Basically not available outside of specialty stores, or the occasional supermarket with an import aisle.

Definitely not widely drunk. Nor is Robinson Orange Barley, which is still my fav drink, despite being somewhat older than the typical market.

(Brit in US)

I remember Annapolis MD used to have a store with lots of British biscuits, Marmite, Bovril, marmalade, Ribena etc. - an oasis to the Englishman abroad.

The nickname for them is "BritMart" and tend to be more common in areas with large British expat communities. I remember lots of them when I lived in Florida.

There is a bit of difficulty getting Cadbury's chocolate due to Hershey owning the trademark in the US. They shut down most grey-market importers.

Can you get other (ie non-Cadbury) brands of chocolate that don’t have the butyric acid that (I believe) makes Hershey etc. so grim to most British palates?

I’ve never heard of butyric acid but I’m wondering is that what gives American chocolate it’s plastic taste and even texture? Because I can’t stand it.

Even in Kraft singles…it’s like there’s this similar thing going on there. It’s different but there’s this common plastic tasting thing going on there that I can’t stand either.

I feel bad because my kid loves cooking grilled cheeses and always wants me to try them but I can’t stomach it. At the same time though…it’s so much cheaper, that I still buy it for him. I’m kind of like this with wine- like, I’m not buying the expensive stuff because I already like the cheap stuff and the last thing I’m going to do is develop more expensive tastes if the cheap thing is fine for me right now.

Cordial drinks aren't as much of a thing in the US anyway.

I feel Ribena's so baked in to British psychology it's not seen as a cordial. Orange, lime, and blackcurrant cordials are cordials.

Ribena's just Ribena. It's mixed with water almost exclusively, lemonade at a push, but blackcurrant cordial would be used for snakebites or rum+Guinness. Surely I'm not alone on this?

> blackcurrant cordial would be used for snakebites

Of the actual snake variety, or are you meaning some kind of drink?

A drink, larger and cider.

One can have a 'snakebite and black' adding a dash of black currant, also a 'black nasty' being a 'snakebite, pernod and black currant'.

In the UK, it's a 50-50 mix of larger and cider. I guess some people mix in some cordial too.

Both replies mentioned "larger" (and cider) so I googled it and it's just a typo for "lager"

Very common typo, with the way it's pronounced in some english speaking countries. (there's probably a joke in there somewhere about pints vs half-litres)

Rum & Guinness sounds like an interesting combination. I have to try it.

I am with you on this.

To add to mixing... just the right amount of water. Stronger or weaker for a cordial is simply stronger or weaker. But more or less water for Ribena is a question of right or wrong; that's why it's never quite right when going round a friend's house back in the day, or if it is that's uncanny.

I believe they refer to them as "Kool-Aid" drinks, despite being prepared differently

I'm not sure I understand the word "cordial" correctly, but Ribena doesn't have alcohol.

Cordial is a thick juicy syrup added to drinks, but is not alcoholic itself. I think the GP means ‘squash’ or ‘diluting juice’, which sometimes gets called cordial too (though I associate cordial with the thicker stuff)

It's worth noting that Ribena also comes ready made. If I ever buy Ribena, that's what I go for. Especially the carbonated version.

There are alternative blackcurrant cordials for diluting which are much cheaper and taste good. I think every British supermarket has their own brand one.

I’m sure you can find them somewhere in the US, but it is definitely not a usual item here. I’ve never encountered it and have only heard of it from some British folk.

I can’t imagine many non-US soft drinks companies try to come to the US and compete against Coke and Pepsi companies outside of maybe niche stores.

Hit and miss for Ribena here in Canada I never even knew about it until last year. The existence of it I mean not the availability here.

Here in Canada we tend to know more about UK stuff than people in the US. We get imports the US doesn't of various products Kinder chocolate/toy eggs for one.

I just had a look when I went out for groceries and for a 750ml Ribena it is $16.

Also crème de cassis - which is basically Ribena with alcohol!

Ribena has been ruined with artificial sweeteners. If this tinkering actually worked I wouldn't mind but Britons continue to get fatter.

Probably (or its equivalent) 'grape' flavoured.