Drinks on a train

Gordons G&T I’ve been avoiding buying Gordons gin in a tin for a while.  Why?!? I hear you ask. Well when this pre-mixed drink thing started off I wasn’t really into it and the first G-inna-T I tried was cordons, I was somewhat dissapointed as it wasn’t as delicious as I remembered, but things have changed. I don’t know whether it’s my tastes or the recipe they are using but Gordons and Schweppes have teamed up to create a very decent gin and tonic. Crisp and fresh, sweet and satisfying, this is really the industry standard of Gin & Tonic. Sure cordons isn’t an amazing Gin, sure Schweppes have been left in the dust by the likes of fever tree. But there Gin in a Tin is solid, not amazing, but decent and better than the M&S version I’ve got to say. Until a premium beverage maker like fever tree teams up with a quality gin maker this will be what we measure other G&Ts against. It’s gin and tonic, it does what it says on the tin, what more is there to say? Sc...

I’ve sung the praises of Long Flint before so I won’t go into it again, see my Paloma post to read a little more. The first thing that strikes you about this Negroni ASDFASDs is the depth of colour, it looks purple in a lively an evocative way that still evokes nature. This branding and vivid colour give you a feeling that this is a drink of class and you’re not dissapointed on opening it. On opening I got floral note on the nose with a smell of hibiscus and hints of cranberries. The taste starts with a light fruity sourness and ends with a nice balanced bitterness that lingers on the tongue. The length of the bitterness is what makes this a really interesting beverage: not the sudden and short punch of tonic, it evokes the negroni of it’s name, but as the bottle says a much lighter version, which is helped by the delicate carbonation. The bitterness lingers making this drink a more serious beverage - I can imagine myself drinking this as an aperatif, sitting in a sun soaked p...

It is not often that one has to reassess how one looks at and scores a category, but every once in a while you’ll have a coffee or beer, watch a new film or tv show, and think, oh shit, what I was consuming before wasn’t that great. This was the experience I recently had at Craft Beer Rising when I encountered Long Flint, who make premixed drinks with craft spirits. I was blown away by the depth, complexity and balance of these drinks, they’ve redefined the category for me, setting a new bar. I was thinking of changing the rating system just because of them, and whilst I haven’t done that they do deserve extra credit for raising the bar in the premixed drink sector. I know I originally said I’d only review what you can get at a supermarket or in a train station, but since you can buy these on Amazon I feel it’s within my remit. Anyways enough chat, let’s get onto the drink. What struck me first about the Paloma is the freshness, I have no idea how they’ve done it but it really does...

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 ...