Drinks on a train

It had been a long time, I’d missed my flight due to snow and what do you want when you’re stressed and tired making your way back by train to home? You don’t want to experiment with crazy drinks or gamble with the unknown, no you want what’s secure and safe. Good old Gin in a Tin. Light and refreshing the M&S version still has enough booze to make you know that you’re definitely not drinking just tonic. It won’t blow your socks of but it is decent and you know what you’re getting. Score: 3.5 Price: £2.25

Walking into m&s I was a little cautious, last time having had a very sad Pina Colada experience. Luckily they've redeemed themselves with this delightful little number. Tasty and fresh, but certainly an grown up drink.  What drew me to the Caipirinha was the short list of ingredients, no xanthum gum or mint flavourings here. Mostly just water, sugar, concentrated lime juice and Rum. The smell is strangly savour , like they've thrown in just a touch of cumin or some other spice, but it's not unpleasant - I suppose it's meant to remind you of the oils you might get from a lime skin, and it's pretty close. What you get for taste is lightly sparkling and mature rum and lime flavour.  Light and balanced, this drink goes down very easily without being too sweet and has enough interesting flavours on the finish to keep you coming back for more. Well done M&S, I really would buy this again.  Score : 4/5 Price: £2.25

Oh Mojito, I had such high hopes. I love a mojito! Who doesn't? The freshness of the lime and mint, the kick from the rum, all brought to life with sparkling water, it all marries together so well. I think that probably it was one of the first proper cocktails I remember enjoying, it's simple and delicious. Sadly the canned version from M&S does not live up to the name. Whilst the front of the drink is sweet and sparkling with a little citric acid to wake it up the aftertaste is strangely bitter - leaving you feeling great for the start of the first sip and then disappointed after every other one. I'm assuming that this is because of the artificial mint flavor used, now I understand that it's tricky to get fresh mint into a drink, because it's perishable, but this just really doesn't work. Maybe they could have used natural mint oils, but I suppose it would be too pricey. Who knows the mind of and M&S drinks designer? If you want something fresh ...

Finally our first Gin in a Tin, this style of beverage is the most consistent in our category, where my love affair with premixed drinks started and this version by M&S doesn't disappoint. Supposedly this pink drink has cranberries, but to be honest I couldn't really tell apart from the slight pink hue of the liquid. Ok, there might be a slight hint of the fruit, but if you'd served me this without telling me I would have struggled to point it out to you. It is however a solid drink and it is pink. So if it's valentines day or you just want to drink something pink, then go for it! Fizzy and light, refreshing and delicious, it's up there with other solid gins in tins. Score: 4/5 Price: £2.09

I was really excited to see a Whisky & Ginger offered by M&S, this is one of my go to drinks if I'm at a wedding or a pub when I want a mixed drink but I know they won't do a good cocktail. And whilst I had high hopes I was a little disappointed when I read 'ginger ale' on the back when I sat down - serves me right for not looking at the ingredients to start with. The smell that you get when you first open the can is one of whisky, the ginger is completely dominated, and that is true of the taste as well. Using ginger beer would have enabled the drink to stand up to the whiskey taste, which is pretty strong though not unpleasant. Maybe they thought ginger beer would be too strong a flavour for most people, but it's ended up as a somewhat insipid beverage. To match that they've gone with scotch whisky instead of bourbon, which I think is again a mistake, the spiciness of a bourbon would go much better with the ginger, but oh well. If you like you ...

Usually I wouldn't go for a pina colada in a tin. I'm not snobbish (ok, maybe I am a little bit), I just usually go for something fizzy and light, but this time I decided to go for something a little different. I was in store for a surpise, because yes, you guessed it, the pina colada from M&S is carbonated... Slightly syrupy (due to Xanthum gum) and with an odd aftertaste (that's the banana puree) this pre mixed cocktail is not entirely unpleasant, but I certainly wouldn't buy it again. When I think Pina Colada I imagine sipping coconut and rum out of a pineapple on a beach, maybe with a hint of line. I want something fresh and bright, sadly this doesnt hit the mark and comes off as more sweet and syrupy. If you don't usually drink pina coladas and you're looking for something thick, sweet and sparkling that doesnt taste much of rum at all then this might be for you - if you're a seasoned cocktail drinker forget about it and get some gin...