Because all these brands and drinks have burstontothe
scene in the past few years, it feels as though thepre-mixed
cocktail is a recent trend. In fact, bottled and cannedblended
drinks have a very long history in Australia. Backinthe1850s,
enterprising Melbourne hotelier Michael Moranstartedselling
“blended and bottled” gin, brandy and sherry cocktailsfromhis
Central City Hotel in Collins Street to peopleheadingofftothe
races. During the cocktail craze of the 1920s, whentheMartini
became fashionable in Australia, Barossa wineryYalumba
released a blend of vermouth and gin cheekilylabelledVer-Gin,
following it in the 1930s with a pre-mixed WhiteLadycocktail
(gin, lemon juice and triple sec) called Niblik, bottledinan
art-deco-inspiredangular-glasscocktailshaker.
DuringWorldWarII,Americansoldiers
stationedinnorthernAustraliabroughtwith
themtheirpreferencefordrinkingrummixed
withCoca-Cola.Seeinga salesopportunity,
Queensland’sBundabergdistillerystarted
sellingitsrumpre-blendedwithcola,firstin
bottlesandthen,inthelate1950s,incans.
Thistrendreallytookoffinthemid-
1960s,whenSydneywine-and-spiritmerchant
DouglasLambteamedwithSchweppesto
marketa rangeofcanneddrinks– brandyanddryginger,gin
andbitterlemon,vodkaandorange– undertheAlfrescolabel.
Whilethatbranddidn’tlast,anotherlaunchedat thesametime
byUnitedDistillersLimitedlivesontothisday:Australian
bottle-shopfridgesarestillfullofUDLcans.
Oneofthenewwaveofhigh-qualitypre-mixeddrinks,made
bythewinemakingteamat ChapelHillvineyardinMcLaren
Vale,riffsonthishistory,inspiredbythedrinkinghabitsof
USforcesinWorldWarII,andanironicnodtothelegacyof
theUDLtinnie:a vermouthspritzmadeusingfortifiedgrenache,
nativebotanicalsandshirazjuice.It comesina can,andis called
AmeriCANo.Oh,andit’sdelicious.●Youdon’t need to
traveltothe bar to
enjoycocktails: you
can hoponline and
buythempre-mixed
bytheexperts and
readyto drink.2018 FirstDrop
ModernoBarbera,
AdelaideHills,$28
Goodexampleslikethis
ofthebarberagrapehave
a lipsmackingjuiciness
andsavouryundertowthat
makesthemsogoodwith
gutsyItaliancooking.
firstdropwines.comILSP
MACKERTop drops of the monthTuvèVermouthDrapò
GranRiserva,Turin,$45
Allthevermouthsfrom
thistopproduceraregood,
butthebarrique-aged
GranRiservais outstanding:
swirling,complexaromatics,
wonderfullylayeredand
exquisitelybitter.Imported
byprincewinestore.com.auUN
MRE
OUNOBrookie’s Mac,
Byron Bay, $65
Brilliant new macadamia
andwattleseed liqueur from
theever-inventive team at
CapeByron Distillery: lovely
flavours of chocolate and
coffee, great over ice with
a squeeze of lime juice.
capebyrondistillery.comOG
NUTS2018 Wines of Merritt
Chenin Blanc,
Margaret River, $40
Delicious example of an
underrated grape variety
from an up-and-coming
new winemaker. Perfect
with simple fish dishes:
grilled whiting, please.
winesofmerritt.com.auUFKN
YWHITE2017 Frey
Trocken Riesling,
Rheinhessen, $29
The 2017 vintage was
a cracker in Germany,
producing rieslings with
uncommon vitality. This
one is just gorgeously
moreish. Imported by
traversewines.comMNARIESselling litre-bottles of pre-mixed Martini, Negroni and Espresso
Martini – perfect for parties – made using seriously good spirits
such as the fragrant gin from Stone Pine in NSW and Belgrove
white rye from Tasmania. And the Melbourne Martini company
launched a range of ready-to-drink cocktails, including a
Margarita and an Espresso Martini, “bottled” in jam jars.
The Espresso Martini is a favourite with the new wave of
ready-to-drink producers: it’s the latest addition, for example, to
the range offered by Sydney’s Cocktail Archive Co, joining the
Vesper, Old Fashioned and Negroni. Espresso Martini comes in
three forms – Classic, Irish and Mocha – in the range of bottled
cocktails offered by Melbourne coffee-roaster (and now liquor
seller) Luxe Brew. And the Espresso Martini
made by new canned-cocktail company
Curatif, using vodka from the excellent Archie
Rose distillery in Sydney and coffee from top
Melbourne roaster Seven Seeds, is as good as
anything you’d have freshly made in a bar.
Keen to tap into this trend, some of
Australia’s top craft distilleries now produce
batch-bottled cocktails. Melbourne’s Starward
distillery sells two, both using its own superb
whisky: a (New) Old Fashioned, blended with
house-made bitters and wattleseed syrup, and a Red Manhattan,
blended with vermouth from the Adelaide Hills Distillery.
And a couple of top distillers are offering pre-mixed
Negronis: Adelaide’s Prohibition Liquor Co has bottled an
all-Australian version – its own gin plus Okar bitters and
Maidenii vermouth – while Four Pillars in Victoria’s Yarra
Valley sells a range of fabulously different takes on the Negroni
theme in 200ml pre-batched bottles highlighting very unusual
botanicals: Woodland features paperbark-smoked rosella
and pine needles, Coastal includes samphire and saltbush,
Metropolitan incorporates coffee and toast, and Desert has
charred blood plums and desert lime.
EGMRNARIESLINGGOURMET TRAVELLER 49Drinks