Tag Archives: raspberry

Tonic at Home: Starburst Martini

Eh… how long have I been sitting on one cocktail review to do?! Time to finish this series on the Tonic at Home mix’n’match hamper!

I’ll show my age here and say this was previously known as an Opal Fruits Martini – so, expect it to be sweet and fruity. The ingredients include:

  • vodka
  • creme de cassis
  • apple juice
  • raspberry syrup

Tonic at Home Starburst Martini

It pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s a sweet and fruity kind of a thing. It’s borderline on being too sweet, but not quite, although I thought it would have been nice with a little bit more of a sherbet-y tang. Still, very drinkable.

Also worth mentioning that this did lurk in my freezer for quite some time and it was perfectly fine. Not sure how much I breached the recommended timescales, but didn’t seem to affect it.

So… would I drink this again? Sure, no issue – although it wouldn’t be my first choice. There are some nice variations on the recipe online, many involving strawberry (liqueur and lemonade) although there seems to be a wide range. From my own cocktail cupboard, I would need to buy creme de cassis, although I might try it with Chambord (raspberry liqueur) at some point. Hmm, that does sound nice…! 😉

Tonic at Home: I’ll Be Your Wingman

I must confess, out of everything in the Tonic at Home Mix and Match box, I genuinely thought I was going to dislike this quite a lot. There are so many ingredients, several of which I’m really not keen on, and the only hint I had about what it might actually taste like was a mention of – bleh! – parma violet sweeties, on the Tonic website.

Tonic at Home I'll Be Your Wingman cocktail

  • pink gin
  • violette (violet liqueur)
  • raspberry syrup
  • cherry puree
  • elderflower cordial
  • aquafaba – aka chickpea water, for a vegan-friendly ‘froth’

It… wasn’t that bad. Oddly thick, I wasn’t expecting that, but it tastes like fruit and berries, and not – as I feared – of sickly flowery sweets or elderflower.

I have no idea where the name comes from, or if there are other versions of this other than Tonic’s own. Despite it tasting a lot better than I expected, I wouldn’t go out of my way to have another nor will I be attempting to make my own. Although I say that, and then wonder about cherry cordial, raspberry syrup, and Sprite… hmm, maybe not 😉

Tonic at Home: Puerto Rico Boat Trip

I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this one – one of the pre-mixed cocktails in the Tonic at Home Mix and Match selection. Let’s start with the ingredients:

  • Raspberry Bacardi rum
  • velvet falernum (see below)
  • triple sec (orange liqueur)
  • plum bitters

(and some less interesting bits and pieces like water and E numbers)

Talking of water, it sure looks a lot like it:

Puerto Rico Boat Trip cocktail from Tonic

What is that ‘velvet falernum’ thingy? It’s a rum-based liqueur made with sugar cane, lime, almond and cloves. Cloves sounds really scary, but definitely wasn’t getting that in the cocktail, so all good.

Now, turns out I should have read the description on the website, as it’s pretty accurate: “the flavours of Haribo and sherbet” – yes! It’s sweet and sherbety and rather surprising, especially given the rather dull appearance. And it’s a nice sweet and sherbety! 🙂

The website also tells me that this is Tonic’s twist on the classic ‘Royal Bermuda Yacht Club’ cocktail, which to be honest I’ve never heard of. A quick internet search shows me that it involves white rum, falernum, orange liqueur, lime juice, and sugar syrup – a little bit more accessible, I’m thinking, although it’d be a shame to spoil a good thing – and the PRBT is a pretty good thing! Recommended 🙂