Cocktail Mixers for Entertaining and Gifting

By Amber Gallegos

Gourmet cocktail mixes can provide holiday shoppers with a quick and easy holiday entertaining solution. Adding a selection of mixers is also a nice way to round out a bar accessories or gourmet foods section, while increasing the potential for add-on sales. Cocktail mixers sets also make the perfect gift for hosts, hostesses, or cocktail lovers. From all-natural spins on classics, to tea, shrub and bitters mixers, there are plenty of unique cocktail options for customers to choose from.

Owl’s Brew is a tea crafted for cocktails. The fresh brewed and bottled tea is made in Vermont from all-natural ingredients, sweetened with pure agave, and meant to be paired with a variety of spirits. Pink and Black is a blend of darjeeling, hibiscus, and lemon peel, splashed with strawberry and lemon juices that pairs with whiskey,tequila, gin, amber ale or white wine. Coco-Lada combines black tea, chai spices, coconut pieces and pineapple juice for a mix that is sweet with a spicy kick, rounded out by coconut. It pairs well with spiced rum, Champagne, vodka or stout beer. The Classic is an English breakfast tea with a tart twist, blending the traditional tea alongside lemon peel, lemon juice and lime juice for a mixer that pairs with vodka, tequila, gin, whiskey, or wheat beer. A gift set trio of 8-ounce blends has a suggested retail price of $20.99.

Arrowhead Farms offers a line of all-natural non-alcoholic mixers that are made in small batches in New York. The cocktail provisions are inspired by the creator’s six-generation family farm in Arkansas and include seven different flavors made from fresh ingredients. The Arrowhead Farms Cocktail Mix Gift Set, features the classic Hellfire Club Bloody Mary Mix, the spicy Spitfire Margarita Mix, the Mexican House Margarita Mix, and Giovanni’s Nectar of the Gods Bellini Mix. Each mix contains 25 ounces and the set retails for $140. Individual bottles retail $17 for 16 ounces and $28 for 25 ounces.

Shrub & Co creates mixers that are a blend of fruit, sugar, aromatics and vinegar. Shrubs were originally created in the colonial era to preserve fruit after harvest, and these mixes can serve as the base of either a cocktail or sparkling soda. The Shrub & Co Winter Shrub Gift Set contains Cranberry Douglas Fir, Blood Orange Cardamom, Apple, and Grapefruit flavored shrubs in 4-ounce sizes. The $27.99 set is a nice option for gifting or for those interested in experimenting with shrubs.

Bittermilk cocktail compounds and tonics are designed by bartenders for the modern day cocktail enthusiast. The mixers combine a bittering agent, a sweetener, and an acid to achieve a balanced cocktail. Bittermilk flavors include Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Fashioned, Tom Collins with Elderflower & Hops, Smoked Honey Whiskey Sour, New Orleans Style Old Fashioned Rouge, Charred Grapefruit Tonic with Bulls Bay Sea Salt and Oaxacan Old Fashioned. The Bittermilk Jar Bar includes the complete line of cocktail mixers along with The Mason Shaker by W&P Design for a suggested retail price of $105.

B.G. Reynolds makes tiki-inspired cocktail syrups and will debut new tropical mixers this fall. The specialty syrups range from Falernum with ginger, clove and almond, to Lush Grenadine with pomegranate and hibiscus, to Tiki Spices with Jamaican pimento berry and Madagascar vanilla. The syrups are available in a 750-milliliter bottle for $20 and a 375-milliliter for $11.99. The new line of cocktail mixers includes the classic Mai Tai, Jet Pilot and Zombie Punch, and are available in a 750-milliliter bottle with a suggested retail price of $15.99. All B.G. Reynolds mixers and syrups are made from high-quality, all-natural ingredients in small batches in Portland, Oregon.

Pok Pok Som drinking vinegars were created by Chef Andy Ricker for his Pok Pok restaurants featuring Southeast Asian cuisine. A twist on the classic shrub, the drinking vinegars are a sweet and tart fruit and vinegar based concentrate that can make a natural soda alternative or serve as a unique cocktail mixer. Som flavors include Apple, Chinese Celery, Ginger, Honey, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Tamarind, Thai Basil, and Turmeric. Som has a suggested retail price of $14.99 for a 16-ounce bottle.