Serge Island Peanut Punch

Product name: Serge Island Peanut Punch
Purchase details: £0.79 for a 240ml carton (tesco.com)
Calories: 200 per carton
Country of origin: Jamaica 

I first heard of this Peanut Punch a few weeks ago when I was browsing the world foods section in Tesco. Needless to say, I was very tempted by the inclusion of peanut butter on the ingredients list. However, since I’d never heard of this drink before, I decided to hold fire and do a bit more research around exactly what it was, first. On returning home, I did a quick Google and discovered from Wikipedia that it is a popular beverage in the Caribbean and also contains milk, sugar and, sometimes, spices. This sounded delicious and, although I knew the main ingredient listed on the Serge Island offering was water, with the milk taking the form of skimmed milk powder, I decided it was worth adding to our next Tesco delivery anyway. 

Whilst this drink was new to me, I have had a couple of previous experiences of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups milkshakes from local cafés, so peanut butter in liquid form was something I’d tried before. However, these milkshakes have contained whole milk rather than skimmed milk, ice cream and, obviously, chocolate (well, a chocolate-flavoured substance!), so I was intrigued to see how this Peanut Punch would compare, particularly since I noticed that it also contained caramel.

This drink came in a bright yellow carton which is what originally drew my attention to it, and it contained an image of the product on the front, which looked quite creamy. I was pleased to find that the drink did smell of peanut butter but, unfortunately, there was something extra in the aroma which smelt slightly chemical-like.

The Peanut Punch came in a single-serving carton but, since I wanted to take a photograph, I transferred the liquid into a drinking glass and discovered that it was the pale colour I’d expected. From the glass, the texture was incredibly smooth and silky and slightly thicker than milk and, since I’d shaken the carton first, as instructed, it was also a bit frothy. However, because the product was packaged to be consumed through a straw, I decided to try this too, and discovered it was equally nice and concentrated the thick liquid.

I always think that the taste is probably the most important part of a product and this didn’t disappoint. It was really creamy and did taste like peanuts with a very slight hint of caramel but, unlike most peanut butter products, it was totally sweet with no salty element. Like the smell, there was something in the flavour that hinted at chemicals, but this wasn’t strong and I found it didn’t take away from the richness of the taste experience. Creaminess was definitely the overwhelming positive that this product offered to the extent that it wasn’t at all obvious that its main ingredient was water.

I’m definitely glad I took a chance with this Serge Island Peanut Punch. I can’t pretend I don’t prefer peanut butter in milkshake form but this, arguably, was a healthier option and was not bad at all.  

Appearance: 6.5/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7/10