There's Nothing Fab About Prefab, Premade Drink Mixes
In last weekend’s Wall Street Journal, columnist Eric Felten addressed an interesting question—one that’s bugged me for some time. Why is it that in this fresh, local, do-it-yourself culinary age, otherwise skilled and intelligent adults are often considered incapable of mixing themselves a proper drink?
In his piece, “Prefab Mixes: Buyer, Beware,” Felten visits a Williams-Sonoma—ordinarily a temple for ambitious home cooks—and finds that the beverage department's approach is considerably different, with premade mixes arrayed on the shelves. This isn't all that surprising: canned cocktails and industrial sour-mix predate television, and childhood memories of my parents’ parties usually involve boxes and bottles of Holland House whiskey sour, Tom Collins, and who-knows-what drink mixes.
While it’s hard to find a box of powdered Grasshopper mix today, there are plenty of other prepackaged options for party planners, most of them absolutely horrid. Take the Rose’s Mojito Mix: Felten fumes that this summer, PR flacks were "touting it as ‘a solution to complicated drink-making.’" Complicated? Crush some mint in sugar syrup and fresh lime juice; add white rum, club soda and ice; stir. Is it supercilious to suggest that those for whom this is a task of surpassing complexity are better off not dulling their wits further with alcohol?”
Home cooks and restaurant chefs are increasingly turning away from heavily processed products in favor of fresh, self-made ingredients. So why do prefab cocktail mixes—not only for the home, but for commercial bars of all sizes—continue doing such a bang-up business? Let’s hear your story.
How did you graduate from bottled Margarita mix to squeezing your own limes? Or is a premade pomegranate cosmo mix your guilty (or not-so-guilty) pleasure?
About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
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9 Comments:
a mojito is probably my favorite drink, and it is so easy to tell when it comes from a mix, because a freshly made one is infinitely better. it bugs the hell out of me when bars use a mix! if i'm paying $8 or $9 for a drink, you damn well better have crushed that mint instead of pouring me some mint-flavored liquid.
sarahlucy at 12:05PM on 09/18/08
I made a mojito last night. Nothing difficult about it. If anyone is interested in cocktails I would strongly suggest visiting this blog: http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com
jnash85 at 12:07PM on 09/18/08
Is anybody really surprised that Williams Sonoma has pre-fab drink mixes? They also sell things like the "filled pancake pan" which obviously are completely useless to anybody except for soccer moms with too much time on their hands. But yes, pre-fab drink mixes are both gross and lame. I don't even want to know how that ingredient list reads.
Mia Rose at 12:17PM on 09/18/08
I started using fresh cocktail mixers about a year ago (in fairness, prior to that I was pretty much a bourbon on the rocks gal - no mixers needed). I was introduced to cocktails made with fresh juices at The Eastern Standard in Boston. If a bar that can manage a Red Sox game-day crowd (even during the World Series) can do it with fresh juices and house-made grenadine, I certainly can!
I recently turned a group of friends onto margaritas made with real juice and they saw the light!
maryr123 at 12:38PM on 09/18/08
I've tried Stirrings - they're not bad, although I would refrain from ones like "Mojito" - half the fun is getting mint stuck between your teeth. But when having a crowd, and you want a drink that is a little bit fancier, a high quality mix is a good option (I like the Lemon Drop best!).
mmclau28 at 12:50PM on 09/18/08
I've pretty much always mixed my own fresh drinks...the pre-fab ones always taste a little off. Plus, it takes the fun out of fixing them yourself!
A lot of people probably do it for the convenience factor...just like the masses who buy pre-made stuff at the grocery. They just don't know what they're missing, I guess.
gastronomeg at 1:29PM on 09/18/08
I was taught to make a margarita when I was 11. It's a family tradition - we called it the Aubin Margarita. I've since found out that it's also a "Jamacin Style Gold" margarita to bartenders in the North East. It's just tequila, triple sec (or cointreu for people with money) and lime jc, either fresh or the sweetened kind (NEVER sour mix!). I wasn't introduced to pre-fab mixes until Appletinis and Cosmos started getting popular, and I'm not a huge fan. If I want juice and booze, I'll make a screwdriver. However, I've made some yummy punches using the Stirrings mixes - pairing with flavored vodkas and champagne or soda.
leeapeea at 3:15PM on 09/18/08
I only drink mixed drinks at home, never at bars, because all those mixes are pretty horrendous. Bloody Marys that taste of corn syrup and aluminum...mojitos that taste like soda pop...$15 if you want a margarita made with decent tequila...why bother when vastly superior versions are easily achieved at home? Bars were made for beer. My kitchen was made for mixed drinks.
But to answer your actual question, I think many drinkers start out with things like Boone's Farm and sour mix and chocolate martinis because alcohol is an acquired taste. I know my 19-year-old palate wasn't prepared to appreciate a martini, but my 29-year-old palate most certainly is. As you begin to like the way actual alcohols taste, you begin to want to actually taste them.
So my theory is that the people buying these mixes don't actually really like alcohol, since these sugary, chemical-flavored mixers are meant to cover rather than enhance the taste of alcohol. These people want the effects of alcohol without the flavor.
Also, yeah, Mia Rose is right: Williams Sonoma is like the Sharper Image of cooking.
climalene at 3:26PM on 09/18/08
I took a bartending class when i was between jobs, and was surprised by the lack of thought that went into the "mixed drinks". I then took a class by Gary Regan that blew my mind by making me aware of how good cocktails actually use fresh ingredients. So I took another class by Dale Degroff, where I learned (along with many other things), that drinks like an apple martini can actually be made with real apples.
I was at a vacation home with friends this summer, and someone said she was going to the store to buy margarita mix. I told her to forget the mix and just buy a giant bag of fresh limes. She looked at me like I was crazy, but went along with it. 5 minutes after she got home I had a full pitcher of margaritas ready to go that everyone went crazy for. I love converting other people!
nalega at 4:39PM on 09/18/08