LondonElite

Exactly. Old Fashioneds are really easy to make. I personally use half syrup and half Luxardo jar juice. And Angostura bitters of course.

pseudoswede

Thanks for all of the posts. I also cannot reiterate enough what I said in the OP...



I know a lot of these drink mixes "are so easy to do yourself" and "you just need (to buy a bunch of stuff that I don't want cluttering my liquor cabinet or fridge and/or squeeze/muddle/yell the juice out of a bunch of fruits/vegetables/things found in the yard)". On a weekend afternoon/evening when I have no plans (which honestly is super rare), yes, I will spend the time to invent/craft a nice drink. On a weeknight, after a day of work, I simply just want to pour some mix, pour some booze, maybe use a shaker, then plop myself on my sofa and enjoy the drink.

The sugar content in some of these drink mixes are outrageous, and I definitely look at the labels before making a decision; however, the ones typically found in liquor stores--except for maybe "light" margarita mixes--rarely fit the bill.

LondonElite

The two minutes of prep (melting sugar and adding water) and Luxardo pays off in spades! No one can be that lazy! 😂

JBord

Even without a simple syrup, it takes me literally 2 minutes to make an old fashioned. The only "extra" ingredient the OP would need to have on hand is a small bottle of bitters.

I can understand not wanting to make a margarita, or some other drinks, from scratch for just one serving. But an old fashioned doesn't take any time.

gfunkdave

The mix is just simple syrup and bitters. If you take 5 mins to make enough simple syrup for 20 old fashioneds, it takes the same amount of time to use a premade mix as it does to just do it yourself.

Why, the very idea of selling old fashioned "mix" is simply a nadir of dishonorable degeneracy and I won't stand for it!

Duke787

If you really just can’t stomach even making an Old Fashioned, the Tip Top Old Fashioned that they are serving now on DL is pretty good. I’ve had a few over the last couple weeks and it’s a strong offering. It’s not sweet, it could almost pass as a Manhattan, but very good.

MarkCron

Do you (or anyone else) have a recipe for a margarita using fesh lime juice (and I will use Cointreau most likely as I have it, and good tequila).
Thanks.

JBord

I'm not sure this is helpful at all, but I believe my wife uses a variation of Rick Bayless's Topolo margarita (https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/topolo-margarita/). She uses a little less sugar, and usually Triple Sec or Cointreau. The recipe instructions say to make the "mix" in the pitcher and then add tequila. My advice is to let others who will be drinking them with you know when you add the tequila. One time we had some friends over and, not knowing she had added the tequila to the pitcher already, I put a generous tequila pour in two glasses and then added the mix on top. Still delicious but a little more difficult to grill the flank steak after that..

Duke787

My wife makes a really good margarita that is just fresh lime juice (14 - 18 limes to make 4 - 6 good sized drinks), Cointreau, and tequila plus a little Splenda if we have company that doesn’t like it quite as bitter as we do (you can also add a little water to add volume and smooth out the bitter lime flavor as desired). She then puts tajin around the rim and that’s it - it’s really good but really simple

dodgeflyer

Jaime Oliver’s one is pretty good. If I recall it is just 1 part lime juice, 1 part Cointreau, 2 parts tequila. Serve neat, over ice or whizzed.

braslvr

That's a true margarita, and what we usually make at home. Haven't done it in ages though. I don't mind the sweeter foo foo ones in bars occasionally, but it's almost like a completely different drink.

gfunkdave

I like just a little simple syrup to take the sour edge off the lime juice.

pseudoswede

I bought a bottle of Daniel's Broiler Old Fashioned mix from Amazon. It appears they are an upscale steakhouse in the Seattle area that charges $18 for an Old Fashioned. 5g of sugar in a 3/4 oz serving, which means adding 3oz. of your favorite whiskey/bourbon. The fruit notes (mainly orange) is very subtle, maybe too subtle. However, it's not too bad.

cardsqc

I've yet to find a pre-made mix for margaritas that I like unfortunately. Most of them are indeed too sickly sweet. So I'm stuck making my own mix, which means I don't drink them as much as I'd probably like . Personally, while it might sound a bit weird, what I've used is basically an equal mix of lemon juice, sugar, and water, then add half a lime per drink, plus some orange juice, then of course the tequila and some sort of orange liqueur (basically, I use what I have, whether it's cointreau (probably my most common), patron citronge, curacao, or grand marnier. My wife tends not to like the grand marnier, so we haven't used that in a while. While there's sugar in it, to me at least it doesn't come out as sickly sweet, and with the orange juice, takes some of the edge off the harsher lime and lemon juices. I think I got the recipe when I was originally trying to recreate a decent margarita I'd had on a cruise ship, and I think at least Patron listed it as a recipe for a while.

CRAZ8

For fruity cocktails, I'm a big fan of Barmalade (https://www.barmalade.com/) - 1oz of their mix, some lime juice, and booze are most of their recipes. Although this is more effort than a scratch Old Fashioned, it is easier than, for instance, a Margarita. Mango Habenero is my fave!