Assuming your interest in mixed libations falls just shy of the consummate Liquid Intel reader who, much to my chagrin, probably numbers in the single digits, you could be forgiven for wondering why we spend such an inordinate amount of time coming up with drink recipes to work through.
We get it: on days off, it can feel like work shuffling down to your local bottle-o; buying a pallet of niche liqueur; and prepping batch upon batch of directionally frozen ice. All just to make a cocktail.
In times like those, we’re certainly not above turning to bottled cocktails. Forget any of the vague, sweeping criticisms you might have heard: in contrast with numerous food-related recipes, cocktails that have been batched and bottled can be as delicious as their à la minute counterparts.
RELATED: How To Make The Best Classic Martini
How do we know this, you might ask? Because virtually every award-winning Aussie drinks business has been using batched and bottled cocktails in the past four years. From the glass-encased serves at Restaurant Hubert to Mr Black’s ever-popular canned Espresso Martini, there is a bottled cocktail to satisfy every tippling preference.
A great way of bringing lots of different drinks to bear quickly and efficiently in a home bar setting (especially if you enjoy hosting), here’s our rundown of the 10 best bottled cocktails you can buy in Australia right now.
BH Approved: The Best Bottled Cocktail You Can Buy In Australia (2024)
Versa Martini
Excellent
89/100
SCOREPROS
- Strong yet balanced
- Adaptable for “dry” and “wet” palates
- Well-made, reusable bottle
CONS
- Under 10 serves per bottle
A silver medallist at this year’s Melbourne International Spirits Competition, it says much about Versa that the brand was able to launch its (ostensibly modest) bottled Martini with the vaunted Apollo Restaurant Sydney earlier this June.
Having imbibed of it at home and in the office on numerous occasions, this wins our overall prize in the realm of delicious, ready-to-drink cocktails. A classic iteration of the legendary 19th century aperitif, Versa’s Martini offers a dry and balanced flavour profile: at its best pulled straight from the freezer and served immediately with a lemon peel and handful of unctuous Sicilian olives.
Note that you’ll get around nine Martini serves out the larger 700ml format; but given the robust alcoholic proof (28% ABV) there’s ample enough spirit here to entertain a three or four-person dinner party.
And the rest…
- BH Approved: The Best Bottled Cocktail You Can Buy In Australia (2024)
- Archie Rose Red Centre Negroni
- Byrdi Wattleseed Negroni
- Curatif Plantation Rum Pineapple Daiquiri
- Double Deuce Lounge Discretionary
- Maybe Sammy Cocktails Eucalyptus Gimlet
- Mr Quail & JT Martinez 1887
- Never Never Distilling Co Oyster Shell Gimlet
- Starward (New) Old Fashioned
- Four Pillars Fresh Yuzu Gin & Soda
Archie Rose Red Centre Negroni
SPECS
- Signature “all-Australian” Negroni
- Approximately 10 standard servings
- 23% ABV
- Volume: 700ml
Part of the popular ‘Native Australian’ range of Archie Rose cocktails, the ‘Red Centre’ is the award-winning Sydney distillery’s localised take on the classic Negroni.
Bursting with flavours of riberry and strawberry gum, it tastes just about as red as it looks: delivering a lighter, juicier style that is great when poured over ice; or even in a long glass topped up with your choice of bubbly water.
Byrdi Wattleseed Negroni
SPECS
- Crafted with cold-vacuum infused gin
- Approximately 10 standard servings
- 20% ABV
- Volume: 500ml
Reminiscent of the cutting-edge, environmentally reflexive cocktails you’d order across of Byrdi’s diminutive wooden bar counter; the eponymous 50 Best venue’s wattleseed Negroni stands as a testament to what can be achieved when you marry food science with Australia’s bounty of native ingredients.
Cold vacuuming is used to extract every last molecule of wattleseed flavour into an otherwise classic melange of vermouth, gin, and bitters; leaving you with a bottled cocktail that is already so rich and layered that the only thing left to do is pour it out and serve. Handy.
Curatif Plantation Rum Pineapple Daiquiri
SPECS
- Part of the popular Curatif ‘Escape Series’
- Single serving
- 18.5% ABV
- Volume: 130ml
Treacle yet refreshing, and as moreish as canned cocktails come; Curatif’s ‘Plantation Fancy’ Daiquiri is a love letter to the certifiable deliciousness of pineapple rum.
Built on a two-part base of Plantation’s ‘3 Star’ distillate and Original Dark Rum, this canned cocktail’s initial flavour profile begins rich and fruit-forward before stretching into a length and surprisingly refreshing finish. Grab one, shake it vigorously, and crack into a chilled coupe glass for the consummate Sunday arvo sharpener.
Double Deuce Lounge Discretionary
SPECS
- One to drink if you enjoy Espresso Martinis
- Approximately 2 standard servings
- 28% ABV
- Volume: 200ml
Another ready-to-go cocktail which has been batched and bottled by an outstanding local venue, the curiously titled ‘Discretionary’ is Sydney bar Double Deuce’s riposte to the (in)famous Espresso Martini. More complex and broad-shouldered than the latter — courtesy of a recipe that rounds out its Tequila base with Fernet and Cocchi Americano — there’s a lot to love here if what you prize is strong, sippable, spirit-forward cocktails.
Chuck this in the freezer 30 minutes before serving and profit.
Maybe Sammy Cocktails Eucalyptus Gimlet
SPECS
- A Maybe Sammy signature, flavoured using mango and eucalyptus
- Approximately 10 standard servings
- 20.4% ABV
- Volume: 500ml
Once a sight confined to A by Adina’s room service menu or the Maybe Sammy backbar, the Eucalyptus Gimlet is among this award-winning cocktail den’s best-selling bottled cocktails. Now available in two formats, perfect for enjoying in the comfort of your own home.
A deliciously mouth-filling riff on the traditional Gimlet. Here, the spirited element is replaced with Patrón Silver Tequila. Mango steps into the role habitually occupied by lime cordial, with the end-result being a vibrant, moderately sweet cocktail that sits lushly atop your palate.
For added refreshment, consider serving this up (in a frosty-cold coupe) with just a splash of your preferred sparkling wine.
Mr Quail & JT Martinez 1887
SPECS
- Part of distiller Carlos Quaglia’s ‘Mr. Quail x J.T.’ series
- Approximately 14 standard servings
- 23% ABV
- Volume: 700ml
Part of a wider range of classic mixed drinks captured in bottle form (by the great mixological minds at Antica Distilleria) the ‘Mr Quail x J.T.’ Martinez pays tribute to the Martini’s historic predecessor: a classic medley of Old Tom Gin, Maraschino, and vermouth rosso.
Intriguingly, these premade Martinez serves are barrel-aged before bottling: meaning that all their harsh, ethanol-hot edges have been shorn away to reveal something smooth and delicious in equal measure.
Never Never Distilling Co Oyster Shell Gimlet
SPECS
- “Lemonade icy poles,” but make it gin-ny
- Approximately 10 standard servings
- 21.5% ABV
- Volume: 500ml
Built on the savoury, coastline-inflected gin of the same name, Never Never’s Oyster Shell Gimlet offers yet another compelling remix of the traditionally bright, zesty Gimlet.
Made by the McLaren Vale’s maddest mixological scientists with fresh seafood pairings in mind, we envision this being an absolute tonic in the warmer months ahead. Eloquently described as having a flavour profile of “gin-soaked lemonade icy poles,” we recommend pouring this straight from the freezer.
For a spritzier daytime-friendly serve, we recommend serving this in a highball glass with a dash of club soda and your favourite citrus garnish.
Starward (New) Old Fashioned
SPECS
- A juicy, fruit-driven riff on the Old Fashioned
- Approximately 10 standard servings
- 32% ABV
- Volume: 500ml
Batched directly at the distillery, Starward’s new-school Old Fashioned shakes off all the clichés of the “brown and boozy” genre — to bring you a bottled cocktail that’s rich, juicy, and visibly peppier than your Dad’s usual order.
Truthfully, between the wine barrel-aged whisky, demerara, and wattleseed bitters; there’s a lot going on here. But as Starward itself loves to profess, “[they’ve] got expert bartenders and whisky distillers under the one roof.”
Word to the wise: if you also fancy trying the award-winning brand’s batched Negroni or Coffee Old Fashioned, these can be appended to your (New) Old Fashioned order for a flat price of $90. Cha-ching.
Four Pillars Fresh Yuzu Gin & Soda
SPECS
- Four Pillars’ go-to RTD for the summer
- 4 standard servings in one pack
- 5.1% ABV
- Volume: 250ml
Technically more of an RTD than a straight-up conventional cocktail, we’d be remiss if we didn’t include at least one tipple in this Buyer’s Guide crafted with some variety of Four Pillars — Australia’s most globally revered maker of gin.
The brand’s bright and intensely citric Yuzu Gin is already a familiar presence in many home bars; so why fuss about with ratios and prep work when you can nab a 4-pack of the stuff that is already pre-blended with soda in a can?
With an easy-drinking low ABV recipe, this seems tailormade for afternoons in the park or weekends on the open water.
Enjoyed sampling these bottled cocktails? Then consider trying your hand at their from-scratch counterparts, using our range of classic recipes below:
