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MELBOURNE | If you’ve been to any of the venues run by the Made In Shade group (Bar Margaux, The Everleigh, Heartbreaker), you’ll have likely come across the bottled cocktails produced by their cocktail bottling business, The Everleigh Bottling Co.
I remember when they launched these in 2015, and I was sceptical about the idea of pre bottled cocktails but the fact is, the Everleigh Bottling Co’s bottled cocktails are very good. I’ve enjoyed many of them over the years.
As well as being available in a few bars, hotels, restaurants, and other venues, you’ve also been able to buy the cocktails to enjoy at home. For Christmas, the Everleigh Bottling Co have launched the “Bartender’s Choice Set”, which includes four single serve cocktails that are popular at the Everleigh, in a gift box.
The Rolls Royce is a twist on the Martini, featuring English gin, equal measures of sweet and dry vermouth and a dash of Benedictine. The Benedictine lends a herbaceous and complex aroma, while the crisp, clean gin elevates the Rolls Royce into a smooth and rich Martini variation, best finished with a lemon twist garnish.
The Cardinal, meanwhile, is a good one for Negroni fans. It’s light and dry, with a punch of floral vermouth and Campari. Also good for fans of something with a bit of bite is the Sazerac – the classic New Orleans blend of American rye whiskey, absinthe and Peychaud’s bitters.
Finally, my favourite of the four, the Aged Rum Old Fashioned. This twist on the old fashioned uses five year old aged rum from Nicaragua, along with honey and a dash of bitters. The result is a warming drink with creamy notes of cocoa, tobacco and nutmeg.