Turn Ocean Spray into Wine for less than $2

By Andrew Davis on June 22, 2010

Spike Your Juice is amazingly simple.

Pick out a no-sugar-added juice. Pour in Spike Your Juice. Seal, and wait.

What you get is a champagne-like concoction of delicious tasting, semi-alcoholic juice.

Spike Your Juice is a bit out of the normal mix of reviews of products covered by ConCrave. But, what techy isn't without his special brew? And, well, Spike is definitely special.

Spike is the creation of California-based Europeans in search of Federweißer, a 4% wine common throughout Europe's wine regions from early September to late October. Spike re-creates a Federweißer-style beverage, anytime, anywhere -- so long as you have a 64-ounce bottle of juice and you're at least 21 years of age.

I was able to set up a bottle of juice within minutes before leaving on a weekend vacation. And, by the time I got home, it was ready for consumption.

When I went to "test" the product, I downed 750ml (yes, I measured, for the sake of science) before I realized it was going to take a lot more than that to start feeling ‘spiked.' This led me to believe the alcohol content to be about that of beer.

A little background research into Federweißer validated this guess.

To Spike's credit, you can let it sit longer and it will yield a higher alcohol content. In fact, Spike's fact sheet provided on their website says that it will produce up to a 14% abv, which is about the same as a strong wine. But, as the alcohol rises, the sugar falls, which takes away some of the "straight" flavor of the product.

Though, I suppose that's why Spike provides three alternative recipes.

Spike Your Juice is available online at spikeyourjuice.com starting at $9.99 (plus $1.95 s/h) for the starter kit.

Bottom line:

Spike makes for an interesting novelty product that will go over well at a party with people who are into novelty things like Federweißer (especially if they can pronounce it).

It's delicious. It's bubbly. It's fun.

But, my overall impression is that Spike's marketing oversells the actual product.

Don't get me wrong. Spike is good, and if I were a 110 lb. girl, this stuff may actually get me drunk. I put it in this context because everything about "Spike Your Juice" -- from the name, to the "turns juice into alcohol" on the box -- says this is a cheap way to get you three sheets to the wind. However, if you're looking for a cheap way to get drunk, a 12-pack of Pabst's Blue Ribbon might be a better investment of your time and money.

I have five more packs left, which leaves plenty of room for experimenting with strength and flavor. I plan on returning to drawing board and seeing what I can come up with.

I'll report back on the findings.