While it’s tempting to assume that there’s very little
quality variation involved in the cocktail mixers used to make your favorite cocktails, the fact is that if you want to serve the best party
drinks to your friends, family and guests, you have to make sure you’re
using the best possible ingredients. You go out of your way to source the best
wine and spirits, so why wouldn’t you do the same for your fruit cocktail mix?
In fact, cocktails mixers are likely to contribute more flavor than the subtle
nuances between different vodka brands, for example.
Pure ingredients
Deliver Better Drinks
You’ve heard it a thousand times before: purity is key when
it comes to mixing the best drinks and cocktails. While the flavor profile of
rum, vodka, tequila, gin or any other alcoholic base remains fairly consistent,
the quality of the fruit purée present in the drink could vary significantly
due to seasonality, origin, ripeness and other factors. You want to make sure
the cocktail mix you’re using is as free from additives and preservatives as
possible and that it contains mainly fruit, not sugars. Another factor you
might want to pay attention to is the sugar content, as different cocktail
mixes vary in the amount of sugar they contain. Many cocktails mixes out there
are loaded with high fructose corn syrup or cane sugar and can potentially
"hijack” the subtle and pleasant flavor your cocktail was intended to deliver.
Sometimes it’s just painful to sip a fine and expensive spirit mixed with the
cheapest cool-aid type cocktail mix available.
The Possibilities Are
Endless
Now that you have the right cocktail mix in your arsenal,
all you need is your favorite alcoholic base, a measuring instrument, a shaker
with a strainer, ice, some sliced fresh fruit, sugar, and salt for decoration.
The rest is known as the art of mixology. By using a cocktail mix made with real
pure fruit as your starting point, you can make pomegranate or acai martinis
for example and hit only those fruity notes, without over-diluting the cocktail
with sugary notes. Use strawberry or mango cocktail mix to make great frozen
daiquiris or margaritas. Pineapple and coconut cream cocktail mixes make the
perfect pina colada. Peach cocktail mix for Bellini, passion fruit puree for a Hurricane
cocktail and the list goes on.
There’s no question
that a high-quality spirit and a 100% fruit cocktail mix make the perfect
cocktail for your next dinner, patio or beach party, so why would you want to
ruin it by adding low-quality, artificially sweetened cocktail mix. Add a blend
of pure fruit to your martini, daiquiri or other favorite cocktail and you’ve
got a foolproof recipe for a fresh, delicious, perfect drink to impress to your
friends, family and guests.