Shopping: Ready-to-pour cocktails for party season
Fancy a cocktail without the muss and fuss this Christmas? These are the drinks to buy
Elephant Gin Ready-to-Drink Negroni, 700ml, £35.90, elephant-gin.com
So named because its botanicals are inspired by the founders’ travels in Africa - plus 15% of all bottle proceeds go towards African elephant conservation - Elephant Gin is known for producing elegantly balanced spirits, from the classic London Dry (floral fruity, spicy) to quirky Orange Cocoa (zesty orange, velvety chocolate).
This negroni is the brand’s debut ready-to-pour cocktail and it’s a doozy. Made from equal parts gin, vermouth and bitter liqueur, it’s mellowed by a six-month ageing in oak barrels; the result is full of personality, thanks to complex, bittersweet flavours and a pleasing smokiness on the nose. All ingredients are made in-house and 100% natural too.
MXYD Celebrate in Style Gift Box, from £27.50 for five single-portion drinks, myxd.co.uk
Want to host a Christmas cocktail party without having the faff of measuring and mixing - or the expense of buying umpteen spirits by the bottle? Delivering pre-mixed bar-quality drinks direct to the door, each in a single-serve pouch ready to chill and pour, MXYD has curated a collection of festive sets designed both for hosting and gifting.
Our pick of the range is the Celebrate in Style box containing five classic-with-a-twist cocktails: Rhubarb & Ginger Gin Fizz, Candyfloss Cosmopolitan, Cuban Fury, Mango & Chilli Margarita and, our favourite winter warmer, the Maple Old Fashioned. Created by acclaimed mixologist Grant Murray, all are both surprising and delicious - and therefore perfect for party season.
Carthy & Black Espresso Gin Cream, 50cl, £12, spiritofharrogate.co.uk
A range of cream liqueurs made with Slingsby Gin - an award-winner distilled in Harrogate with 24 botanicals, many of them locally grown - Carthy & Black Gin Cream comes in four different and highly distinctive flavours: Yorkshire Original, Rhubarb, Lemon and, our pick for the festive season, Espresso.
If you’ve got an espresso martini fan on your gift list, this is the present to buy them. Balancing the sweetness of the cream and the sharpness of the gin with a gorgeous kick of coffee, it’s delicious served straight up over ice.
Baileys Tiramisu Irish Cream Liqueur, 700ml, £17, Tesco
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Baileys - and this latest iteration of the devilishly moreish Irish cream is the most festive ever. Combining the classic Baileys profile with flavours of tiramisu, it’s all cream and coffee and cosiness.
Though it’s scrumptious supped solo - or poured over ice cream: if you’ve never tried it, do so this minute - it is also *amazing* in a cocktail. Shake 50ml of Baileys Tiramisu, 25ml Smirnoff vodka and ice, pour into a coupe and finish with a dusting of cocoa. Naughty, yes, but oh-so-nice.
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Alice Ryan