Cara recently tried a trendy brand of mixers and lemonades by The Artisan Drinks Company and wants to share it with you.
The new mixers are made by The Artisan Drinks Company, which only uses 100% natural ingredients, but I’ll come to that a little later. Firstly, I was impressed by the label design and each flavour has an unique design.
It’s quite iconic. The labels feature images of internationally acclaimed artist Alan Walsh, renowned for his images of glamorous females and unusual gentlemen.
They are bright and quirky, with a mixture of pop art, retro and art deco. Each character has a bit of a story and something in common with the flavours they represent.
Now the flavours, the combinations are quite unique, which makes this brand stand out more on the market. Pink citrus, yuzu, Amalfi lime and agave first come to mind.
The mixers are great mixed with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic spirits, but also good when enjoyed chilled on their own.
One of my favourites was Yuzu Tokyo Tonic. The instructions says it’s a perfect canvas for Japanese Gins and Whiskeys, Vodka & Sake.
The lemonade tastes very natural with no unpleasant aftertaste. It’s oriental with the yuzu and aromatic black pepper and warming notes of coriander.
The pastel grey bottle label has a striking pink silhouette of a, presumably, Japanese, lady holding a white hand fan.
Barrel Smoked Cola is the perfect partner for your favourite bourbon, amaretto, whisky or aged rum. Think cola, not Coca Cola which leaves a synthetic aftertaste, but rather the original one, made with herbs and spices.
Artisan Drinks elevate that flavour by creating barrique barrel aged smokey top notes to complement the cola nut bitterness. That smokiness is quite unique, both in the flavour palette and on the nose. It reminds me of oak casked whiskeys.
Agave Lemon Tonic – this is the classic tonic but with agave. Agave is like yuzu, if you’ve tried agave you know its distinctive flavour well, but if you haven’t then it’s a pickle to describe it without using the word ‘agave’.
There is also a citrus kick of natural organic lemon, fresh chilli and rock salt, making it the quintessential Latin mix
Made from the same plant, the tonic provides a particularly striking partner for a top tequila or mescal. But it also pairs well with spiced gin.
Pink Citrus Tonic – the pink stands for pink grapefruit with lovely tangy sweetness of the flesh and bitterness of the skin. It has fresh aroma with a touch of blood orange and lemon, very citrusy with a floral end.
The tonic pairs well with white rum or tequila, but also with gin.
Fiery Ginger Beer – this wasn’t my favourite, due to my general dislike of ginger. However, it was incredibly popular with two of my tasting subjects – my mum and my sister who both like ginger.
My sister is in fact quite a regular consumer of ginger lemonades and beers when she’s eating out.
It’s a cloudy drink with bold flavours and that spicy kick to the mouth. The character ingredients include African ginger & chilli and cane sugar. It partners well with rhubarb gin, rum, vodka or bourbon.
Amalfi Lime Tonic – this was inspired by the fresh flavours of the Amalfi Coast with zesty lime, peppery rosemary, lemon verbena and a fruity finale of fragrant bergamot.
The bottle is very ‘summer in Italy’ design with a stylish feminine figure wearing a sun hat with extra broad brims and a scarf blowing in the wind against a salad green background.
Partner the tonic with a craft gin with citrus botanicals or a tequila.
Violet Blossom Tonic – pairs perfectly with floral or citrus gin, as well as vodka or dry vermouth. It’s light violet in colour combining floral flavours of elderflower, apple & violet blossom with fragrant herbs and refreshing citrus notes creating quite an elegant bouquet with a subtle floral taste and aroma.
The tonic is a great partner for a classic, green and fresh juniper gin.
Classic London Tonic – The Artisan Drinks also do the classic such as Classic London Tonic perfect for a quality London Dry Gin.
This tonic combines complex natural citrus flavours with subtle botanical notes to create the perfect canvas for drier, premium gins. This classic tonic recipe is made with a natural blend of three citrus flavours to enhance and complement the botanicals in gin
Skinny London Gin – for those preferring something naturally less sweet or counting calorie intake there is skinny version to the Classic London Tonic. It’ll pair perfectly with the flavours of spirit free gin, sloe or contemporary gin.
This tonics blends aromatic botanicals of orange & lemon essences, combined with a lower amount of fruit sugar to balance the quinine’s crispness with a rounded aftertaste and dry finish. With only 17 kcals per 100ml, the crisp, clean aftertaste brings out the flavour in your favourite craft gins
Bubbly Soda Water – last but not least is the versatile mixer enhancer. To mix with a range of quality spirits – red vermouth, scotch, vodka or London Dry Gin
Equally perfect for Mojito and Tom Collins for a good quality cocktail. Naturally the soda also has zero calories per bottle.
The Artisan Drinks are available to purchase from their website and available in a range of mixed and single flavour packs:
8 x Single Flavour Bottle Pack RRP: £8. Available from: Artisan Drinks and Amazon
24 x Single Flavour Bottle Pack RRP: £24. Available from: Artisan Drinks and Amazon
12 x Full Bottle Range RRP: £17. Available from: Artisan Drinks
24 x Full Bottle Range Range RRP: £28. Available from: Artisan Drinks