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?
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)
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.
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.
