Cocktails Delivered
Two things recently happened that warrants some fancy cocktails; one, Boris Johnson announced a second lockdown, and two my boyfriend brought the gorgeous gold cocktail trolly that I’ve had my eye on for ages. So what better way to celebrate / commiserate by tucking into some pre-mixed, delivered-direct-to-the-door cocktails?
Moorehouse
Moore House is a small company based in London that specialises in creating handcrafted classic cocktails, plus some special editions and limited releases.
I ordered a classic margarita, spicy margarita (limited edition), classic espresso martini, salted caramel espresso martini (limited edition) and classic negroni, all of which arrived the next day in a chic cardboard shoe-box-size delivery box with lovely lilac detailing.
The glass bottles are beautifully thick with cork lids that are attractive enough to have out on show on my new cocktail trolly. Each one is 100ml, which the company calls ‘a generous individual serving'. Included in the box are individually wrapped garnishes (salt and dried lime for the margarita, dried orange slice for the negroni, coffee beans for the espresso martinis) and a small silver cocktail shaker that is the perfect size for a few ice cubes and the cocktail, so all you have to do is literally just open, pour, shake and serve.
I pride myself on my ability to make professional cocktails (I was trained by mixologists and even entered into cocktail competitions), so I was sceptical about a pre-made cocktail that I could easily make myself.
We started with my favorite of all drinks, the margarita. The tequila used is a premium silver tequila, and there is a perfect balance between that, the Cointreau and the lime. The spicy version was the same, but with a kick that almost blew my head off. It was a little too spicy for me, but my boyfriend loved it. The espresso martinis were the same, a perfect mix of both spirits and coffee, with the salted caramel version being extra sweet (again, that was one for my boyfriend to enjoy). Finishing off with the negroni, it was a lovely mix of bitter gin, a hint of orange and the dark sweetness of vermouth. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by how good these pre-made cocktails tasted, and at £11 per bottle, this seems reasonable for a large, well made cocktail in London.
100ml cocktail prices starting from £9.60
Lyaness at Sea Containers London
A big brown box of popcorn arrived on my doorstep in the afternoon on the 1st December, when I say a box of popcorn, I literally mean that; I ripped the tape off and loose popcorn fell out all over my kitchen counter.
A quick dig through the corn, revealed three little clear bottles of various coloured liquid, only to be identified as cocktails by the quaint hand-written labels; Strawberry Aperitivo, Vegan Honey Old Fashioned, Onyx Negroni - A delivery from Lyaness bar at Sea Containers London.
The team there have bottled up five of it’s most popular cocktails, allowing people to enjoy them from the comfort of their lockdown home.
There was nothing fancy, nor impressive about these bottles, labels, or the packaging they came in. There were no garnishes, no cocktail shaker, in fact, no frills at all. Each bottle came only with a small A5 card describing the best way to drink the concoction. So we went about doing what those little cards told us to do…
I have a tradition of having some Prosecco while putting my Christmas tree up, and seen as it was the 1st December, and the instructions for the Strawberry Aperitivo was to “Add to some bubbles - soda, tonic, or Prosecco…” I figured it would be just right to start with this one.
I shared it between two glasses, topped up with fizz, added some mint leaves (the card told me to!) and sipped away on a delightfully fresh and fruity concoction. The Aperitivo brought the Prosecco to life, and was so delicious that I cursed when I took my last sip, wishing the bottle was bigger.
Next, we turned our attention to the other two bottles. Both were described as “Over-ice sippers”, so all we needed to do was pour over ice and enjoy, Sounded easy enough.
The Vegan Honey Old Fashioned was rich, smooth but complex. Initially it seemed sweet, then hit the back of your throat in a way that was so unexpected I almost choked. But it was moorish, and again, I could have carried on drinking it all night.
The Onyx Negroni was straightforward, but good. As good a Negroni as ever I’ve had; simple, straight to the point, and straight to the head - this cocktail packed a punch that left me almost knocked out,
All three were flavourful but strong, so by the time we turned the lights on the tree, I wasn’t surel if it was the setting on the fairy lights making them twinkle, or if the Negroni had kicked in…
Prices start from £13 and be can be ordered from 2pm-10pm Monday to Friday and 1pm-10pm on weekends.
Cocktail Hour
The box that arrived from The Cocktail Hour was impressive to say the least. This wasn’t just a cocktail delivery, but a whole experience.
In the box you get (take a deep breath); 4 x cocktails of your choice, 2 x bars of Winter Spice Dark Chocolate, 1 x packet of Mince Pie Popcorn, 1 x packet of Olives,1 x Cocktail Hour Nutcracker candle, and a Cocktail Hour Food and Drink guide including playlist details of tunes to listen to while you drink. See? A whole experience!
The box itself looked impressive, everything is branded in The Cocktail Hour’s chic packaging, even the candle has the logo on.
I wanted to experience this delivery properly, so I got out my best serving dishes, my favourite cocktail glasses and invited my best friend round for some socially distanced drinks.
You can choose from four cocktails (Buveur White Russian, Buveur Old Fashioned, Buveur Espresso Martini, Buveur Negroni), and I received the Negroni; four 92.5ml bottles of the stuff. The pre-mixed cocktail just needs to be poured over ice and enjoyed, so there really wasn’t much to do.
I lit the candle, which instantly gave off a thick, sweet festive scent of Christmas; nutty, fruity and rich, like a Christmas pudding had just been taken out of the oven. I poured the popcorn and olives into serving bowls, placed the chocolate on a plate and downloaded the curated playlist from the Cocktail Hour DJ. The only thing left to do was pour the drinks.
The Negronis were full bodied, rich and strong, they were definitely to be sipped while grazing on snacks, so it was a good thing that they were included in the box. By the time we came to the second round of drinks, most of the deliciously sweet popcorn had gone, and the Olives were a distant memory. The chocolate was the perfect antidote to the sharpness of the drinks and with the music playing, the candle burning away, I could have sworn I was in a swanky bar in central London, pre-pandemic.
The Winter Wonderland Christmas Box - Limited Edition 2020 RRP £79.95 incl. delivery