Take home a souvenir of canned fresh air

It is the perfect travel souvenir for the tourist looking for something a little bit different.

And ideal for any fool easily parted from their money.

Tourists visiting Lake Como in Italy are now able to buy cans of “fresh air” for €9.90 a can. That's over $16.

You can open it "whenever you need a moment of escape, tranquillity, or simply beauty". I'd say it is an offer that's easy to refuse. 

The smartly-packaged cans are being marketed by communications company ItalyComunica.

Website the drinks business reports that each can contains 400 millilitres of “100% authentic air” that has been "carefully collected" from Lake Como.

More than 5.6 million people visited the region last year - given the air sellers a big market.

The decision to market the cans of air came from marketing specialist Davide Abagnale, who initially saw an opportunity when he started with selling Lake Como posters online, local media reports.

Abagnale wanted to offer “something original, fun and even provocative” as well as “create a souvenir that could be easily transported in a suitcase for tourists”.

Abagnale told CNN the cans give people something closer to a “memory” rather than a “product”.

Lake Como mayor Alessandro Rapinese was rather less impressed.

“It’s a novel idea, but not for everyone," he said. "But as mayor of one of Italy’s most beautiful cities, if someone wants to take some of their air home, that’s fine as long as they also take beautiful memories of this area.”

Should you be particularly gullible, who can find out more here https://lakecomoair.it/ But you can't buy it online, only from stockists in the Lake Como region - which is a short train ride from Milan.  

Cracking the code of Pina Colada in a can

A bar quality cocktail for $11? You must be dreaming.

But Curatif, makers of award-winning pre-mix cocktails in a can, today release their new Piña Colada cocktails for $45 for a four-pack. Perfect for a night in beside the fire. Or after you've been caught in the rain.

Think fruity pineapple, roasted coconut, and coconut cream tones. 

Oh, and rum from two of the top estates in the world: Appleton Estate Signature Rum and Ron Colón Salvadoreño. 

"Our latest cocktail has been a labour of love that we've loved labouring over," says Curatif founder and managing director Matt Sanger. 

"Coconut is having a real moment and it’s great to see a resurgence of this most loved and nostalgic cocktail. 

"A Piña Colada can be a hard one to crack in a ready-to-drink format because of the complexity of the ingredients. 

"But while staying true to the authenticity of the recipe but we have mastered a Piña Colada that is truly bar quality. 

"What sets Curatif apart is our use of real ingredients - the freshest of pineapples, the creamiest of coconuts and the delicious blend of quality rums.

“The Piña Colada has been our most requested cocktail - we've released a few different iterations in The Club (Curatif’s subscription program) over the last couple of years and it's developed a cult following. There's not many cocktails that are so evocative, so fun, and so irreverent and giddy as a Piña Colada." 

The good news: the GoTR tasting team felt it really did taste like a quality cocktail. It’s vibrant, joyous and seriously refreshing. Thumbs up. 

Curatif’s Piña Colada joins the canned cocktail line-up of Tommy’s Margarita, Archie Rose Espresso Martini, Bar Bambi Amaretto Sour and Savile Row Cosmopolitan. 

Available from curatif.com or bottle shops with a RRP of $45 for a four-pack. 

A mojito that tastes like a mojito: in a can

A mojito in a can? 

Why not? 

Bacardi, probably the most famous name in the world of rum, has unveiled a new, ready-to-drink cocktail: Bacardi Mojito.

I'm not usually a big fan of RTDs - but this one hits the spot. 

There's lively lime, mouth-watering mint and sparkling soda water, making for a refreshing and appealing summertime quaffer. 

“With the original Bacardi Mojito having a rich history and rise in popularity since the 1930s, we’re proud to continue to meet our customers' desires and launch the ready-to-drink Bacardi Mojito in time for summer here in Australia." says Bacardi brand ambassador Loy Catada.

"The Bacardi brand has been synonymous with classic Caribbean cocktails since 1862 and our latest launch gives consumers the ease of a high-quality cocktail made with the natural flavours and real ingredients of mint, lime, and the world’s most awarded Rum in a convenient format.”

Bacardi Mojito is available in select Dan Murphy’s, BWS, Liquorland, First Choice Liquor Market and independent retailers for $24.99 per pack of four. See www.bacardi.com 

A quality G+T for when you are in a hurry

 

Sometimes you just need a drink. 

You don't want to fiddle around with a bottle of gin, a bottle of tonic and finding a lemon to slice. 

So here is a quality cocktail with zero fuss. 

Meet Bombay Sapphire's new cans of Bombay Sapphire & Tonic: ready to pour. All you need is the lemon or lime.

The blurb says it is "best enjoyed chilled straight from the can, or poured over a glass of ice with a slice of lime".

So you still need the slice, but everything else is taken care of. 

Each can contains a double serve; so you can share, or slake your thirst big time. 

British distiller Bombay Sapphire uses up to 12 precious botanicals suspended above the spirit in perforated copper baskets during distillation of its London Dry Gin. 

That way, as the heated spirit vapours rise, they’re gently infused with all the rich aromatic flavours our botanicals release

Sold. Try Dan Murphy's or BWS stores. Around $27.95 per pack of four.