Review: The Cocktail Collection RTDs, Complete Lineup
Ready for more bottled cocktails? I mean, real cocktails, ready to drink? The Cocktail Collection (“TCC”) uses (mostly) big name brands to serve as the core of its six-product lineup, running the gamut of some of today’s most popular cocktails. There’s no funny business here — like the use of carbonation to make a flat drink into a more innocuous one where flaws are more easily hidden.
That said, some are clearly better than others. We tasted the whole lineup. Thoughts follow.
The Cocktail Collection Bulleit Old Fashioned Cocktail – Perhaps the easiest/laziest of bottled cocktails is the Old Fashioned: whiskey, sugar, bitters. Orange bitters in this case, with Bulleit bourbon as the backbone. No complaints here. It tastes the part — sans the muddled fruit — and it’s not overly sweet. To be honest it tastes a lot like Bulleit bourbon, which is to say a workable and slightly rustic experience, only tempered with a sprinkling of sugar and, to be sure, a little water to tamp it all down. There’s no reason anyone wouldn’t enjoy this… but of all the cocktails in this collection, also no reason to resort to a batched version of same. 75 proof. A-
The Cocktail Collection Bulleit Manhattan Cocktail – Only slightly more complicated than the Old Fashioned is the Manhattan, here Bulleit rye, sweet vermouth, and bitters, though at 75 proof there must not be much vermouth in the mix. Sure enough, the impact of any aromatic wine is minimal here; as a gently sweetened whiskey flavor dominates, exuding notes of caramel and milk chocolate. A clear but gentle winey quality emerges but vanishes in short order, its extremely light oxidized notes avoiding the off gumminess that is often endemic to bottled Manhattans. Light honey, more milk chocolate, and some vanilla on the finish will all have you thinking you’re drinking a glass of bourbon. This could use more vermouth, though I understand the risk involved. 75 proof. A-
The Cocktail Collection Tanqueray Negroni – Made with Tanqueray gin, vermouth, and bitter liqueur. There is no mention of sugar on the label here, but somehow this Negroni is sweet. Not too sweet, but enough to be noticed, with a distinct cinnamon vibe. Presumably that’s the (unnamed) vermouth talking, but the upshot is a Negroni that has less Campari — er, bitter liqueur — than I like in my mix. The gin adds a mild, piney quality to the cocktail, but it’s a walnut-meets-chocolate quality on the finish that dominates everything else. OK in a pinch. 49.8 proof. B
The Cocktail Collection Ketel One Cosmopolitan – Made with Ketel One vodka, triple sec, and real cranberry juice. The recipe’s right, but this hits rather sweeter than I expected, with a healthy amount of syrup tempering any tartness lingering from the cranberry juice. Otherwise the balance of flavors works well: The orange of the triple sec offers a lively pop, and there’s enough vodka-driven booziness to make this feel serious enough… at least for happy hour. 36.6 proof. A-
The Cocktail Collection Astral Tequila Margarita – Made with Astral blanco tequila and triple sec. Astral isn’t exactly the biggest name in tequila, and it doesn’t make for the best RTD margarita, either. That vaguely artificial, overly sweet lime quality dominates this one, which pairs roughly with a rather saccharine sweetness. It’s OK in small quantities, but a full glass comes off as overly candylike, and I was never able to overcome the sharp, acrid character of the lime ingredient. A miss. 42.6 proof. B-
The Cocktail Collection Ketel One Espresso Martini – Made with Ketel One vodka and unspecified coffee liqueur. No mention of actual espresso in the ingredients. This is arguably the best thing TCC has going, a vibrant concoction that drinks like a high-end version of the classic cocktail. More accurately, it drinks like a high-end coffee liqueur, a la Mr Black, slightly gritty with a touch of cocoa powder and lightly nutty overtones. There’s nothing in the way of a detectable vodka character — which ought to add some silkiness to the drink — but either way the drink is delicious and difficult to put down, and even a bit cleansing on the finish thanks to moderated sweetness and a low abv. Good stuff. 40.2 proof. A-
each $20 / thecocktailcollection.com
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