Champagne: At Your Service

Entertaining is a lifestyle in our home, and in the past there has definitely been occasions where creating the cocktail menu seemed more complex than it should have been. The hassle of acquiring multiple bottles for the sake of making a handful of cocktails can often be a daunting task, especially if you’re not an expert.

Imagine, a curated box of inspiring cocktail recipes, and all the bits needed to actually make them without having to dash out the door. If you’ve ever wanted to make your own cocktail like a true mixologist, or at least have the fundamentals to do so, then this is where Shaker & Spoon (S&S) comes to the rescue.

Shaker & Spoon’s monthly subscription based service provides you with all the essentials needed (sans the alcohol) to concoct quality, bar-worthy cocktails to enjoy and impress. Don’t worry, glass juggling or showstopping pouring techniques aren’t required—these recipes can easily be created by novices as well as any seasoned cocktail making enthusiast.

I’ve teamed up with the brand to give you a glimpse of their offerings. We tried out the Celebrate With Bubbles box for a fun-filled weekend of cocktail tasting.

June’s Box: “Celebrate with Bubbles”

This S&S box included elements to make the drinks, “Time After Thyme” (a punchy and refreshing citrus-veggie cocktail with cucumber, grapefruit, celery bitters, and thyme), “Pink Peppercorn Potion” (a sweet vivacious brew infused with pink peppercorns, lemon, and strawberries), and the bittersweet symphonic notes of nectarine syrup, and kumquat-raspberry nectar garnished with orange wheels in the drink, “Kumquat Whynot?”

Other items in the box included one grapefruit, two bottles of bitters, three lemons, and four bottles of syrups/nectar, sugar cubes, and orange wheels needed for all twelve cocktails.

Each cocktail was quite unique in its own right. Our top pick was instantly the Time After Thyme drink, and with Pink Peppercorn Potion ranking as a popular second amongst the group. We used prosecco, rosé champagne, and carbonated water (just to taste the flavours for guests who might be non-drinkers).

The Insider Details:

Price: $50/month, or $42.50 with the discount (see below). There are month-to-month, and pre-paid options available as well.

• When your box is shipped, you’re notified via e-mail, which is also filled with suggestions pertaining to your themed box, and even how-to video links to ensure that you will have a marvellous no-fail experience!
• Each subscription box comes filled with info. cards with glossary terms, recipe cards, and all the necessities to make three recipes: a total of twelve cocktails (four drinks per recipe).
• There’s an easy to follow guide for each cocktail, pre-portioned syrups, bitters, and even the garnishes to accompany your creative cocktails.
• Professional bartenders also helped with the origination of the drink recipes.

This is for YOU if …  you’re looking to try something different in the realm of cocktails, or simply want to up your cocktail game. Or, if you already have a bar cart filled with several types of liquor, this would be a great way to make use of those bottles, and experiment in making proper cocktails with special ingredients. However, even if you don’t have a bottle collection quite yet, this would be a great way to test out different concoctions without having to buy multiple full-size liquor varieties.

What do you think of Shaker & Spoon’s concept?  

Try next month’s box of goodies with 15% off, but act fast and sign up by 30 June to receive the upcoming Summer Scotch Box (For US readers), or sign up for a future themed box. View past boxes here.

The goods: “Celebrate with Bubbles” Box-Courtesy of Shaker & Spoon, Printed cocktail napkins-(Buy similar), Spicy herb pretzel bar mix (get the recipe here), French blue bottles-(Buy similar), Etched purple glass-c/o Gudrun Sjoden, Printed paper-Hallmark, Slate board-(Buy it here).

Shop cocktail glassware:

 Above: View bar mix Recipe here