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. 

Wine cocktails? Yes, maybe

 

A press release about wine-based cocktails? 

My finger hovered for a moment over the "delate" button. 

But then I gave it some thought. 

I enjoy a kir royale, which is certainly a wine cocktail. And a Bellini? Yes please, and also a wine cocktail. 

So why not some cheap and cheerful cocktails made from affordable Aussie wines? 

Tony Allen, the wine and grape commercial manager at Rewild Wines has put some thought into a couple of drinks that any wine-loving mixologist can put together at home. 

Here are a couple of his favourites: 

Mimosa with Rewild Prosecco – serves eight 

# 1 bottle (750 ml) chilled Rewild Prosecco

# 2 to 4 cups chilled pulp-free orange juice 

Method: While holding your wine flute at a slight tilt, fill the glass about halfway with Prosecco. Fill the rest of the glass with orange juice and serve. Or swap out the OJ for freshly squeezed watermelon juice and add some fresh mint leaves. 

Red Sangria with Rewild Merlot

# 1 bottle (750ml) of Rewild Merlot

# 1 lemon, cut into wedges, 1 orange, cut into wedges, 1 lime, cut into wedges

# 2 tablespoons sugar

# Splash of orange juice or lemonade

# 2 shots of gin or triple sec 

# 1 cup of raspberries or strawberries 

# 1 small can of diced pineapples (with juice)

# 4 cups ginger ale

Method: Pour wine into a large jug and squeeze the juice from the lemon, orange and lime wedges into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds) and pineapple, then add sugar, orange juice and gin or triple sec. Chill overnight then add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving. 

The Rewild range includes pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, moscato, rosé, merlot, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, fiano, prosecco and a red blend and is available from Dan Murphy’s stores and select BWS stores for $9.99. 

See rewildwine.com.au/

Making classic cocktails at home just got a lot easier

Ever get the feeling that you would love a cocktail but can't be bothered getting dressed up and heading to a cocktail bar?

Fever-Tree is shaking things up with the recent launch of two new cocktail mixers.

Choose between the Classic Margarita Mixer and Sparkling Mojito Mixer, which are are an addition to Fever-Tree’s current offerings of tonics, sodas and ginger ales, all of which are popular solo, or mixed with different spirits.

All you need is a glass, some ice and rum or tequila - and away you go at home. Salt, garnishes and straws are optional.

Each bottle contains multiple serves with no extra liqueurs or syrups needed; no squeezing or aggressive shaking required.

Fever-Tree is promoted as Australia’s #1 luxury mixer brand with 90% share in the premium mixer market.

Both bottles are without artificial flavourings, sweeteners, or preservatives, and they boast a total sugar content that is lower than competitor brands.

The Classic Margarita Mix is a blend of Mexican limes, Italian blood oranges and a pinch of Scottish sea salt, while the Classic Mojito Mixer is also made from Mexican limes, as well as Moroccan spearmint.

“This is just the beginning of growth and innovation in the cocktail mixer category for Fever-Tree," says MD Andy Gaunt.

"As was the case with carbonated mixers, the non-carbonated category is ripe with opportunity, and bound for tremendous growth. It’s the perfect time for Fever-Tree to be making their grand entrance."

The Mixers are available for $19.50 a bottle - enough for four or five cocktails - at Dan Murphy’s stores.

The cardinal gin sin that you should avoid

Today is World Gin Day - and a lot of drinkers may be unaware they have been committing a cardinal gin sin.

Philip Kingscott, an ambassador for a Scottish distillery Edinburgh Gin, advises that there is one mixer that you should never blend with.

Out of all the spirits, gin is one of the most versatile but....

“Gin is already rich in taste so any mixer with a heavy flavour - like cola or lemonade - will drown the gin’s taste," says Kingscott.

"The sweetness of these drinks is too overbearing to enjoy a gin’s qualities.

“If you do like a mixer with lots of flavour, perhaps try Edinburgh Gin’s Cannonball or Rhubarb and Ginger gins, which can at least punch their way through stronger flavours.”

Kingscott has named fiveeways to enjoy World Gin Day.

1. Glassware

Drink your gin and tonic from a mug if you want. Have it in a giant fishbowl with streamers and sparklers if that what’s you like. And don’t forget to add ice - as much as you like.

2.Try The Gin Neat First

Open the bottle, pour a wee splash into a glass, give it a sniff and then taste. Give it ten seconds to work all the way around your palate before you swallow. What do you taste? Where do you get the sensation of it on your palette. Go back and try it neat again, has it changed?

3. Garnish

Now that you’ve tried it neat, look at what it says on the bottle. Look at the website for the distillery. What garnish do they recommend? Do you agree?

4. Mixer

You don’t want to overpower the gin, so the lighter the better. Try a light tonic or a classic Indian tonic.

5. No Two Tastes Are The Same

By trying the gin neat first and then getting to grips with what you like about it, you can serve it the way you’d like.

Edinburgh Gin can be purchased online at https://www.swiftys.com.au/

New drinks brand says it "tastes good and does good"

It has become hugely fashionable for wine producers to link with charitable causes, and now a new range of spiced rums in a can has joined the movement. 

Reeftip Drinks Co. from Queensland has launched with a commitment to donate 10% of profits to the Coral Nurture Program - a world-first science and tourism partnership aimed at supporting the growth of new corals on the Great Barrier Reef. 

The Coral Nurture Program will build the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef and boost coral abundance along tourism sites through scientific methods of coral propagation and planting where it is needed most.

Diageo Australia, the global drinks behemoth behind Bundaberg Rum, is offering the support through Reeftip, whose spiced rum premix range features Australian-inspired flavours. 

"More and more consumers are looking to brands to do more for environment and Reeftip answers that call from its inception," the company says in its statement. 

"Reeftip’s financial support will enable the Coral Nurture Program to significantly accelerate its coral regeneration work at Great Barrier Reef sites where coral needs to be boosted and maintained and support the scientific research that underpins field work on the reef.

"The Coral Nurture Program’s regeneration efforts harness tourism’s vast collective infrastructure and use new Australian coral clip technology to grow and maintain new corals in high value sites across the reef." 

Angus McPherson, managing director of Diageo Australia, said: “Australians are getting right behind the local spirits industry and that’s why I’m so excited to launch Reeftip, Australia’s newest spirits brand, a product that not only tastes good, but does good.

“Consumers around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the environment they live in, and they’re passionate about brands that give back and make a positive contribution. That’s what Reeftip is about." 

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem on our doorstep, and we all want to see it preserved.”

University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Professor and Coral Nurture Program co-founder David Suggett says building environmental resilience requires community action.

“It’s not just scientists that can be part of positive change. With the support of Reeftip Drinks Co, we’ll be able to help more people play a part in securing a better future for Australia’s reefs,” he said.

Flavours include mango, coconut and soda; and pineapple, lime and soda. 

So how to the Reeftips taste? I'll let you know as soon as I have tried them. 

Reeftip’s RTDs are now available in liquor stores across Australia in four-packs of 330ml cans, with an RRP of $24.99