Why Costco Shoppers Should Be Side-Eyeing Kirkland's Organic Lemonade

Costco is known for having some pretty sweet deals associated with its in-house brand, Kirkland. For example, the Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio Friuli wine can prove to be the perfect sipper for the summer at only a fraction of the price you'd normally see for a product of such quality. But unfortunately, you can't apply that same assumption of quality to any and every Kirkland product you find at Costco, and its organic lemonade is one example of why.

Applying the term "organic" to a food product insinuates freshness and great natural flavor, but sadly Kirkland's Organic Lemonade made the list of Costco products with the lowest quality ingredients as judged by us here at Chowhound. The main culprit for landing this bottle of lemonade on the list was the staggering amount of sugar in the drink, with over half of your recommended daily amount of sugar coming from just one serving of this lemonade. Add to that the fact that the organic lemon juice being used is from concentrate (and therefore could lack some key nutrients), and you've got ample reason to leave this lemonade on the shelf in favor of other options.

If it were difficult to find decent lemonade on the market, and if it were difficult to make top-notch lemonade at home, then sure, you'd be completely justified in settling for the hyper-sweetened Kirkland product. But that's simply not the case. Not only are lemonade options plentiful in practically every grocery store you visit, but it's also incredibly easy to make lemonade yourself (and if you're looking for purity of ingredients, that's your best choice).

Store-bought lemonades that rank high in reviews excel in executing that sweet-to-sour balance which makes lemonade so satisfying, and it's not hard to find organic products that do this well if that was your main goal in eyeing up the Kirkland option. Take the Nature's Promise Organic Lemonade which was placed high on our list for its flavor, ingredients, and price point, for example — or the Trader Joe's freshly squeezed one which came top and is made from just three ingredients.

Otherwise, you could always just juice a few lemons and make some fresh lemonade at home. There are all kinds of tips you can follow to make the best lemonade possible in the comfort of home, including adding some delicious fresh herbs to give your drink a real summery boost. In short, there's really no excuse to grab the Kirkland Organic Lemonade — you deserve more than settling for inferior lemonade!