The key trend at the close of 2020 is for proper ready-made cocktails conjured up by your favourite bars
Who would have thought that the main trend in spirits at the end of 2020 would be not gin (for once), or even up-and-coming rum, but ready-to-drink cocktails? I’m not talking about the rather wimpy cans of cosmopolitan et al that have been around for a while, but posh cocktails of the kind you get in the swankiest bars. In fact, that is exactly what they are, bars having followed in the footsteps of restaurants by making their wares available for takeaway.
You could, for example, now order a friend a Vegan Honey Old Fashioned (£22 for two serves, 29%) from top mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana of Lyaness or a whole bottle of the legendary Alessandro Palazzi’s No 3 Vesper Martini (£29.95 for 50cl Berry Bros & Rudd, 28.6%). Neither of them are cheap, true, but look on them as the liquid equivalent of a Michelin-starred meal. If you’re not too much of a negroni purist, you should also enjoy Harvey Nichols’ very festive-looking Blood Orange and Clove Negroni (£35 for 700ml or £6 for a single, stocking-sized serve, 24.4%).