Everyone is familiar with the term RTD (ready-to-drink) by now. RTDs often bring to mind canned cocktails, which are perfect for the beach, camping, or boating. However, what about cocktails without carbonation? Is there a delicious old fashioned or martini that comes ready to pour and, most importantly, tastes like a professionally made cocktail?
The answer is yes!
As a professional in the bar and spirits industry, I continually seek premium RTD options that feature high-quality ingredients and taste comparable to cocktails I would create myself. Here are a few excellent choices that make great gifts and are perfect for hosting during the holidays.
Hoste - The Martini
Hoste is at the top of my list for a variety of reasons. The most important being that they deliver one of the best bottled cocktails that I have tasted.
Founded by two veteran bar professionals, Hoste delivers pro cocktails with high-quality ingredients and a genius delivery system for garnishing the cocktails, and atomizers for zesting. Each cocktail comes in an attractive glass bottle with and beautiful artwork on the carton and the glass.
Artisan gin and bespoke dry vermouth make Hoste’s Martini. The gin includes botanicals such as juniper, orange blossom, sakura (cherry blossom), sansho (Japanese peppercorn), hojicha (Japanese green tea), and yuzu (an Asian citrus fruit). This martini features bright, clean, crisp and exceptionally balanced flavors. Add a spritz of yuzu from the atomizer and the perfect martini awaits.
Recommended preparation: chill the bottle for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Serve neat in a martini glass and garnish with a spritz of yuzu over the top of the cocktail.
Hoste - Gold Fashioned
If you are a fan of the old fashioned cocktail, you know that searching for the perfect one can be disappointing, and once you find it, lesser versions will never satisfy you again.
Hoste’s award-winning 2024 limited release features 9-year Bourbon finished in Oloroso Sherry Casks to complement the 10- and 6-year 95/5 Rye Whiskeys, crafted by lead cocktail maker Robert Haynes with his signature Saffron Bitters. This bottled cocktail includes an orange citrus zest atomizer for garnish. This cocktail also features top-notch ingredients besides the whiskey, demerara sugar, and a blend of Valencia, blood, and navel oranges in the zest.
You may experience sticker shock when you add this bottle to your cart. However, when you do the math, you will soon discover this price per cocktail is a bargain for the quality of ingredients included in this limited edition bottle.
Recommended preparation: Pour over a king cube in an old fashioned glass and zest over the top of the cocktail.
Sorel Liqueur
Although not advertised as a bottled cocktail, per se, this product has a multi-function purpose. It is a handcrafted liqueur made with ingredients like Moroccan hibiscus, Nigerian ginger, Indonesian cassia, Brazilian cloves, and Indonesian nutmeg.
Founded by Jackie Summers, a beloved figure in the spirits and bar industry and an accomplished writer, speaker and James Beard media award finalist. You should also note that Sorel liqueur is also a multi award-winning beverage.
These artfully crafted ingredients combine to produce more than a simple liqueur; The mouthfeel is exceptionally well balanced, and I use the word exceptional because texture is an issue for me with many liqueurs on the market. I may love the flavor profile, but often, the overly viscous and cloying texture puts me off, so I relegate liqueurs with this type of texture to my cocktail cabinet.
This product makes my list because it is the rare drink that my friends who refuse to drink anything other than whiskey neat will accept.
Recommended preparation: enjoy neat at room temperature. Alternatively, you can enjoy Sorel over ice or warmed.
Campari - Negroni
Last but not least on my list is a bottled Negroni by the folks at Campari. Much like the Old Fashioned, finding a well-made Negroni can be tough, depending on the quality of bars in your area, and making it at home still seems to mystify many home bartenders. Hint: it’s all about the perfect measure and top-notch ingredients.
You no longer need to search for a quality Negroni or get out your jiggers and mixing glasses because Campari has done the work for you. Over 100 years after its creation in Florence in 1919, the Negroni cocktail remains one of the most iconic and widely requested cocktails, thanks to its distinctive flavor that is both simple and balanced.
What could be better than serving your friends one of the world’s best-selling cocktails at your holiday gathering?
Recommended preparation: serve over ice and garnish with an orange peel. If you are hosting a crowd, pre-peel the oranges and place them in a glass next to the bottle for easy garnishing.
Cheers!
Sailor
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