When it comes to canned alcoholic beverages there’s a few things I look for.
The first is that it has to taste good. And by good, I mean taste of the ingredients stated on the list, not a sweet injection of sugar.
It can be hard to nail canned cocktails as a result, with many of the fruit juices and ingredients featuring natural and synthetic sugars.
Secondly, it needs to be priced competitively and thirdly, it needs to taste like there’s some sort of alcohol in there.
Too often I am left with a sugar overload dancing on my tongue with no real flavour of any alcohol.
New to the Scottish drinks market is drinks firm Angels Dare.
There are three flavours in the Angels Dare collection to date, all very different to one another. And at 10% ABV they are heavier on the alcohol and are all served in 250ml cans.
But what did I think of the three flavours?
The Angels Dare drinks
Maverick Martini
My favourite of the three, it was the brand’s nod to a traditional Pornstar Martini.
Featuring vodka as its base spirit, the passion fruit and orange provided the fruity kick while the vanilla subdued any potential sour flavours.
This is summer in a can, or a glass if you decant it, and to me, it was quite sweet. The lime in the drink hits just a little at the end which brings a sour tinge to it which helps balance that sweetness.
The passion fruit flavour is very apparent and the vodka is easily masked by the fruit juices because vodka doesn’t really have a flavour in general.
I’d say it was the smoothest and easiest to drink of them all.
Cheeky Wee Kiss
The branding on this can was a little more erotic than the first, with a woman dressed in a short skirt and tartan legwarmers. Her head had also been replaced with plumped up lips and an open mouth in its place which slightly confused me a bit, but maybe I didn’t grasp the branding concept.
That said, the most important thing here is the flavour.
With regards to the drink, the cocktail itself was quite sour and tart in comparison to the first.
It is gin-based and featured rhubarb, strawberry and cranberry. You could tell instantly it was a dry gin that has been used and the ginger also brought a little bit of heat to the drink.
Cranberry was the dominant flavour but I liked that the gin was noticeable. The strawberry lingered at the end and the drink and it got easier to consume with every sip.
It was probably the thickest (consistency wise) of the three.
Secret Garden
This gin-based drink is perfect for those warm summer nights.
It was notably the most refreshing of the three with the mint and elderflower really showing face.
This drink was the only carbonated one out of them all, but I would say the carbonation is subtle and not too fizzy.
It featured peach, apple, elderflower, mint and lemon. On the nose the elderflower dominated and the aftertaste was an apple and mint mix which was rather refreshing quite honestly.
I’d say this one would be the easiest to drink throughout the day.
The verdict
While these cocktails most certainly mean business, it is important to note that moderation is key here as the ABV is much higher than many other canned drinks I have had.
Because the ABV is higher this meant the alcohol is a little more at the forefront of the flavour which I enjoyed as it felt more like a cocktail than juice.
They weren’t overly sugary and were enjoyable both from the tin and also from a glass. Sometimes these drinks don’t fare so well in a glass, but these certainly did.
The branding nods to Scotland which I liked, but there’s also the wackier side of it, too, which I was a bit confused by. I really did love the stags, tropical birds and plants, fruits and bold splashes of colour as it made the can really eye-catching.
Overall I’d say the value for money, the look and the flavour all match its price tag. They are easy to store in the fridge and would make a nice addition to any summer party or barbecue, but could easily be enjoyed on the sofa watching TV, too.
Angels Dare will be hosting a cocktail tasting class at Taste of Grampian on Saturday June 4 at P&J Live in Aberdeen at 11am for anyone who would like to try out the drinks.
The session is priced at £10 per person.
The food and drink festival is running from 9am to 6pm and more than 150 exhibitors will be showcasing their produce and products.
Tickets are priced at £12 and children under 12 go free.
Information
Price: £5.50 per can when you order packs of three, six or nine and £5.00 per can when you order a pack of 12.
