Choose squash or cordial with sparkling water if guests may want different flavour strengths or a still drink from the same bottle. Choose a ready-to-drink sparkling pressé if pouring without mixing matters more. Check the exact bottle for its dilution instructions, ingredients, nutrition and storage directions before serving.
A dilutable squash or cordial lets you prepare individual glasses with sparkling or still water. Check that the particular bottle gives directions for the water you plan to use, and keep enough of each on hand for later rounds.
A ready-to-drink sparkling pressé needs no measuring or separate mixer. It is less flexible if someone wants a different strength or a non-fizzy version.
Read the purchased bottle’s ingredients, allergen declaration and nutrition panel. A flavour name or a no-added-sugar description does not tell you everything about the finished drink.
Choose it when: You want to mix individual glasses and offer still-water versions during a longer evening.
Allow for: Separate water and time to prepare each drink.
Choose it when: Several guests need a fizzy drink poured without mixing.
Bear in mind: The drink is already mixed, so guests have less control over its strength.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Mixing and servings | Read the ratio on the exact bottle and compare prepared servings, not concentrate bottle sizes alone. Waitrose & Partners suggests one part Waitrose No.1 Elderflower Cordial to four parts sparkling or still mineral water; its Robinsons Elderflower Cordial listing specifies one part concentrate to six parts water. | I would like to vary the flavour strength between glasses and make both fizzy and still drinks from a concentrate. |
| Serving effort | Decide whether you can prepare drinks between turns. Concentrate needs water and pouring or measuring; Waitrose & Partners describes its No.1 Sparkling Elderflower Pressé as ready to drink. | If several guests arrive together, I would rather open a chilled drink than mix each glass. |
| Ingredients and nutrition | Compare nutrition on the stated prepared-drink or serving basis, and read the ingredients and allergen declaration on the purchased pack. Check sweeteners separately from any no-added-sugar wording. | I want guests to be able to check what is in their drink, and I do not want to compare undiluted cordial with a ready-to-drink serving. |
| After opening | Read each bottle’s refrigeration and use-after-opening instructions before deciding how much to open for the evening. | Leftovers matter to me, so I would open only what I expect the group to use and follow each pack’s storage directions. |
Squash and cordial are concentrates; a sparkling pressé is already a drink. Choosing concentrate without arranging water leaves you with another step before guests can have it.
Check the format first. If you choose concentrate, follow its dilution directions and have sparkling water available.
Concentrate also means providing water and serving glasses.
A value for undiluted concentrate does not describe the same serving as a value for ready-to-drink pressé.
Use the label’s stated dilution and serving information to compare what will go into a glass.
That wording alone does not tell a guest which sweeteners or allergens are in the particular drink.
Read the full label and leave the bottle available for guests who need to check it.
Storage directions can differ between cordial and ready-to-drink products, affecting how you handle drinks left after the game.
Check the purchased pack’s instructions, refrigerate where directed and note when you opened it.
Sainsbury’s lists Robinsons no-added-sugar squash, while Waitrose & Partners lists an Elderflower Cordial concentrate. Check which format and flavour you are buying rather than treating them as interchangeable.
The range includes an Elderflower Cordial for dilution and a Sparkling Elderflower Pressé that Waitrose & Partners describes as ready to drink.
Marks & Spencer describes its Fragrant British Elderflower Cordial as suitable for dilution with still or sparkling water.
Tesco Groceries lists a 1.5 L Quadruple Strength Lemon Squash No Added Sugar among its squash and cordial products.
These are sparkling, ready-to-drink fruit soft drinks for guests who want fizz without mixing. They are alternatives to preparing squash or cordial, not concentrates or the elderflower pressé discussed above; they cannot make a still version from the same drink.
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For pouring fizzy apple drinks without preparing concentrate, this is an eight-can pack. It does not offer the adjustable strength or still-water serving option of dilutable squash; check the can’s ingredients for guests with particular requirements.
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This bottled peach drink suits serving fizz without mixing. It is not a dilutable squash, so it will not make individually mixed still drinks; check the bottle’s ingredients and opened-bottle storage instructions before serving or keeping leftovers.
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These eight cans provide a ready-to-drink cherry option when mixing would interrupt the game. As with the apple cans, guests cannot choose a different dilution or a still version from the same product; check the purchased can’s ingredients.
Follow the particular bottle rather than using one ratio for every cordial. Waitrose & Partners suggests one part Waitrose No.1 Elderflower Cordial to four parts sparkling or still mineral water, while its Robinsons Elderflower Cordial listing specifies one part concentrate to six parts water.
A ready-to-drink sparkling pressé is easier to pour straight away; Waitrose & Partners describes its No.1 Elderflower Pressé as ready to drink. Cordial takes water and mixing but lets you prepare individual strengths and, where the label allows it, still-water versions.
No-added-sugar wording alone does not answer either question for the product in your hand. Read its ingredients for sweeteners and its nutrition panel for the stated sugar content, using the relevant prepared-drink or serving basis.
Keep the purchased bottle or can available so the guest can read its current ingredients and allergen declaration. Do not rely on the flavour name or on another variant’s label.
Follow that bottle’s refrigeration and use-after-opening instructions. Check them before opening several bottles, and note the opening date if you plan to keep what remains.