonata” translates to lemonade. I used to think English people confused it with sprite because of the fizzle like the Italian version has. Also with Italy being a popular warm vacation spot for yall maybe you probably drank it whenever there but yall actually mean sprite.. Now everyone in Britain is getting upset because Americans call it lemonade like the rest of the world 😂 also fun fact I just learned , Egyptians created lemonade just found that out i thought it was cool so figured id add that!
wardyms@reddit
They aren’t technically lemonade because they’re lemon and lime. However if you ask for lemonade and they don’t have lemonade, you might get a response “is sprite ok?” Etc.
In North America lemonade isn’t fizzy, this might be what they mean.
ambergresian@reddit
Lemonade in the states is water, lemon juice, and sugar. I was very confused coming to the UK with this lol
visiblepeer@reddit
In Germany Limonade is actually orangeade which is even more confusing
Xaethon@reddit
Limonade can mean both lemonade (as is understood in English), or generic like the English term fizzy drink (with a fruit flavour). It is not specifically an Orangenlimonade/Orangeade.
Limonade can therefore include flavours like apple, orange, grapefruit and of course lemon.
visiblepeer@reddit
You're right, but unless you specify, someone's first guess is probably orange in my experience
germany1italy0@reddit
Is this a north/south divide?
Where I grew up Limo would be lemon flavour fizzy drink.
If the default is different in north and south it would explain the Radler with lemon vs Radler with orange divide.
pintsized_baepsae@reddit
Oh interesting! I'd say 'Orangenlimo' for sure, but I think just asking for Limo would prompt a question from the server.
I'm from NRW, for what it's worth, and have never heard of Radler with orange :D
germany1italy0@reddit
Dammit! There goes my theory.
TomatilloDue7460@reddit
Not in my experience, the most common flavour is usually lemon?
CptCave1@reddit
Blew my mind by learning lemonade is not fizzy over the one.
charballOG@reddit
Me and you both 😅
willowthemanx@reddit
So what do you guys call the flat drink of lemon juice, sugar and water?
Ok_Attitude55@reddit
Traditional lemonade. It's a niche product (but awesome).
willowthemanx@reddit
Interesting. I’m Canadian and “fizzy” lemonade isn’t really a thing here but “flat” lemonade is a common drink option that you can get at restaurants/stores or easily make at home.
kachuru@reddit
It's not something we really have here.
Cloudy lemonade seems closest, but still tends to be fizzy.
Fresh lemonade might describe it, and I can see some recipes online from UK sources that are essentially it. But again, it's not something we do here. I don't think I've ever been anywhere in my 45 years of life where this kind of lemonade was being served.
PigSnoz@reddit
What!? That’s two people I’ve seen say it’s not a thing here, but I’ve been aware of it my whole life, every supermarket I know sells a version of it in the chilled section, and I’ve seen it on menus in restaurants/cafes/posh pubs. I feel like I’m going a bit mad, like to me it’s a bit of an expensive treat type drink (unless you make it fresh at home) but not unknown or particularly hard to find.
kachuru@reddit
Admittedly it's not something I've looked for in supermarkets or on menus so maybe it's just not registered with me. I'll try looking the next time I'm in the supermarket (assuming I remember).
Or maybe it's more common in some areas than others.
PigSnoz@reddit
Ahh that could be it. I always notice it because it’s a favourite of mine; I gaze wistfully at the bottles in passing, as it’s too expensive to buy regularly
Entfly@reddit
I mean it's lemon juice, but we don't really have it here at all.
Potential-Calendar@reddit
M&S has it, and raspberry and passion fruit flavors too 😋
ComfortableStory4085@reddit
Lemon juice and still/ traditional lemonade are very different
pineapplesaltwaffles@reddit
I'd call that cloudy lemonade. Maybe even specify cloudy still lemonade.
shelleypiper@reddit
I wouldn't say cloudy because I associate that name with the fizzy cloudy lemonade
lordnewington@reddit
Yeah, but it's still lemonade isn't it?
sorry
lordnewington@reddit
Isn't that "bitter lemon"?
_Fl0r4l_4nd_f4ding_@reddit
Cloudy lemonade usually
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
It’s very unusual but we’d probably call it “still lemonade”
shelleypiper@reddit
Still lemonade
Frodo34x@reddit
It's so rare of a drink to find that most people probably just don't really have a name for it. You might see people say "freshly squeezed lemonade" and then from the context people would infer that it's American style but (at least in Central Scotland) it's just generally not a thing that exists outside of American media
Oh2e@reddit
I’d call that fresh lemonade or traditional lemonade (cloudy lemonade is basically the same though that’s occasionally fizzy).
bateau_du_gateau@reddit
Cider is just apple juice in the US, "hard cider" is cider.
tiptoe_only@reddit
This confused me so badly when I was trying to follow a recipe from an American website
Champion-Trainer341@reddit
I bet whatever you were making still came out nice
tiptoe_only@reddit
Oh that's a very sweet comment! I didn't actually make it in the end
Downtown_Physics8853@reddit
No. Cider here is a pressed apple juice drink, rather than the "pulped and filtered" technique for making apple juice. There are literally hundreds of cider mills in the northeastern US.
bateau_du_gateau@reddit
Both are called apple juice here. Cider is 5% or stronger alcohol.
Entfly@reddit
Cider doesn't need to be 5% but it is always alcoholic.
Thatchers is 4.8% for example
LiqdPT@reddit
Kind of. In the US, "cider" is unfiltered (or cloudy I guess) apple juice
Solid_Western_138@reddit
If it's clear and yella, you've got juice there fella. If it's mellow and brown, you're in cider town.
Low-Home-8501@reddit
Now, there's two exceptions and it gets kinda tricky here
Okiegolfer@reddit
Of course in Canada the whole thing is flip flopped
Simmo2222@reddit
'Cider town' being you are massively dehydrated, you should drink more water.
FranciosDubonais@reddit
r/beatmetoit
riotlady@reddit
Yeah I didn’t learn this until I watched My Little Pony with my kid and all the ponies were absolutely pounding cider 😂
tunaman808@reddit
Where? Because the French invented lemonade in 1630, and in France "lemonade" is still non-carbonated.
Agarwaen323@reddit
You can get still lemonade here in the UK too, it's just not the default.
DotComprehensive4902@reddit
In Ireland we call North American lemonade an old fashioned lemonade
We also have white lemonade which is a fizzy, sharper, more refreshing version of lemon and lime but without lime.
Furthermore we have red lemonade...no it's not any relation to pink lemonade in that a rusty red colour and isn't sweet in that same way.
To cap it all off, we have in the city and county of Cork we have Tanora, a tangerine flavoured drink reminiscent of red lemonade
Great_Tradition996@reddit
I learnt this when a Canadian barman gave me a horrified look when I asked for a SoCo and lemonade when I was on holiday there. He queried about 3 times if I was sure I wanted lemonade, which I kept saying yes to, and it was only when my Canadian relatives realised what was going on that it became clear. “She means a Southern and Seven!” one of them said, to the barman’s obvious relief 😂. I would have ended up with a very odd concoction if they’d not intervened
David_is_dead91@reddit
They’re both “lemon-lime” rather than just lemonade
GetCapeFly@reddit
I didn’t know 7up was lemon-lime. I thought it was just Sprite
Twisted_paperclips@reddit
And I thought the opposite! I was always disappointed when 7 up wasn't available because Sprite always just tasted of Lemon with no lime.
How_did_the_dog_get@reddit
I knew both were. But to me 7Up has more tangy sour . Sprite I used to love but it is far more "lemonade"
ArithonUK@reddit
Lemonade is lemon flavour carbonated soft drink, usually clear, while premium lemonades are cloudy (i.e. real lemon used, not just flavouring).
7UP is an American brand of LIME flavour carbonated soft drink.
Sprite is a Coca-cola brand of LEMON & LIME flavoured carbonated soft drink.
So neither of those is lemonade or British.
If you want lemonade the quintessential brand of note was always R Whites lemonade.
What Americans call lemonade is what we call lemon squash or lemon cordial - a still drink (not carbonated).
Ok_Attitude55@reddit
What we in the UK refer to as "lemonade" (like schweppes) is actually lemon flavoured soda. Sprite and seven up are lemon and lime flavoured soda. We call actual lemonade "traditional lemonade".
In other countries asking for lemonade may get you that traditional lemonade. Possibly completely uncarbonated. Asking for "soda" may get you the "lemonade" you want. But in some places you will get unsweetened soda water (club soda in us).
As Sprite and seven up are ubiquitous brand names it gets around confusion, so long as you like lime.
DarknessBBBBB@reddit
In Italy lemonade is just lemon water and sugar. Sprite and 7Up fall under the "gazzosa" category, which include all the ingredients above plus carbonated water and citric acid. Basically a carbonated soft drink.
The one pictured in the link is pretty good
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gazzosa
TMSQR@reddit
They're basically lemonade yeah.
I learned this when I went to Budapest. I asked for lemonade and they smushed up a bunch of lemons for the juice, added sugar and soda water. So if I asked for lemonade I got that. If I wanted what I think of as lemonade, I learned to ask for sprite.
R2-Scotia@reddit
Aa to 7Up and Sprote, the third member of the trio is Sierra Mist, same lemon lime fizzy drink
Equal-Guess-2673@reddit
I’ve lived in the uk, us & Europe so maybe can help? Everyone here seems just as confused as your Gen Xers lol
In the US lemonade is literally fresh squeezed lemon juice with water and sugar. You can get bottled versions too which taste like piss, but that’s what it’s meant to be. It would never be carbonated.
The US has sprite/7uo obviously but not the carbonated lemon drink you call lemonade. It just doesn’t exist, so there’s no name for it.
You might need to ask this in a European sub, but at least in the country I lived in neither version of “lemonade” existed. If you asked for lemonade you’d probably just get a blank stare. I can’t think of how to even translate it. So yes to get the closest to British lemonade you’d have to ask for sprite.
captain-carrot@reddit
Similar to Italy, France has Citron Pressé which is just squeezed lemon with sugar or water so more like the American style lemonade
But you can also ask for "Limonade" in France that is akin to British style lemonade.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
This was really interesting!
OperationGoron@reddit
Squeezed lemon in Spain, but usually you put sugar, I couldn't drink it without it.
Downtown_Physics8853@reddit
"...That is why you see kids with lemonade stands in American movies: lemonade is piss easy to make at home......
Your poor choice of words reminds me of why I NEVER patronize these things...
PipBin@reddit
In the U.K. ‘ade’ on the end of a drink name means fizzy. So you also get cherryade and orangeade. If you went into a pub in the U.K. and asked for lemonade you would most likely get Sprite or 7Up.
mrafinch@reddit
This is how I see it too, anything -ade is a fizzy version of that flavour.
Although if you were to order a lemonade in Europe I imagine (hope) you’d get a San Pellegrino or whatever. At least in my experience anyway, only in North America have I asked for lemonade and received a flat, lemon-flavoured drink.
DrRudeboy@reddit
I can only speak for Hungary and the surrounding countries, but there lemonade means lemon juice, sugar, and either stil or carbonated water. San Pel is delicious , but I wouldn't give it to someone asking for lemonade in Hungary. I didn't even realise 7Up and Sprite were lemonade here in the UK until I started working in my first bar in London, and people kept asking for vodka lemonades which we made with Sprite or Schweppes Lemonade.
AfraidOstrich9539@reddit
Or, if you had a Scottish granny born before ww2 you might get the old traditional non fizzy stuff
AudioLlama@reddit
Carbonated lemonade has been a thing since at least the 1830s
AfraidOstrich9539@reddit
Yes.... but between ww1 and the end of rationing in the UK after ww2 most working class people in Scotland (the vast majority at that time) couldn't afford to buy it so they kept using the older traditional methods just like people of that generation made 'orange cake' in the 80s (very basic sponge with left-over orange peel grated unto the mix)
Sensitive-Donkey-205@reddit
I loved my gran's lemonade, no idea what her recipe was. It was like a cordial/syrup that was diluted to drink.
AfraidOstrich9539@reddit
So sticky and thick and the lemon would almost burn it's way down... at least that's my memories from the early 80's. I loved it bur you knew you were going to make that 'I've eaten the most sour thing ever' face and that was half the fun
Sensitive-Donkey-205@reddit
Sounds like my gran used a lot more sugar than your gran. When I said syrup, I imagine it would have been grainy if I tried to drink it straight!
AfraidOstrich9539@reddit
Ah, yeah, that does sound a bit different.
There was sugar but nothing like you describe.
Some of my friends were almost scared of it and others loved it like me haha
Dear_Tangerine444@reddit
My English nan, born before WW2, only ever had Robinsons Lemon Barley Water in her house. If I’d have asked for any type of fizzy drink I’d have got a clip around the ear.
nonsequitur__@reddit
Or a Fanta limon
lammy82@reddit
Is Schweppes lemonade still not slightly more likely if you just ask for lemonade? Or has it been largely dropped?
Green_Sprout@reddit
I think we need to establish what Lemonade is to the Brits - It's a carbonated lemon flavoured beverage, you can also get cloudy lemonade which is a bit stronger in the lemon flavour department. The two biggest brands for these types of lemonade are probably Schweppes and R. Whites.
Sprite and 7UP, as others have stated, are lemon and lime carbonated beverages and not technically lemonade but in pubs and fast-food places will be sold as the 'lemonade' option here in the UK.
Katharinemaddison@reddit
Though ASDA do a very good lemonade which is just lemons and sugar.
Impossible_Theme_148@reddit
I think all the supermarkets do a version of it. I've definitely had the Tesco, M&S and Waitrose one's.
PigSnoz@reddit
I’m so glad you said this, I’ve seen several comments saying it’s very unusual/completely unheard of here. Felt like I was going bonkers, because I’ve been drinking it for decades (as a treat when I can afford it)
Impossible_Theme_148@reddit
I can't say I remember the first time I tried it - but it was definitely in the UK, and it was definitely a very long time ago
Katharinemaddison@reddit
Many of the other versions I’ve found have had artificial sweeteners.
ellatheprincessbrat@reddit
M&S’s doesn’t and they also do different flavours such as passionfruit or raspberry!
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
Thanks for the tip, I’m always up for recommendations without sweeteners.
PigSnoz@reddit
It’s only Lidl and Aldi’s that I’ve seen with sweeteners. Looking at ingredients lists online, the ones from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S, Morrison’s and Asda all look like they only use lovely delicious sugar, rather than bitter sweeteners.
Katharinemaddison@reddit
Ooooh exciting!
BedaFomm@reddit
And Lidl.
OspreyChick@reddit
Yes. There is also still lemonade or traditional lemonade in the UK, which is a yellow lemons and sugar drink compared to the clear fizzy lemonade, which is basically a carbonated lemon flavoured drink. It’s a matter of knowing what to order.
Katharinemaddison@reddit
I think you’re likely to get it in a pub though.
shelleypiper@reddit
Yeah, still lemonade would most likely be found in a restaurant.
OspreyChick@reddit
Agreed, but if you know what to order you can at least ask. A friend of mine asked me why when she ordered a hot chocolate in Spain they always brought her a thick, rich hot chocolate. I told her that she needed to order it by the brand name to get the UK equivalent. It wasn’t that they didn’t have it, she was just asking for the wrong thing.
Green_Sprout@reddit
The stuff in the cartons? I thought that had been discontinued decades ago!
Katharinemaddison@reddit
It’s in plastic bottles in the fridge section near the chilled fruit juice. Bit pricy but I’m obsessed.
Green_Sprout@reddit
I'll have to grab a bottle next time I'm in ASDA, if its similar o the cartoned drink from my uni days then I'll be joining you in obsession because that stuff was like crack!
Katharinemaddison@reddit
It certainly is to me! The only one I’ve found without artificial sweeteners too.
grapefruitzzz@reddit
Those things are a curse to me. I've started buying "cocktail mixers" and 0.0 beers to avoid the damn things.
redcore4@reddit
Belvoir and Bottlegreen are still sweetener free and usually a bit cheaper than the mixers.
Katharinemaddison@reddit
Yeah it’s so much easier to get a mixer without them than just a normal soft drink!
grapefruitzzz@reddit
There's a really good passionfruit one in the Co-op.
4me2knowit@reddit
My teeth implants are testament to the addictive properties of lemon juice
twincassettedeck@reddit
Don't know what birds you've been going down on....!
3Cogs@reddit
Try making your own. Squeeze a few lemons, add the same volume of cold water and slightly less volume of sugar. Chill for an hour in the fridge and add a couple of ice cubes. You can tweak it for sweetness and acidity but that's a good starting point.
lalagromedontknow@reddit
I like to make a lemon syrup by boiling water, peels, juice and sugar (I don't like anything too sweet so very much to taste) then use it like cordial with either still or sparkling water.
Academic_UK@reddit
And water…!
Katharinemaddison@reddit
Not as a flavouring though…
christopher_bird_616@reddit
Sounds rather dry??
Katharinemaddison@reddit
Goes very well with sambuca if that’s what you mean…
TheDarkestStjarna@reddit
Technically that's fizzy lemonade. Original lemonade was non fizzy. (It may still be sold as old fashioned lemonade or similar, but not as easy to get hold of as fizzy lemonade)
OurSeepyD@reddit
If you went out and asked 10 random brits today to describe lemonade, I would expect them all to say "fizzy"
TheDarkestStjarna@reddit
Yes, I agree.
UnusualAd5931@reddit
Yes but practically most of us, I'm sure, would initially think of the fizzy stuff. The -ade we then coopted for orangeade, cherryade ,etc. all fizzy
Cats_oftheTundra@reddit
I used to drink so much orangeade and cherryade... Happy fizzy days lol.
TheDarkestStjarna@reddit
Oh yes, I agree. It's just another layer to the definition of lemonade.
Bright_Name_3798@reddit
The closest in the US to Schweppes would be San Pellegrino Limonata.
joined_under_duress@reddit
British, 50 years old and honestly this is the first time I've known they included lime. I always just thought they were Pepsi and Coke's lemonade brands.
Obviously I am not much of a lemonade drinker. Or if I do it's flat cloudy stuff or San Pelligrino.
Green_Sprout@reddit
I found out years ago the hard way, actual limes and lime juice I'm fine with but the artificial lime flavourings used in one of them does a number on my guts and I always forget which brand it is because I'm a secret lemonade drinker.
redcore4@reddit
This enrages me, as someone who gets migraines from lime flavouring but not lemon…
blank_magpie@reddit
I chocolate cake can also have strawberries but that doesn’t make it not chocolate cake. 7Up is lemonade
_Alek_Jay@reddit
Arrgghh you bar steward…! I have that R Whites Secret lemonade drinker song stuck in my head now…
Green_Sprout@reddit
My work here is done *Tip-toes shadily back up the stairs*
RBisoldandtired@reddit
see even this is going to confuse things because pubs have lemonade and they’ll have a 7up or Sprite option depending on if they have Coke or Pepsi. some have no brand or whites.
Pubs do have lemonade though. Usually only on draft. Not in cans or bottles.
Affectionate_Map2761@reddit
What the hell? In america, Lemonade is lemons, water, and sugar. Schweppes makes ginger ale, which is the ginger version of the lemon lime soda(s) sprite and 7up... but lemonade is like kool-aid but with real lemons instead of chemical colored powder 🤣
Flea-Surgeon@reddit
And Bitter Lemon is another thing entirely, just to further complicate matters. That's mainly used as a mixer for spirits, but it's good on its own. Thinking about it, the last time I saw someone using it as a mixer was probably around 1974 lol
trysca@reddit
Lemonade is also uncarbonated, we were taught the traditional kind at school in thec80s - boiled lemon water sugar, that's it
Illustrious-Divide95@reddit
In th UK
Lemonade is fizzy clear sweet soda (American usage) or "fizzy pop"
R whites Lemonade and Schweppes are the most common classic brands. 7 up and Sprite, despite being lemon/lime are commonly called lemonade.
You can also get 'Cloudy lemonade' or 'Old fashioned lemonade' which is a bit like a carbonated version of American lemonade.
To get American lemonade, something like 'Still cloudy lemonade' is possible but hard to find.
SilverellaUK@reddit
Statutory mention of Elvis Costello's dad.
https://youtu.be/BwL4qwm5pbw?si=7jBBdRbjmdFFOhrF
Goldf_sh4@reddit
In the UK, 7up Sprite and lemonade are the same thing.
Parking_Champion_740@reddit
I noticed in the UK on menus lemonade was 7up/sprite or other lemony soda whereas cloudy lemonade was what is called lemonade in the US
Particular_Stage_913@reddit
In France if you ask for lemonade you sometimes get lemon juice with added spritzer.
Patient-Context-9424@reddit
You can safely assume asking for lemonade means asking for a 7UP/Sprite anywhere in the UK.
If there’s an option on the menu for freshly squeezed lemonade or cloudy lemonade, it will specifically state that.
Competitive_Fennel36@reddit
A lemon-lime flavored soft drink
matomo23@reddit
Lemon or lemon and lime soft drinks are known as lemonade here. So yes they’re lemonades.
This is NOT the case in the US where lemonade is a still drink made from lemons or tastes like that anyway. Sprite and 7-up are definitely not lemonades in the US as that word has a different meaning there. Hence the confusion.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
I wouldn’t say sprite and 7up are lemonades here either? I don’t know anyone that would call them lemonade, although they would accept them as a substitute for it.
matomo23@reddit
Plenty of people do, I’ve known it my whole life. But yes maybe not the majority! I suppose many people aren’t that interested and don’t know Sprite and 7-up have lime as well as lemon.
ohwhatisfreeasaname@reddit
I have never heard of someone referring to 7up or Sprite as lemonade. Pubs round where I am (Surrey) tend to have R Whites lemonade on the soda gun as well as either Coke or Pepsi & 7up or Sprite.
matomo23@reddit
Yes that’s true. But if you ask for lemonade and they don’t have R Whites they’ll say they have Sprite or 7-up instead.
-You_Cant_Stop_Me-@reddit
If I was asked the flavour I'd say 7-up/Sprite is lemon and lime. The most common lemonades in UK restaurants/bars is R. Whites or Schweppes, but if someone gave me 7-up or Sprite I wouldn't be bothered.
You wouldn't get bitter lemon in the UK when asking for lemonade. I don't remember ever getting bitter lemon when asking for lemonade on mainland Europe and that's my normal soft drink choice as I don't like cola.
MsPooka@reddit
Wait. So you ask for "lemonade" and get any number of different brands? That's wild. And fyi, American lemonade is never EVER bitter.
pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit
Is there only one brand of lemonade where you are?
-You_Cant_Stop_Me-@reddit
The vast majority of places will serve R. Whites or Schweppes on draught depending on who the bar/restaurant supplier is, the same way a place will have Coke or Pepsi (but the taste difference is so negligable that people generally don't care which). It's not that common to see 7UP or Sprite on tap outside of fastfood chains, but they might still have them in bottles/cans in the fridge if people want lemon-lime. If you just ask for lemonade you'll get it from the tap as standard and you have to ask if you'd prefer a bottle/can (if they even stock them).
If a place doesn't use soda guns and sells bottles/cans instead that might still be R. Whites or Schweppes, or something else like Canada Dry, Britvics or Fentimen's, or even smaller brands. It's rare a place will have multiple brands of lemonade in stock unless they've got additional flavours like pink lemonade.
Lemonade is never bitter here. Bitter lemon is a totally different drink; basically tonic water with lemon juice, pith (where the bitterness comes from), and peel added as flavouring. It's weird that someone would tell OP you'd be served bitter lemon when ordering lemonade when it's a very different drink.
TSC-99@reddit
Although I hate when shandies are made with 7up or Sprite!
Tizzy8@reddit
Oh! I knew lemonade meant soda in the UK but I somehow never made the connection that that would drastically change what a shandy was!
nonsequitur__@reddit
Yes, gross!
-You_Cant_Stop_Me-@reddit
Don't know if I've had that, they do tend to be lass fizzy than R. Whites/Schweppes so it would annoy me if it made my drink flat.
The best shandy I've had was Peroni and San Pellagrino in a frozen glass, that is the most refreshing drink on Earth. I'd also recommend trying a shandy with ginger beer instead of lemonade.
kachuru@reddit
What we call lemonade in the UK and what they call lemonade in the US are two different things.
In the UK it's a lemon-flavoured carbonated soft drink.
In the US it's a drink made from lemons, water and a whole heap of sugar.
allsilentqs@reddit
In Australia 7-Up and Sprite are types of lemonade (soft drink / soda). You can just order lemonade and get whatever they stock in that range.
The US style lemonade (lemon juice and simple syrup typically) is called “ old fashioned lemonade” and is on the menu much less often. I love it and order it constantly when home in USA.
MsPooka@reddit
American lemonade is never bitter. It might be tart, but not bitter. It's always flat. Homemade is very good. If you order it in a restaurant it probably come from a concentrate and will be be like a sweet lemony drink, but flat. About as sweet as juice. Sprite, 7Up, and Starry are brands of lemon-lime soda.
emARSguitars@reddit
This is all correct!
I would add that 7up, Sprite, and Starry can barely be called "lemon-lime" flavored. You can hardly taste the fruit flavor. They're most just sweetened carbonated water with a touch of citrus flavor.
Jimmyboro@reddit
I thought theybwere both Lemon and Lime?
Devify@reddit
Lemonade as a word refers to slightly different things in different countries.
In UK it's generally a lemon based fizzy drink. In America it's not fizzy at all. In a lot of European countries it's just a name for a lot of fizzy drinks.
So if you're looking for sprite, you're better off using a name brand
Prestigious_Carpet29@reddit
7UP is more mixed tropical fruit, sweet and carbonated. Sprite has less flavour, but also sweet and highly carbonated.
Supermarkets will sell carbonated lemonade in 2 litre bottles, which is flavoured principally with lemon. The cheap stuff is water-clear, and the fancier ones might be slightly cloudy and less sweet.
MassiveMoron69@reddit
They are both mediocre lemonade brands (in my opinion)
Quetzalchello@reddit
British lemonade is plenty mediocre of a drink. Stones and glass houses, you know?
MassiveMoron69@reddit
Come on you can't be upset because I don't think sprite is an amazing drink lmao
Quetzalchello@reddit
I agree as happens, but neither is British lemonade, which is the same bit just lemon flavour and frankly just as sickly.
Realistic-River-1941@reddit
British lemonade covers a lot of things, from a cheap colourless fizzy drink to a posher cloudy variety to things made with actual lemons. Something costing a pound for a 2 litres bottle is going to be very different to something hand made for a summer garden party.
Stainless-S-Rat@reddit
Asda does a very nice diet cloudy lemonade that goes for 80p. Very nice and lemony.
Quetzalchello@reddit
Pedantry. Mayo can mean both the white stuff in a jar mass produced and sold in shops or homemade sauce from egg yolk and oil. Which is mayo to most do you suppose???
Realistic-River-1941@reddit
No, there are noticeable differences.
MassiveMoron69@reddit
I was puzzled because there is no standard british lemonade it can all be fairly different! But i suppose its similar enough that you could be not keen on all of it so fair enough.
Quetzalchello@reddit
The stuff you get in a corner shop or supermarket. It's a clear fizzy drink. Yes that's standard British lemonade. Get a shandy or top in a pub that's what goes in it.
YouNeedAnne@reddit
R Whites > all
hurtloam@reddit (OP)
It's not very common in Scotland. I don't think I've ever had it.
Quetzalchello@reddit
It brings me right back to my first visits to the UK as a little boy in the seventies, but no I'd never just drink a glass of the stuff! As I said just now a little bit as a lager top... I prefer that to a shandy or a German Radler which both have too much lemonade or equivalent (German version has some actual fruit juice but still too weak).
Sad_Introduction8995@reddit
They’re all awful. It’s too hard to find one without sweeteners these days. 7-up used to be my mum’s go-to for that reason, but they ruined that too.
Quetzalchello@reddit
Yeah, that's how the drinks industry reacted to the sugar tax meant to cut consumption of these high sugar drinks. 😔
Wretched_Colin@reddit
It’s ok because it is standardised, you know what you’re getting. But it’s no better than a supermarket own brand lemonade.
There are some lemonades like Fentiman’s which would blow your socks off. Not really a thirst quencher, but good to see someone making something different.
MassiveMoron69@reddit
I enjoy Fentimans but its a bit pricey for the likes of me lol
NoChampion6187@reddit
In the UK if you ask for lemonade you'd get something bery similar to Sprite or 7UP.
In (as far as I know) continental Europe you'd get fanta lemon or something equivalent.
In the US you'd get basically what Europeans (including Brits) would call lemon juice.
Havanita@reddit
In the UK, 'Lemonade' as a term covers all lemon flavoured fizzy (carbonated) drinks. The -ade part tells you it is a fizzy drink. Within the Lemonade group there are multiple variants:
- (Clear) Lemonade. A clear fizzy drink with a light, not very defined citrus taste. Usually regarded as the OG lemonade and the default lemonade product in the UK, allowing it to be referred to as Lemonade with no modifying term. Sprite and 7Up are sometimes thought of in this group as they are also clear drinks with a light, not very defined citrus taste, but they taste slightly different as their citrus flavour is lemon and lime rather than lemon alone.
- Traditional or Cloudy Lemonade. A yellow-ish coloured fizzy drink with a distinct, strong lemon flavour which gives it a more sour taste that clear lemonade. Traditional lemonade usually has some real lemon in it while cloudy lemonade is usually artificially flavoured with lemon. This is closer to the flavour profile you see more commonly in continental lemonades / lemon drinks such as Lemon Fanta or San Pellegrino Lemon.
- Still Lemonade. A variant of Traditional or Cloudy Lemonade made with still rather than sparkling / fizzy water. The default Lemonade in the US.
- Bitter Lemon. A yellow-green fizzy drink with the flavour not just of lemon juice but also of lemon pith and peel and added quinine which enhance its bitter rather than sour taste. Usually used as a mixer rather than being drunk on its own due to its bitterness.
- Pink Lemonade. A pink fizzy drink with a strong, sweet lemon taste. Usually cloudy lemonade with added raspberry to make it sweeter. I have seen a Blue Lemonade that I think had blueberry rather than raspberry but it's not common. Other variants of lemonade with something added in a small amount are not usually described by their colour but by their flavour, [x] lemonade, e.g., rose lemonade, violet lemonade, unless the quantity of the added ingredient is large enough to rival the amount of lemon.
- Red Lemonade. A red / orange fizzy drink that, as far as I recall it has a similar taste profile to clear lemonade in that it has a vague citrus taste rather than a strong lemon one. An Irish variant. There is also a Brown Lemonade in Ireland that has a similar undefined citrus flavour but I think is made with brown sugar rather than white sugar.
If you wanted a drink similar to (clear) lemonade while you were in Europe, it would be better to ask specifically for 7Up or Sprite as (while not the same) they taste more similar to what you want than 'lemonade' does as lemonade in most of Europe is closer to cloudy or traditional lemonade and may be fizzy or still.
blank_magpie@reddit
They’re lemonade yes
_weedkiller_@reddit
7up & Sprite are lemon & lime. Lemonade is just lemons
EpicureanRevenant@reddit
Sprite is the Coke of lemon/lime flavoured sodas, while 7UP is the equivalent of Pepsi.
Agitated_Custard7395@reddit
Lemonade everywhere except the UK is lemon juice, sugar and sparkling water
It’s not bitter at all unless you ask for it to be, Sprite/7UP is some synthetic sugary crap
weedywet@reddit
Almost all ‘lemonade’ in the US isn’t sparkling/fizzy.
Indigo-Waterfall@reddit
In the uk it would be lemonade. Lemonade is a fizzy lemon flavoured soft drink.
CallumHighway@reddit
7-Up and Sprite are lemon lime sodas. They're not exactly like the lemonade you'd get in Britain, no. They're more like a Fanta. You know how Fanta is orange and fizzy? This is just lemon lime and fizzy, but it isn't as tart but more sweet than British lemonades I believe.
As chance may have it I'm drinking a 7-Up right now lol
WatchingTellyNow@reddit
And then in Ireland there's red lemonade, which is what you'd get if you just asked for lemonade, so you had to specifically ask for white lemonade if you didn't want the other stuff. That was a good few years ago now, so I don't know if that's still the case because I haven't been there for a while.
grapefruitzzz@reddit
Isn't "shandy" different in Ireland as well?
WatchingTellyNow@reddit
Dunno, I was a kid when I discovered the lemonade oddity.
"Shandy" is typically half beer half lemonade, but is often euphemistically used in "yeah, well, last night we went out for a shandy an' me 'ead's bangin' this morning!" to mean "I drank rather a lot last night"...
Shackled-Zombie@reddit
R whites R whites R Whhhhhhhhites
highrisedrifter@reddit
I'm a secret lemonade drinker.
Pure-Dead-Brilliant@reddit
Shhh, it’s a secret. 🤫
ProfessionalEven296@reddit
I got caught by the Lemonade and Sprite confusion when I first came to the USA. Sprite/7up is closer to what British people call lemonade. American lemonade is flat lemony flavored water.
KickOk1833@reddit
American English is much more specific than british English. In the states, if you want something, just be specific. Especially with drinks as an example. If you went anywhere and actually ordered "white wine" or "normal coffee" you would then be asked to be specific. Sprite is sprite. Coke is coke. With the exemption of the actual word coffee. "Coffee" in America is universally known to be brewed filter coffee. Everything else must be referred to by what it actually is... americano, latte, etc. And nobody drinks instant coffee. Blasphemy.
The_Wallet_Smeller@reddit
Poppycock.
Ask for a Coke in many parts of the US and you will be asked “what flavor?” Because Coke means any type of soda/pop not just Coke.
Ask for “White Wine” in the UK and they will also ask you what type.
Order “Coffee” in the UK and you will get the same type of coffee as you would in the US if you ordered “coffee”.
KickOk1833@reddit
Lived in the us half my life, uk the other. I've worked in restaurants and bars around the us and also the uk for reference.
Coke.
People in the us generally read menus and ask for their specific desire. If an American asks for coke it is assumed they want coke. If they wanted something different they would ask for, specifically, what they want. So no, in the us when asked for coke you will recieve coke. If they don't have coke but have Pepsi or a generic brand they will say, we don't have coke but we have this, is that OK?
Wine. The point is that an American will read the menu and ask for a specific type of wine which is listed on the menu. Yes, if they asked for a white wine, they would be asked what kind, but they wouldn't do that. They would ask for a specific type. British very commonly ask for "white wine" and most of the time when I press for a type I recieve flak for asking and am told just to give them anything and they don't even know what the different whites are and they don't care.
Coffee. Completely false. I've encountered filter coffee exactly 3 times in the uk. The rest of the time it's either an americano or instant, both of which have completely different flavor profiles. Most Americans can tell the difference. My experience is that English generally don't actually know what the difference is and "aren't they all the same?" This has been said to me many times. By baristas.
The_Wallet_Smeller@reddit
Also lived half and half.
Coke: Never lived in the South of the US then Kid? If you had you wouldn’t be so cocksure.
Wine: Must have worked at Wetherspoons.
Coffee: If you think you are getting an Americano… espresso with hot water in the UK then you are very mistaken. You think most places in the UK have an espresso machine????
KickOk1833@reddit
20 years in each and I'm a kid eh?
Been to every state so i must not know.
The south is an oddity for sure but still, in a restaurant, one would likely say "root beer" if both coke and root beer was on the menu and that is what they wanted. Of course in conversation they refer to any soda as coke.
Never worked at Weatherspoons.. worked at several pubs in an around derbyshire and some wedding venues.
Coffeeeeeeee! Yes. Any given food establishment in chesterfield has an espresso machine. Many don't know how to use it well, but they do have them. If not, sadly, the standard is nescafe.
The_Wallet_Smeller@reddit
Oddly enough….. I’m from Chesterfield and have never seen an espresso machine.
KickOk1833@reddit
Oh man. Junction has one. Brampton social club has one. Host has one. Nonna's had one. Couple of the Italian places, small cafes, and other various restaurants have them. I've gotten lattes at many of these places. Watched them make it on their espresso machine. Gregg's has them. Starbucks, cafe Nero, Costa. The list goes on. Don't actually know if the weathersppons in chessy has one but most of the other weatherspoons I've been in have them.
AudioLlama@reddit
Plenty of places have espresso machines these days, it's hardly unusual
cyanicpsion@reddit
You've lived in the UK half your life and only encountered filter coffee 3 times in the UK?
Your last sentence may possibly be vaguely plausible if you meant to say barristers instead of baristas.
KickOk1833@reddit
Yes. It surprises me still. I ask for it every time I go to a coffee shop or cafe. Sometimes I am told yes and then they start to make an americano because they think I won't notice or that they are the same.
A barista is a person who specializes in making coffee of all varieties. A barrister is a type of lawyer.. so not only do baristas sometimes not know much about coffee, people here don't even know what a barista is. At this point I would half expect a barrister to be more knowledgable about coffee than the average barista!
AudioLlama@reddit
I agree with the first two examples, but I'd argue the default in most coffee shops is a latte. Is that what you mean by a coffee?
cyanicpsion@reddit
Coffee Reddit/YouTube would disagree.
Coffee is the umbrella term , which has specifics underneath it like espresso, filter, pour over, and coffee related drinks. Filter coffee isn't the default unless that's all they serve.
Also, if they sell instant coffee in the US, but nobody drinks it, what do they do with it?
KickOk1833@reddit
Of course "Coffee" is an umbrella term. Of course.
However, In the states if you go to a place that sells coffee and ask for coffee you will get filter coffee. As a barista in England when people order coffee and I ask what kind, because we don't have filter coffee, inevitably they are confused and respond angrily "just normal coffee". usually they mean an Americano or instant, but sometimes they mean a latte or flat white. It's a chore to figure out what people want, exactly.
Of course some people do drink instant. Understand that when "people" say "nobody" they often are not being literal but rather mean an extremely small minority. The biggest group of instant coffee consumers is probably people going on extended backcountry trips where weight is a factor. Most, the vast majority, of Americans buy ground or whole been coffee and drink it brewed through a filter. Many more geek out on coffee in a way that would blow the mind of most british I know.
cyanicpsion@reddit
Well... That blows the argument that American English is incredibly specific then.
KickOk1833@reddit
Wooo! It's a good thing that's not what I said! Who said it was incredibly specific? I said it was "more specific than british english"
jeanclaudebrowncloud@reddit
American lemonade is just lemon, water, sugar. If you asked for lemondade in the UK, you wouldn't get that, you'd get something like Sprite. We don't really drink American lemonade, but because of ever increasing americanisation here we'll probably start drinking it sooner or later.
benDB9@reddit
Why don’t we have ‘American style’ lemonade?
Ravenclaw74656@reddit
I mean, we do if we're making it at home, but not commercially (usually). Our typical lemonade that we buy uses sparkling (fizzy) water, whereas you have to specify "flat" lemonade if you want a more American style one.
Additionally, and to be fair it may just be Texas, but the American lemonade I've drunk seems to have far more sugar in it and is fairly sweet, where we try for a balance between sweet and tart.
coughtough@reddit
American from Texas, the lemonade most often served at casual restaurants is from Minute Maid (owned by Coca-Cola), so while it isn’t fizzy, it’s a very standardized product that contains little to no actual lemon juice.
When we make lemonade at home, we buy a powdered mix (very much like Kool-Aid, in fact Kool-Aid makes a lemonade flavor), and mix it with water and sugar.
While my family is partial to this sweet lemonade, there are lemonade purists- often at overpriced restaurants- who will only squeeze literal lemons into a large pitcher of water and add a ridiculously small amount of sugar to it, usually resulting in a watered down flavor that’s still pretty tart.
Hour-Ability-6902@reddit
UK does, it's called lemon squash :)
US lemonade is basically lemon squash (not lemon juice, made that mistake 🙃)
BellisPer@reddit
You can get it, just not in most restaurants. It's normally called "traditional" or "still" and it's in the fridges.
BedaFomm@reddit
“On the Continent” ie in mainland Europe, drinks like Kas or Fanta Limon are commonly served as lemonade, and are more like British “bitter lemon”. For a clear fizzy lemonade it is better to ask for Sprite or 7up, to avoid confusion.
Chester_Le_Street@reddit
I think your teacher is confusing lemonade with bitter lemon, which is another thing entirely, and usually served as a mixer with gin.
LupercalLupercal@reddit
It's lemon and lime
lawton79@reddit
So
Lemonade in the UK is carbonated soft drink that used citric acid to give it a lemon taste
Cloudy lemonade is the same as the above with added lemon juice
Traditional lemonade is water sugar lemon juice (what Americans consider lemonade) this is not carbonated.
Sprite and 7up are a lemon and lime flavoured carbonated drink usually sweeter than lemonade.
Pink lemonade is cloudy lemonade with raspberry flavour added.
jajay119@reddit
It’s lemon and lime
aurora_ethereallight@reddit
UK here.
Modern lemonade and 7Up and Sprite aren't wildly different from each other (2 are brand names)... if you were in a British pub for instance, you would be served one of these three. These are clear, carbonated, citrus flavour, refreshment drinks.
The bitter lemon drink which someone had told about in reference to lemonade in the UK is what Traditional Lemonade. This is a cloudy, carbonated drink with quite a strong sour lemon flavour to it. It's hughly refreshing and a good palate cleanser but because of how sour it can be, is not to everyone's taste. To my knowledge, this isn't widely sold in pubs or restaurants but it can be purchased in supermarkets etc.
nonsequitur__@reddit
I think they’re saying that if you ask for lemonade in continental Europe you’ll receive a bitter lemon drink, not carbonated pop.
aurora_ethereallight@reddit
Well, OP has asked Brits... so I can only speak for what they would be most likely to get in the UK. I haven't spoken for the rest of Europe.
nonsequitur__@reddit
Yeah but they seem to be British from their post? And their comment references getting a bitter lemon drink on the continent.
aurora_ethereallight@reddit
I'm not here to argue with you. OP asked a question, I answered it within the context of how I interpreted it. End of.
The_Wallet_Smeller@reddit
Bitter lemon is NOT traditional lemonade. There is a specific product k own as Bitter Lemon which contains quinine similar to tonic water.
Loose_Acanthaceae201@reddit
As a pub mixer it would be called "bitter lemon" and would come in a little glass bottle.
Pineapple_JoJo@reddit
You’ll be fine asking for lemonade in the UK, you’ll usually get a sweet fizzy clear lemon flavoured drink, unless it’s described as “cloudy” in which case it will be a sort of opaque yellow colour, but it will still be sweet. No idea what you’d get asking for that in mainland Europe but 7up and sprite are well known brands so that would be fine (also fine in the Uk) hope that’s not confusing!
nonsequitur__@reddit
Often it’s Fanta limon!
Pineapple_JoJo@reddit
Oh yes! Like a lemon soda!
nonsequitur__@reddit
I’d say they are slightly more sweet or syrupy or something than lemonade but more or less the same. If you asked somewhere for a lemonade and they didn’t have it they may ask “is sprite/7up okay?” In the same way that if they didn’t have Diet Coke they may say “is Pepsi max okay?”
WiccanPixxie@reddit
Whenever I ask for lemonade in Greece I get given 7up or sprite, which is similar to UK lemonade, but not the same
TSC-99@reddit
Lemonade is better than 7up or Sprite and it is the superior shandy making choice too 💪🏽
ListenFalse6689@reddit
In the UK it's fine, they might only have one type of lemon pop, especially in a smaller venue so you will get what you get, but they might ask what brand if they have more. I will warn you there is one brand that tastes like actual shit I think it might be r whites.
In Italy they might give you lemon soda if you don't specifically say a brand and that's quite...fizzy and lemony.
CptCave1@reddit
Has everyone forgotten about Schweppes?
Hamsternoir@reddit
Lemonade is just lemon flavoured.
Sprite and 7up have more complex flavours. If you wanted either you would have to ask for them by name. Otherwise you'll just get a generic lemon only carbonated drink.
hurtloam@reddit (OP)
Yes, true. That's a good explanation.
If someone asked you what 7UP is how would you describe it? I just off hand said it was lemonade.
Impossible_Theme_148@reddit
I think most people would call it lemon and lime - but other people think that most people would just call it lemonade
That's probably a good indication that one or the other is going to cover nearly everyone
Beartato4772@reddit
It's a "Lemon and Lime" soda.
Craft_on_draft@reddit
The vast majority of people in the UK would call it lemonade
Hamsternoir@reddit
Must be a regional thing then as no one I've encountered does
The_Wallet_Smeller@reddit
It is very simple.
Lemonade in the US is not carbonated cloudy sweet lemon drink. It I s called Real Lemonade or cloudy lemonade in the UK.
What in the US would be Sprite etc is just called Lemonade but is less lemony.
There is also a drink called bitter lemon in the UK which is exactly what it says on the label. It is often used as a mixer.
AffectionateFig9277@reddit
That person is wrong. Bitter lemon is a very specific thing, you won’t just get that by asking for lemonade. Sprite is just lemonade with a bit of lime. Just ask for lemonade, we know what that is.
Also are we talking about the continent or the UK?
Loose_Acanthaceae201@reddit
I think they're talking about how Brits on holiday asking for "lemonade" expect something like Sprite and are served Fanta Limón.
A bag of salted Lays and a can of yellow Fanta screams sunny holiday 😎
Slight-Brush@reddit
‘The continent’?
attilathetwat@reddit
What’s wrong with that? A lot of people called mainland Europe the continent
Slight-Brush@reddit
I was checking which continent - we get a lot of non-Brits asking questions here and I couldn’t work out if you were a Brit wanting backup or a very confused visitor
hurtloam@reddit (OP)
Je suis Anglais. Ich wohne in Schottland.
inide@reddit
An American would say "Europe" rather than "the continent"
I'm pretty sure referring to it just as "the continent" is a purely British thing.
frankbowles1962@reddit
Sprite and 7 Up were US packagings of what in the UK was known as lemonade back in the 60s or 70s, a clear carbonated drink with a pretty synthetic lemon lime flavour. Since then more lemonade sold in the UK actually tastes of proper lemons and the meaning has diversified.
In Europe it was never a thing so you are right, it may well be translated as something more bitter than you are used to
Impressive-Safe-7922@reddit
I would include them in "lemonade" - if I order lemonade when I'm out somewhere, then I wouldn't be surprised to receive 7Up, Sprite, or a generic supermarket lemonade. However, if the menu specifies cloudy lemonade, then I would assume that does not include Sprite or 7Up
Careful-Tangerine986@reddit
Sprite is a lemon and mine carbonated drink and 7up is snow whites idea of a good time.
Wly35@reddit
If you ask for lemonade, the bar tender will usually ask "7up or sprite?" I'm surprised anyone would've thought it was a issue to begin with
Quetzalchello@reddit
Yup. Basically lemonade as the Brits call it. Because they're American products however they're not called lemonade as American lemonade is a very different thing. Made from actual lemon juice, sugar and still water. Thus they'd never call this stuff lemonade.
ZCT808@reddit
A Brit ordering lemonade is generally expecting a drink that looks and tastes something like 7UP or Sprite. Although these drinks also have a lime flavor missing from British lemonade.
In other countries lemonade often refers to a sweet still (non-carbonated) drink flavored with lemons.
PhantomLamb@reddit
Both are lemon & lime flavoured, so not lemonade. Though iirc the flavours are both pretty soft so would do as a nice substitute for lemonade if you couldn't get any.
qualityvote2@reddit
Hello u/hurtloam! Welcome to r/AskABrit!
For other users, does this post fit the subreddit?
If so, upvote this comment!
Otherwise, downvote this comment!
And if it does break the rules, downvote this comment and report this post!