Gardenista Ready-to-Serve Cocktails

I love when someone sends me a new ready-to-serve (RTS) cocktail. After a long day of developing recipes, writing about cocktails and helping brands develop flavors, getting to sit back, kick up my feet and sip on a yummy cocktail that I didn’t make is heaven. Also, warm weather is coming and when I show up to the BBQ, it’s usually expected that I will bring the cocktails. I have a lot of fun making cocktails for the people I love, but sometimes a demanding schedule makes that difficult, so having a selection of high-quality RTSs makes my life much easier. There are a lot of ready-to-drink (RTD) and RTS products hitting the market so it can be tough to know which are good and which should be left on the shelf. As a mixologist, I don’t really have any advice other than reading the labels carefully and always choosing products with real ingredients void of artificial flavors. Other than that, tasting the product is the best way to make a choice. 

I received a beautiful box from the brand and I must say, the presentation is stunning. The packaging is beautiful and goodies were a nice addition. I’ve got the air freshener hanging on my rearview mirror in the Jeep. Thanks team Gardenista!

Me with a fancy Gardenista scarf.

A few things to know about these products per the brand; they are gluten-free, made with real ingredients and fresh juices. Low ABV and low calorie. And let me highlight one ingredient right up front, all of these cocktails are made with jalapeño. The brand claims it’s just a touch of jalapeño in each cocktail, I would disagree, but things like spice levels in food and drink are subjective. 

I tasted these cocktails two different ways, chilled right out of the bottle and then shaken. Personally, I found these cocktails to be spicier than expected when they were served right out of the chilled bottle. However, shaking them with ice and serving them over ice tamed the spice and made for a lovely flavor profile.

There are three options with three base spirits. Each cocktail recipe is exactly the same, green herbs, ginger, lime juice and jalapeño. You can choose either a bourbon base, tequila or vodka. I love that the flavors taste so fresh and herbal, these cocktails deliver a very unique bouquet of flavors. They are zesty, spicy, tangy and vibrant. After tasting each flavor I felt that the vodka might be unnecessary in the line, the base spirit didn’t add anything to the profile. The tequila cocktail seemed to be the best base partner for the mix but at the same time the bourbon was incredibly interesting, a very unique combination. The cocktails are 15% ABV and offered in 375ml bottles which equates to about 12.6 ounces, so you get about 4 cocktails per bottle. 

These cocktails are truly unique in flavor and a great conversation starter. I enjoyed the bourbon but I must admit that the tequila cocktail was my favorite. There is something about the green herbs that paired so beautifully. 

Serving the cocktails:

Bourbon Cocktail: Shaking the cocktail tamed the spicy jalapeño but luckily didn’t tame the rest of the flavors, I added an orange slice and it was delicious. 

Vodka Cocktail: I added a splash of prosecco to the vodka cocktail and loved the combination. 

Tequila: The husband loves anything spicy so he was happy with the chilled cocktail as is. I preferred it shaken with ice and served over ice with a squeeze of lime.

Give Gardenista a try, Sailor recommended!