Bars have been locked down so much this past year, I’ve developed serious withdrawal symptoms. Luckily, they’ve been keeping us all going with signature cocktail kits, batch-made bottles and pre-mixed pouches – and a little bit of that pro mixology experience – all delivered to our doors. But are they any good, though? Thought I’d do my bit for the industry – and continue my support of Black owners and creators – by trying a few London cocktail delivery services out. Tough job, but somebody’s got to do it…
So, this will be another running list, same criteria as before (bar must have POC in a decision-making capacity, have a strong focus on their drinks list and be a place that I would drink), but offer London cocktail delivery too. I’ll be looking at type of delivery, turnaround time, value for money and overall experience.
The cocktail kit: The Original Pornstar Martini
Everybody knows the The Pornstar Martini, the ubiquitous sticky-sweet confection of passion fruit, vodka and a cheeky side of bubbles. A little bit cheesy, a little bit suburban hen-do, a total guilty pleasure. Did I know it was invented by a Black bartender? Not at all, which is mad because he is such an industry legend. Douglas Ankrah is one of the world’s most respected drinks and bar consultants. He set up the London Academy of Bartending at the Atlantic Bar, which led to him opening the award-winning LAB in Soho and Townhouse in Knightsbridge – all places I used to drink back in the day (showing my age…). Should have known, embarrassed I didn’t.
Often imitated, today the OG Pornstar is offered as a kit for delivery from The Original Pornstar Martini company.
What you get
The kit includes all the base ingredients you’d need to make 2 Pornstar Martinis:
- 100ml Grey Goose La Vanille
- 50ml Passoa
- 100ml Passion Fruit Syrup
- 25g Vanilla Sugar
The kit doesn’t include the garnish (shot of champagne or prosecco, fresh passion fruit) nor any equipment or glasses. Step-by-step instructions are enclosed, as well as a link to watch a masterclass video with Douglas Ankrah (and an option to upgrade to an exclusive live masterclass).
Cost and delivery
The standard kit kit was £24.99 + £4.99 shipping. I found a 10% discount code via Black Eats LDN, so paid a final total of £27.48. Delivery, available UK-wide, was was via Royal Mail (tracked and signed) and was completed within 2 days.
The experience
The kit came beautifully presented: inside the standard delivery packaging was an elegant black box with the each element individually bottled. The ingredients were high quality, from the special edition Grey Goose La Vanille to the luxuriously thick passion fruit syrup. The branding, the illustrated recipe card, the enclosed note from Douglas were all gorgeously coordinated in shades of purple and orange. Attention to detail was on-point. The instructions were duper-easy to follow – the video masterclass was a nice touch, including a little bit of extra background – and I loved the instructions on how to drink. Never mix the bubbles with the martini! Savages.
Served with a side of prosecco and a passion fruit half, the cocktail tasted great, if I may say so myself. The quality of the ingredients shone through, especially with the syrup making it all rich and robust rather than weak and watery. Oh, and my shaking skills were awesome, clearly
Value for money
I’m not going to go down a rabbit hole looking at the cost of individual ingredients compared to what I paid for the kit – that’s not really the point. What you are paying for is a West End cocktail bar experience at home. At £13.74 pp, the cost was expensive, but no outrageous compared to similar high-end bars that would be in a similar category to Atlantic, LAB or Townhouse today. However, I am knocking a couple of points off for having to provide my own prosecco and passion fruit as I see those as quintessential to the overall experience.
Overall, a beautifully executed experience. A bit sweeter than what I would usually drink, but I could see myself giving this cocktail delivery kit another go.
Cocktail delivery overall experience score: 8/10
The ready-to-drink bottle: Hacha Mirror Mezcal Margarita
A celebration of Tequila & Mezcal, Hacha is London’s only Agaveria and home of the Mirror Margarita – voted Time Out’s 7th Best Cocktail in the World and Cocktail of the Year 2020 at the CLASS Bar Awards. The glassy Mirror Margarita is the brainchild of Hacha owner Deano Moncrieffe who, not only is a former brand ambassador for luxury tequila and mezcal brands, but is the driving force behind Equal Measures, an independent platform dedicated to educate hospitality industry on the importance of diversity, inclusion and increased representation.
Since lockdown, Hacha has launched Hacha at Home, making ready-to-drink bottles of their signature cocktails available for nationwide delivery or collection.
What you get
Having already sampled their award-winning Tequila Mirror Margarita in person, I decided to give the Mezcal version a go. Each regular bottle is 500ml and contains four large cocktails with 50ml of The Lost Explorer Espadín Mezcal in each serving, expertly mixed with cane syrup, Kaffir lime and eucalyptus and ready to pour straight over ice.
Because it was National Margarita Day, I snagged a special offer where I also received a 100ml taster bottle of The Lost Explorer Espadín Mezcal and an invite to a live tasting event via Zoom.
Cost and delivery
The standard bottle was £35 + £4.99 shipping, so paid a final total of £39.99. I could’ve collected it for free if I could be bothered to trek to Dalston, otherwise UK cocktail delivery was via DHL and was completed within 2 days.
The experience
Inside the standard delivery box, the bottle was wrapped in tissue paper and bubble, alongside my Brucie-bonus bottle of Mezcal. The cocktail comes in a simple and stylish swing-stoppered glass bottle that I will definitely be re-using. I’m thinking for water, on the table instead of a jug, when we are allowed to have people over dinner? Whenever that is…
It was very simple: chill, pour over ice, drink.
Like the original tequila version, the Mezcal Mirror Margarita was deliciously easy to drink. A little bit smoky, but still fresh, I’d topped up my second glass almost before I’d noticed. Like I said, deliciously easy to drink.
The Zoom event* was a nice touch as cocktail creator Deano guided us through a tasting experience, showing us how to sample the Mezcal alongside the cocktail to bring out the complementary flavours. We were a pretty small group of industry peeps and enthusiasts, so there there was plenty of time left for questions and chat. It was fab, a great added-value experience.
*NB the tasting experience was a one-off promotion in collaboration with The Lost Explorer Mezcal for National Margarita Day and not part of the standard cocktail delivery package.
Value for money
In the real world, a glass of the Mezcal Mirror Margarita is £9.95, so the £9.99 (including delivery) cost per person is exactly in line with this. The freebie mezcal and zoom tasting really elevated the overall experience so, to be fair, I am going to knock a point off my final score as these are bonuses you would not usually receive with your order.
I have to say, though, the cocktail disappeared sooooo quickly. It’s delicious, though not particularly strong, and I can’t tell whether that is a quality of the cocktail itself or of the bottled version. I drank 3/4 of the bottle – and a couple of sample sips of the mezcal – without really blinking (though my head the next morning definitely knew all about it). Hmm… might have to give it another try in person, just to make sure…
Overall, delicious, and much more my vibe than the Pornstar Martinis. 100% would try again.
Cocktail delivery overall experience score: 8/10 (MY experience was a 9/10, but I got freebies!)
2024 update: the multi award-winning Mirror Margaritas are now available for home delivery from Amazon and selected Sainsbury’s stores too. Prices from £25.
The pre-mixed pouch: Trailer Happiness Spicy Margarita
A little bit different, this one. The bar? Trailer Happiness, an award winning Black-owned bar on Portobello Road run by Sly Augustin. Cocktail delivery, however, is via The Drinks Drop, who have partnered with the UK’s best bars to ensure we all get our cocktail fix during lockdown (and support our favourite bars in the process). Alongside Trailer Happiness you’ll find 5-star names like Artesian, Three Sheets, Kwant, Nightjar…and that’s just the London list. They also have relationships with top bars in Manchester. The recipes come directly from the bars (who get a % of profits), the cocktails made under COVID-safe conditions in a central location and then delivered nationwide by post – or locally by out of work bar tenders. As an initiative to help keep the industry afloat, its pretty damn fantastic.
What you get
Your choice of cocktail will be delivered as a single serve in a reusable pouch or glass bottle. I chose Trailer’s Spicy Margarita – Patrón Silver, Aloha 65 Hot Sauce syrup, lime, Supasawa – from the Patrón Margarita Month menu, which came as a 130ml pouch. No garnish is included, but use-by date and directions to serve are printed on the packaging.
While I was there, I also added another to my basket. A Manzana – Green Tea Patrón Silver, Cocchi Americano, Triple Sec, Supasawa, Calvados, sugar syrup, citrus bitters – from Swift, currently #33 on The World’s 50 Best Bars list. Well, it would’ve been rude not to…
Cost and delivery
Each standard pouch was £7.50 + delivery. I live within their London delivery area so paid £2.50 for SAME DAY delivery (I ordered at 2.30pm. For 2 x pouches + delivery + 10% tip I paid a final total of £19.00. Nationwide delivery is via DPD and is completed within 2 working days.
The experience
It was pretty slick. I received a text with a 2-hour evening delivery window and they actually turned up 10 minutes early. Packaging was simple (and eco friendly): a plain brown paper bag with branded sticker. The pouches are uniformly branded and can be returned for central recycling.
After all the glam packages, freebies and masterclasses, it was no-frills, simple. So was serving: just pop in the freezer for 15 minutes before serving then pour over ice.
As for the cocktail it was SPICY! There was just enough scotch bonnet in there to set my tongue on fire (in a good way). It didn’t blow my mind in the same way, but it was definitely tasty, and a nice to sip slowly during an evening.
Value for money
In a word, OUTSTANDING. Cocktails at Trailer Happiness are generally £11-14 each, some of the other bars on the list closer to £20 each, so £9.50 pp (including delivery and tip) is an absolutely bargain.
However…
Where Drinks Drop wins on value (and speed!), it loses on wow. It was kind of…ordinary? I felt more like I’d run out to the Tesco Metro rather than having a big night out in town. Many of their list lean as much into theatre as they do mixology, so when you remove that element, the cocktails are still good but the experience a bit meh.
Overall, I’d order from them again. The price is right, the initiative is great and the list of partner bars just too tempting to resist. I’d just manage my expectations a little better going forward.
Cocktail delivery overall experience score: 7/10.
Best Black-owned bars in London: the cocktail delivery breakdown
Unless the UK government changes their mind AGAIN (…), the countdown is on to get bars back open for indoor and outdoor drinking and some ‘kind of’ business as usual. Until then, we can renew our drinking mojos – and help the industry get back on its feet – by ordering kits and premixed cocktails from our favourite London bars. And we have plenty of CHOICE. This was just a snapshot of what is available from some of London’s best Black-owned bars and creators – I’ll definitely be adding to the list – but there are many more across the board.
How many cocktail deliveries have you tried? Let me know in the comments.
