Drinks

Yes, These Are Cocktails! Pre-mixed Drinks Are Big in South Africa

By Iden Eliopoulos

March 6, 2022

There I was, perusing the drink options at the various establishments at V&A Waterfront in Cape Town when I came across something that caught my eye. Bottled cocktails? My American mind couldn’t comprehend, but sure enough, there they were.

I found the sourest passion fruit mocktails, dark n’ stormys with the gingeriest ginger beer and the most refreshing virgin shandy I’ve ever had (ok, I've never had a real shandy, but still.). And on the way home I couldn’t help but get sucked into the food markets of the city, which had a drink set rival Icees.

#5: Eskimo Joe’s Is More Pre-mixed Than Any Cocktail You’ve Ever Seen

I like to think of slushies like cordials. When you blend it up with ice or put it in seltzer water, it tastes like a birthday at Dave N’ Busters. But plain old tap water won’t cut it. That's why it's so important for Eskimo Joe's to have such a consistent slushie texture with the fruity blue flavoring it uses.

#4: South Africa's Premier Grocer Had to Give the Pre-mixed Route a Try

Ahh, the classic––a passion fruit cocktail, or virgin cocktail in this case. As far as flavor goes, it’s nothing to scoff at. But passion fruit cocktails are like pizza––even a bad pizza tastes good. And this drink, comparatively, was middle-of-the-road.

#3: Woolworths' Dark N’ Stormy Stands Out Among Their Pre-mixed Options

This rendition is more on the ginger side of a dark n’ stormy’s complexion with its sweet and spicy flavor. The bitters are almost unnoticeable, but you can tell they’re there. I like cocktails with bitters, but it’s not an Italian-level love.

#2: Savanna Is a Lemon-Cider Pre-mixed Drink Reminiscent of a Shandy

Savanna is the first dealcoholized Apple cider I've ever seen. I always assumed when you make nonalcoholic cider, you don't ferment it. And on top of that, I wondered what the point of fermentation than dealcoholization was. But it really does add flavor.

#1: Fitch & Leedes Shows How Great Pre-mixed Drinks Can Be

Ohh, Fitch & Leedes. I just like to call them the paradigmatic posse. All their drinks are examples of what a good pre-mixed drink should be. It's a perfect middle ground between extra sticky sweet soda and bitter, low sugar extra strength 100 proof cocktails.

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