Life too short to mix a cocktail? There’s a bottle for…

Life too short to mix a cocktail? There’s a bottle for that …

‘As with ready meals, pre-mixes obviously depend on the quality of the ingredients that go into them.’ Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto/bhofack2

Confession time: I’ve never actually bought a pre-mixed cocktail, mainly because I’m not much of a cocktail kinda gal, especially when I’m at home. I mean, how long does it take to pour yourself a G&T or even mix a manhattan? But then again, I’m also someone who thinks it doesn’t take long to grate cheese, rather than buy it like that in a packet.

Clearly I’m in the minority, however, because the market seems to be booming. Pre-mixes are the ready meals of the drink world. They have, of course, been around for a while now, but top-end “craft cocktails” (groan) are a relatively new development that command similar prices to premium spirits, although they come in smaller bottles and a considerably lower abv. And I can’t be the only one who balks at paying £46.95 at Ocado for a 50cl bottle of 27.3% Candlelit Manhattan, even if the bottle is lined with wax (this seems currently to be A Thing in the cocktail world), and I suspect many of you may well share that opinion.

Pre-mixes basically fall into two camps: bottles that include booze and others to which you have to add it and that are, therefore, much cheaper. Marks & Spencer’s refreshing Mojito Juice Drink, for example, costs only £2 and is actually rather good with vodka rather than the more traditional white rum, while Tipplesworth Espresso Martini Mix (£6.99 Ocado) can be mixed equally well with water as with vodka, though it does make it a tad sweet.

As with ready meals, pre-mixes obviously depend on the quality of the ingredients that go into them and, I think, on how familiar you are with the cocktail on which they’re based to begin with. Being a negroni fan, I wasn’t impressed by Tesco’s Finest version, for example, but the Handmade Cocktail Company’s Negroni (£25.95 Master of Malt; 28.2%) did hit that bittersweet spot, even though, to my taste, it was better served over ice than stirred and strained, as recommended on the label. Pre-mixes also provide an opportunity to serve a cocktail that contains ingredients you wouldn’t easily be able to get hold of, such as the raspberry eau de vie in Mr Lyan’s Rainy Day Spritz or the Persian lime in World of Zing’s margarita.

Also, if you don’t live in a big city with a smart cocktail bar within easy reach, I can see the appeal of buying in pre-mixes. After all, gin apart, it’s still cheaper than buying the constituent bottles and making the same cocktails from scratch. Nevertheless, they are pricey and I’m not wholly convinced. Pour me a G&T, someone.