Who is each format for?

Households mixing fizzy drinks at home

A cordial labelled for use with sparkling water lets you prepare a glass when you want one, provided you also have sparkling water to mix with it.

Ingredient-conscious cordial buyers

Check the exact flavour’s ingredients, sweeteners, allergen information and nutrition at its stated dilution. Products with similar names need not have the same formulation.

Small households drinking cordial occasionally

Match the bottle to how quickly you are likely to use it after opening. The examined cordials and sparkling drink have different refrigerated storage instructions, so bottle size alone will not settle the choice.

What should you check before stocking up?

Cordial and sparkling water

Choose when: You want to mix still or fizzy servings as needed from a concentrate whose directions permit sparkling water.

Bear in mind: You need sparkling water separately and must follow that cordial’s dilution and refrigerated storage instructions.

Ready-to-drink sparkling elderflower

Choose when: You want an already carbonated drink to serve chilled without measuring cordial.

Bear in mind: It is not a concentrate. Belvoir Farm’s examined 750ml sparkling elderflower drink specifies refrigeration and use within three days after opening.

Once you have chosen the format, compare the directions and ingredients on the exact bottle rather than assuming all elderflower drinks are prepared alike.

Priority What to check Your needs
Drink format Check whether the bottle contains concentrate requiring dilution or an already carbonated drink. For cordial, sparkling water is a separate ingredient. I want to decide whether to mix each glass or open a drink that is already fizzy.
Sparkling-water directions Read the serving instructions for the exact flavour. Waitrose & Partners and Marks & Spencer list sparkling-water directions for the examined Belvoir, Bottlegreen, Waitrose No.1 and M&S cordials. If fizzy servings are the point of stocking cordial, I want the bottle’s directions to say I can use sparkling water.
Dilution and yield Compare each product on its stated preparation basis: Waitrose & Partners lists Bottlegreen Elderflower at 1:15 for 32 glasses, Belvoir Elderflower at 1:10 for 22 servings, and Waitrose No.1 Elderflower at a suggested 1:4 for 2.5 litres. How much prepared drink will this bottle make at a dilution I am happy to use?
Ingredients and nutrition Check sweeteners, allergen statements and nutrition per 100ml or per serving on a comparable prepared-drink basis. Sainsbury’s lists sucralose and sodium metabisulphite in its Lime Cordial No Added Sugar. I want to know what is in this particular flavour, rather than relying on “no added sugar” or its flavour name.
After-opening storage Check refrigeration directions and the period for use after opening. Product directions from Belvoir Farm, Waitrose & Partners and Marks & Spencer range from three days for the examined sparkling drink to two weeks, three weeks or one month for the examined cordials. For occasional drinks, I need a bottle I can use within its own stated period after opening.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Treating cordial and sparkling drink as the same format

    Cordial needs diluting; an already carbonated drink does not give you a concentrate to mix across multiple servings.

    Decide whether mixing flexibility or a ready-to-serve bottle matters more before choosing a flavour.

  • Comparing concentrate bottles by size alone

    The stated amount of prepared drink changes with the dilution directions. Waitrose & Partners lists different ratios and yields for the examined Bottlegreen, Belvoir and Waitrose No.1 500ml elderflower cordials.

    Compare the stated yield alongside the ratio used to make it, rather than treating equal-sized bottles as equal quantities of finished drink.

  • Reading “no added sugar” as an ingredient list

    Sainsbury’s Lime Cordial No Added Sugar lists sucralose and sodium metabisulphite. The phrase does not tell you everything about sweeteners or allergens.

    Read the ingredients and allergen information on the exact bottle, particularly if either matters to your choice.

  • Overlooking the period after opening

    Belvoir Farm specifies three days refrigerated for its examined sparkling elderflower drink; the examined cordials have different, longer stated periods, according to their retailer product directions.

    Choose a quantity you can use within that product’s instructions, and refrigerate it after opening where directed.

Brand and retailer examples

These examples illustrate differences between particular labelled products, not claims about every drink made by each brand.

Belvoir Farm

Its examined 500ml Elderflower Cordial is a concentrate labelled for sparkling-water dilution; its separate Sparkling Elderflower is a 750ml carbonated drink.

  • Waitrose & Partners lists 1:10 dilution and 22 servings for the cordial.
  • The cordial specifies three weeks refrigerated after opening; Belvoir Farm specifies three days refrigerated for the sparkling drink.

Bottlegreen

The examined Elderflower and Summer Raspberry cordials both give directions for mixing with still or sparkling water.

  • Waitrose & Partners lists the Elderflower cordial at 1:15 for 32 glasses; Sainsbury’s lists Summer Raspberry at 1:14 for 30 glasses.
  • Both examined products specify refrigeration and use within one month after opening. Check ingredients for the particular flavour.

Waitrose No.1

Its examined 500ml Elderflower Cordial suggests one part cordial to four parts sparkling or still mineral water.

  • Waitrose & Partners states that the suggested dilution makes 2.5 litres.
  • The product specifies storage below 5°C and use within one month after opening; its ingredients include sodium metabisulphite.

M&S Food

The examined Fragrant British Elderflower Cordial is a 500ml concentrate labelled for dilution with still or sparkling water.

  • Marks & Spencer lists natural flavourings and labels this product vegan and vegetarian.
  • Its directions specify refrigeration and use within two weeks after opening; the ingredients include preservative E223 (sulphites).

Sainsbury’s

Its examined Lime Cordial No Added Sugar is a 1L concentrate with a stated one-part-cordial-to-four-parts-water dilution.

  • Sainsbury’s lists 30% fruit juice from concentrate and 20 servings for this product.
  • Its ingredients include sucralose and sodium metabisulphite. Check the bottle for sparkling-water directions before choosing it for fizzy drinks.

Sparkling elderflower on Joybuy

This Joybuy option is an already fizzy elderflower drink for serving without mixing cordial; it does not represent the concentrate route.

Dalston's Fizzy Elderflower 330ml can

Dalston’s Fizzy Elderflower 330ml

A 330ml ready-to-drink fizzy elderflower option if you do not want to mix a cordial. The product information advises keeping the can cold after opening and consuming it within 24 hours.

View on Joybuy

Common questions

Can I mix any cordial with sparkling water?

Check the exact bottle’s directions rather than assuming you can. The examined Belvoir, Bottlegreen, Waitrose No.1 and M&S cordials explicitly mention sparkling water; Sainsbury’s examined Lime Cordial No Added Sugar gives a water dilution instruction without explicitly specifying sparkling water.

Is sparkling elderflower drink the same as elderflower cordial?

No. Belvoir Farm’s examined Sparkling Elderflower is an already carbonated 750ml drink, while the examined elderflower cordials are concentrates with dilution instructions. Choose according to whether you want to serve a prepared drink or mix each serving.

How can I compare sugar information between cordials?

Compare nutrition figures on the same prepared-drink basis, checking the stated dilution and whether the panel is per 100ml or per serving. Waitrose & Partners lists 1:15 for Bottlegreen Elderflower, 1:10 for Belvoir Elderflower and a suggested 1:4 for Waitrose No.1 Elderflower; figures prepared at those different ratios are not automatically like-for-like.

Which label details matter when stocking cordial?

Check the exact bottle’s ingredients and allergen information, dilution directions, date marking and storage instructions. GOV.UK food-labelling guidance identifies ingredients, special storage conditions and instructions for use where necessary among the information relevant to packaged food labels.

How long can these drinks be kept after opening?

Follow the instructions for the particular product. Marks & Spencer specifies two weeks refrigerated for its examined elderflower cordial; Waitrose & Partners lists three weeks for Belvoir Elderflower Cordial and one month for Bottlegreen Elderflower and Waitrose No.1 Elderflower. Belvoir Farm specifies three days refrigerated for its examined sparkling elderflower drink.