Written by Peter Brooker in Food & Drink on the 21st March 2017

To quote Lloyd Bridges from Airplane, "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking." Nice timely reference for you there. But seriously, it's not as easy as it looks going dry for a month when brands are so keen on giving you free samples. Luckily, I am back on the wagon these days after a brief hiatus, just in time to try some cocktails, ably assisted by Funkin Cocktails - a cocktail shaker which contain enough mix to create 4 cocktails, making them perfect for parties and they're also handsomely priced at just £4 each.

"I think we have a cocktail book somewhere, oh wait, no wait, we gave it to the Red Cross." - My Mum. Luckily the shakers already come with the mix and in any case, there is such a thing as the internet.

The mixes take out all the heavy lifting. Personally I like the process of shopping for all the ingredients - chopping the garnish, fruit and even going to the extent of printing off the menus for my party guests. But when I don’t have the time I must admit, it is difficult. This is where Funkin Cocktail Shakers come in. I can see these not only being an ice breaker at a party, but a super convenient way of preparing cocktails and serving them quickly, allowing you more time to mingle with your guests.

There is still room for maneuver however, even though the mixes are already composed within the plastic shakers. The beauty of mixology is that you can augment the drinks with added botanicals, garnish, even switching the base. For example, I prefer a gin martini to a vodka martini because its more flavoursome. Don’t argue, it’s a fact. I assembled some fruit, strawberries, lemons (in lieu of lime I had some chunky hits of cucumber, if nothing else but for the presentation and placebo effect) and plied some sloe gin to the mix of the Passion Fruit Martini. The result was a dangerously moorish concoction, perhaps a shade saccharin for my palette, but nothing that couldn't be addressed by the tiny addition of olive brine.

I played it safe with the Skinny Mojito, there's nothing quite like the smell of mint in your kitchen and the Strawberry Daiquiri also went down a little too easily. If you really want to pull out the big guns then freeze some strawberries ahead of time, add a dram of amaretto and a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Again, not my usual go-to when I'm occupying the bar at Barnadi's in Marylebone, but it's good to shake things up every once in a while (pun intended). 

The Funkin shakers are available in Skinny Mojito, Strawberry Daiquiri, and Passion fruit Martini. You can purchase them from Tesco stores nationwide from today.

Available at Tesco in flavours such as Skinny Mojito, Strawberry Daiquiri and Passion fruit Martini, Funkin Shakers are Making Mixology Idiotproof.