By Sainsbury’s Mojito
250ml, £1.25, sainsburys.co.uk
Nice aroma – fresh, summery. It tastes like those Fruit Salad sweets, with a lovely fizz. A nice roundness, from the nose to the finish on the palate. Surprisingly complex. It’s dangerously good.
★★★★
All Shook Up Mango Margarita
250ml, £1.85, tesco.com
I can’t quite work this one out. As soon as you open it you know it’s a fruity drink, but I can’t tell what. It’s still, when I opened it, I thought would have some effervescence. It has quite a strange taste to me.
★★
Lidl Deluxe Pink Martini
250ml, £1.09, lidl.co.uk
This has berry notes. But from nose to taste, it’s kind of flat, not that inviting. There’s a fruitiness, but then a metallic aftertaste. I think it would help if it had a fizz. I do prefer these slim tins, though.
★★
Vacay Tom Collins
330ml, £3.99, haveavacay.com
There’s not much on the nose, but that’s not a bad thing – sometimes, it’s too much. This is quite citrus. Oh, it’s so sharp. There’s no journey with this – a very short finish. It has quite a bitter aftertaste.
★★
Old Hopking Raspberry Mojito
250ml, 99p, groceries.aldi.co.uk
This is more pleasant. Berry, cherry … a red fruit. Nicer acidity – it feels like a rounded drink. It’s not totally balanced, but better than some others. I think people will enjoy this.
★★★
Malibu Sparkling Strawberry Daiquiri
250ml, £2.40, Tesco, Morrison’s
The fresh aroma suggests this isn’t going to be sweet. Oh … I was wrong. A bit syrupy, which I don’t really like. The smell suggested something melony, but the taste is just “red”. But it is balanced.
★★★
These Days Venetian Spritz
250ml, £14 (4-pack), thesedaysdrinks.com
My face isn’t doing very nice things, is it … Very bitter, not in a good way. I’m getting a metallic taste. It’s a bit one layer. This is not enjoyable for me. But everyone is on a different journey…
★
Funkin Nitro Lime Margarita
250ml, from £2.10, Sainsbury’s, Tesco
This is actually like a cocktail! Good citrus. Nice texture; the bubbles are integrated. Definitely more of a boozy cocktail than a fruity drink. A nice aftertaste, so you wouldn’t glug it down.
★★★★
Tribeology Passion Fruit Martini
250ml, £2.50, sainsburys.co.uk
Very sweet. Super sweet. This is a passion fruit martini. There’s no subtlety, but you know what you’re getting: passion fruit and vodka! It has a big mouthfeel – that passion fruit viscosity.
★★
East London Liquor Company Rum & Ginger
250ml, £39 (12-pack), eastlondon liquorcompany.com
Rum? It’s not prominent. You can’t always tell what the spirits are. It’s quite spicy – I like that. It is a very good ginger beer, but not necessarily very rum.
★★★
BEST BUY
Bloody Drinks Bloody Mary
250ml, £20 (6-pack), bloodydrinks.co.uk
That’s a bloody mary. It smells right. It has the right viscosity. The right spice. You can tell there’s booze. No compromises. I don’t usually like bloody marys, but they’ve nailed it. It’s wonderful. I love it.
★★★★★
MOTH Pina Colada
200ml, £3.95, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s
Smells familiar. Sweeter than I’d usually choose, but full-on with flavour, and the texture is good. Boozier than some before, which were a bit wimpy. It’s a pina colada – everyone’s guilty pleasure – and it’s really nice.
★★★★★
Whitebox Classic Cosmo
100ml, £5.20, whiteboxcocktails.com
Wow! Small but mighty! This is a cosmo. It might not be what most people think of as one, but it’s my kind of cosmo – very dry. Very pleasing. A cosmo for the modern drinker.
★★★★★
Marks & Spencer Marksologist Smoked Pineapple Daiquiri
150ml, £3.50, Marks & Spencer, Ocado
Curious. It’s another big boy for alcohol. There’s toffee, butterscotch. It has a buttery richness that you get with rum; very rum forward. My choice? Maybe not, but I think it’s a really good cocktail.
★★★★
Whitebox Squeezy’s Margarita
100ml, £5.80, whiteboxcocktails.com
I don’t actually know what it is. I can tell it’s boozy. I prefer the cosmo. This doesn’t have that roundness – it’s a bit jagged and it’s confusing me. A margarita? It’s fine. It’s intense. I think this might be nicer over ice.
★★★
All items blind tested. Sandrae Lawrence is co-founder, editor and publisher of The Cocktail Lovers magazine and co-host of The Cocktail Lovers podcast
