Tinned cocktails have long been a summer favourite for many people. Revellers enjoy taking the beverage along for picnics in the park, or they make the perfect option for a day at the beach.
This year M&S has brought out four new cans to add to its already-extensive range. The 'Marksologist' range includes: a salted caramel espresso martini, a smoked-pineapple daiquiri, a pink grapefruit paloma and a rose negroni spritz. All costing £3.50 for 150ml, they have alcohol percentages from 14% to 14.2% - quite strong for a small can.
Being partial to a cocktail, especially when the weather is warm, I decided to head down to my local M&S store to see if I could get my hands on them to try. Upon walking into the store, I headed straight for the alcohol section and with plenty of stock on the shelves, I found them pretty easily.
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First up to try was the Rose Negroni Spritz. Made with London Dry gin, rose vermouth, Italian amaro and a touch of hibiscus, I thought I would quite like this one but I was very wrong. The first thing I really noticed was that it smelt very very sweet and had a hint of what smelt like either wine or prosecco.
Upon taking a sip, I just knew this cocktail wasn’t for me at all. It did have a very distinct taste but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I found the amount of alcohol in the drink to be way too strong and it overpowered any flavour the drink might have had - definitely not for me.
The next one to try was the Salted Caramel Espresso Martini, made with salted caramel, muscovado sugar, vodka and espresso. Being a fan of espresso martinis but not the biggest fan of salted caramel, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one and unfortunately I didn’t.
It smelt very sickly with very strong hints of caramel. I found that while not loving salted caramel, that was my favourite part of this cocktail but again the strength of the alcohol completely overpowers any taste and essentially I felt it ruined the drink. Whether it was the strength of the alcohol or the overall taste, this drink actually made me feel queasy.
Moving quickly onto the Smoked Pineapple Daiquiri, I was hoping for something more to my taste. Made with rum, pineapple juice, lime juice, smoked whisky and smoked bitters, this sounded not too bad. With the smell being what I expected, pineapples, I was thinking this would be better than the other two and it was but it still wasn’t quite right.
The smoked nature was the only downside, and if that element was removed then I would absolutely love this cocktail. The alcohol strength wasn’t too bad so it made the overall drink a lot nicer.
Finally, I tried the Pink Grapefruit Paloma. This is made up of tequila, pink grapefruit liqueur, pink grapefruit juice, lime and agave syrup. It had a really nice, fruity smell that wasn’t too sweet - the perfect balance. I actually really like this one, the alcohol was maybe still slightly too powerful but it was a lot better than the others, and reminded me of lemonade or some other fizzy drink.
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of these, and feel maybe £3.50 is a little much to be paying for the size of the can, I could see why people would. Those who don’t mind a strong alcohol taste and love a cocktail would love these. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend them but you never know until you try.
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