Ready-to-drink cocktail review: Crafthouse Cocktails (Part 2)

I'm back this week with the second of three reviews of the Crafthouse Cocktail line. If you missed my post last week, I am reviewing all seven of their ready-to-drink cocktails. Last week I tried their Rum Old Fashioned and their Gold Rush. You can catch up on that review here. Spoiler alert: I loved them both!!

This week I am trying the Moscow Mule, which I had tried a few years ago in their larger bottle and it was perfection, and their Southside which is a cocktail that is new to me. I didn't touch on this much last week, probably because I was SO excited to try the cocktails, but I'm a big fan of the new single serve aluminum bottles that Crafthouse Cocktails has in addition to their larger size that serves a group. Not only are they recyclable but they keep the cocktail nice and chilled. Plus, you can put the cap back on it and save part of your cocktail for later which can come  in handy because these cocktails are strong AF. These are *real* cocktails made with real liquor and they have the ABV to prove it. So if you are like me and all this social distancing has made you (even more in my case) a lightweight, you're going to love that option too.

Now onto the drinks!

Crafthouse Cocktails Moscow Mule:

Overall score: 5 / 5

Sweetness: 
One shaker = not sweet at all // Five shakers = your teeth may curl

Booziness: 10.1% ABV
One shaker = does this have booze? Five shakers = OG Four Lokos 

With the very first sip of this ready-to-drink Moscow Mule from Crafthouse Cocktails you can taste the really good ginger beer. It has the perfect amount of kick without being crazy spicy but it also isn't so weak that it's boring. It's a great balance. Then you get the hint of lime and everything just comes together. For me, I felt an instant sense of relaxation from my first sip. Not only is this a really, really good Mule, it also has 10.1% ABV so it is able to soften the edges of your day pretty darn quick. If there is anything I need as this pandemic situation stretches on, it's a little softening around the edges.

5/5, would 100% recommend, which is no surprise at this point. We know Crafthouse is crushing the cocktail game and their Moscow Mule is no exception.

Order this Crafthouse Cocktails ready-to-drink Moscow Mule online here>> 

Crafthouse Cocktails Southside: 

Overall score: 5/ 5

Sweetness:  
One shaker = not sweet at all // Five shakers = your teeth may curl

I've never actually had a Southside prior to this review, and kind of like last week with Crafthouse's ready-to-drink Gold Rush, I'm asking myself why I've never seen or ordered this cocktail at a bar. It's a-mazing!! 

The Crafthouse Southside has a great mint and citrus flavor that I did not expect. This is a gin cocktail so I was fully expecting the main flavor to be gin (and my brain always goes to the pine-y version like Tanqueray) but that's not the case at all. What I did taste was a minty, lemon-y drink with a kick. And if that kick wasn't there at the end it would be super easy to forget that this cocktail has any booze. But it does - 15.4% ABV to be specific which is pretty darn great in my book.

So much so that I finished off this cocktail while editing these photos last night which is not my normal routine. Usually I'll try a few sips of the cocktails I'm reviewing and then go back to work. But when it's something really good, like all of these from Crafthouse, I'll save the cocktail to have later after I'm done with my day - maybe that's why I'm so excited about the lids on these . . .

Either way, you're going to want to try the Southside from Crafthouse Cocktails. 

 Order this Crafthouse Cocktails ready-to-drink Southside online here>>

Would I buy these again?

Um, yeah, duh! I know I have three more Crafthouse Cocktails to try but I think I could really retire from trying ready-to-drink cocktails now that I've found Crafthouse. My goal has always been to find really awesome cocktails that I could serve to my friends without having to play bartender all night or have tons of different liquors, mixers, bitters, etc on hand. Crafthouse totally solves that problem!

If you want to try these Crafthouse Cocktails you can order them online here:

Order Crafthouse Cocktails ready-to-drink cocktails online here>>

And I'll be back next Friday with the final three ready-to-drink Crafthouse Cocktails!

Want to get your hands on that Moscow Mule cocktail stick?

That is my patent pending Swizzly Stick™ - a brand new drink marker + cocktail stick combo. 

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