When we heard the friendly folk at Mixed Ape wanted to let us sample a whole crate of their pre-mixed cocktails, we tho
When we heard the friendly folk at Mixed Ape wanted to let us sample a whole crate of their pre-mixed cocktails, we thought all our Christmases had come at once. In fact, that feeling was pretty apt, seeing we were at the Taste of Christmas event.
I’m a big fan of cocktails but I find when I order them in a bar, they are often overpriced or a bit hit and miss, depending on who mixes them for you. In fact, I once ordered a cocktail and it was 80% ice, in one block so it nearly choked me.
Also, being a bit clumsy, trying to mix cocktails at home has never gone well for me i.e. spilling three times too much vodka into the glass. And maybe not for my friends either – I remember when one friend shook a whole strawberry daiquiri over his freshly ironed trousers.
So, what better way to solve these cocktail qualms of home and away than to have ready-to-drink cocktails, pre-mixed so that the flavour and alcohol content is consistent?
What we liked about these cocktails is that even though they are ready-to-drink, they are still packed with flavour, and they’re high in alcohol content – which we approved of.
Mixed Ape cocktails come in seven different types and all of the ingredients are 100% natural. Whoever chose the flavours for these picked some classic choice and firm favourites, but gave them extra zest. The packaging is funky and the bottles are lightweight with a ring pull, so easy to open – this was a bonus for us, as we didn’t have a bottle opener with us.
- Long Island Ice Tea – Powerful punchy cocktail containing vodka, tequila, rum and gin – what more could you want? The zesty orange and cola flavours made me want to be sitting on a beach and enjoying the warm fuzz of the first cocktail to the sound of the sea. Best served over ice in a long tall glass. A classic choice mixed to perfection.
- Tequila Sunrise – Quite a sharp grenadine taste that every good Tequila Sunrise should have. A combination of citrus flavours mixed with tequila. This one’s not for the faint hearted but super for tequila and orange fans. I would say serve chilled, but the bonus of these cocktails is that they don’t need to be chilled, and they have a minimum shelf life of 12 months. All these cocktails are meant to be poured over ice.
- Sex On The Beach – This cocktail contained a whole fusion of flavours. A really scrummy peach taste was prominent alongside other fruity flavours. I would call this a fruit salad with a hint of vodka. The right balance of sweet and subtle flavours. Not overpowering whatsoever.
- Niterox – Not my favourite, but every cocktail needs to be tried by the individual as everyone has a different palette. This cocktail was bursting with flavour but had the effect of red bull in that it contains caffeine. It contains assai and pomegranate so would probably be a great cocktail to start the night off with if you’re lagging or if you’re trying to recover from the night before.
- Mai Tai – A really nice variation on the classic with a prominent pineapple flavour which I love. They’ve used really nice rum in this one which combined well with the fruits and almond. It was like a cocktail form of trifle and was a really nice colour.
- Caipirinha – Not one I’ve tried before and was really refreshing. It tasted like the cane sugar drinks you can get by the roadside in places like India and South America. And that’s because its ingredients are mainly cane sugar. Cahaca is a spirit made with sugar cane and the other main ingredients are cane sugar and lime. Would be great if you’re hot from dancing and need cooling down.
- Pina Colada – Tastes how a classic pina colada should taste so amazed it came out of a pre-mixed bottle. Really nice Jamaican flavours of pineapple, coconut and rum. This one boasts a fruit juice content of 40%
All cocktails are 10.5% alcohol and definitely have a kick to them. They fill a gap in the market as they taste a lot better than any of the sugary pre-mixed stuff you can pick up in a supermarket. They taste like premium cocktails you would buy in a bar, but at a fraction of the price (and ice).
The company also makes non-alcoholic cocktails (we didn’t try them but I’m sure they are lovely).
These drinks would be great for pre-night-out cocktails or for a house party. They definitely get the party started.
