Superquinn Euroshopper Cola €0.79 for 2 litres, €0.40 per litre Highs: At half the price of the more recognised brands and less than a tenth of the price of the most expensive cola we found, this is certainly very cheap.

It is also the most translucent and looks more like red lemonade or strong tea than a cola drink.

Lows: And after a couple of sips, you might find yourself wishing you were drinking cold strong tea in its place. It's watery, bland, lacks fizz and is absolutely horrible. So horrible, in fact, that you'd really have to wonder why Superquinn - a shop which sells some excellent own brand products - would be bothered even putting it on their shelves.

Verdict: Vile

Star rating: *

Pepsi

€1.58 for 2litres, €0.79 per litre

Highs: We ran our own mini (and entirely unrepresentative) Pepsi challenge in which we asked a select number of people to taste the Coke and Pepsi and say which they liked best; bizarrely for two drinks which are so similar, this had an 80 per cent approval rating. It has, perhaps a slightly stronger cola taste than its main rival and was maybe just a smidgen sweeter. While the prices presumably vary from week to week and place to place, it was also a good bit cheaper than Coke in our local Tesco last week.

Lows: While "I'll have a Coke" trips nicely off the tongue, specifying that you want a Pepsi makes you sound a little precious.

Verdict: Cheaper and nicer, just

Star rating: ****

Coca Cola

€1.81 for 2 litres, €0.91 per litre

Highs: You won't need Pricewatch to tell you what this particular product is like - it is, after all, one of the most recognisable brands in the world. It is available everywhere, in a bajillion different sizes and containers. It is filled with fizz and caffeine and sugar and will certainly give you a lift should you find yourself flagging of an afternoon.

Lows: It rots teeth, is filled with empty calories and is slightly pricier than its principal rival. And, when compared with the quality - and admittedly way more expensive - cola drinks now on the market, you'd have to wonder how it grew into the monster corporation it is today.

Verdict: Coke isn't it

Star rating: ***

Fentiman's Curiosity Cola

€2 for 275ml, €7.27 per litre

Highs: This "botanically brewed" drink claims to have returned to the "first principals" of cola drink-making, although you shouldn't expect to find any pharmaceutical grade cocaine in the mix. It promises bite and body and says it is "curiously invigorating" - and it's not lying. It has a lovely old-fashioned feel to it - it smells and tastes like cola bottles and has a lovely strong, gingery flavour.

Lows: It is a bit of a novelty product and might be hard to track down. It is also the most expensive of the cola drinks we tried.

Verdict: Lovely

Star rating: ****

Contesse Bio Cola

€5 for 750ml, €6.66 per litre

Highs: This caffeine-free cola drink is absolutely amazing - it is gorgeously fruity and in a completely different league to all the competition. It is organic and, while the ingredients are in French and German only, we were able to deduce that it was pretty pure. It has a nice tang and popped open like a bottle of champagne.

Lows: Like the Fentiman's, it is hideously expensive. And probably next to impossible to find - we sourced it in a Dublin's farmer's market but haven't come across it before or since.

Verdict: Excellent

Star rating: *****