Answer: we could all use a touch of mixological magic on tap. And in 2025, there is absolutely no shame in cracking open a pre-mixed bottle of Negroni or filling your guests’ glasses with a cracking ready-made espresso martini just in time to keep everyone looking lively until after the post-feast slump. These, then, are the ones we’ll be stocking in our fridge this Christmas.
Kocktail’s Gingerbread Espresso Martini, £27
Handcrafted in small batches in Newcastle upon Tyne, Kocktail was born in 2020 when friends Andrew Hutchinson and Emil Stickland decided they’d had enough of lacklustre pre-mixed drinks. If they were going to make cocktails at home, they’d make them properly — so they enlisted none other than The Savoy’s former head barman to help create a line-up that could rival any five-star pour. We love the entire collection, but this Christmas it has to be the Gingerbread Espresso Martini, which is made with Hepple Vodka, Caffè Borghetti, cold brew coffee, French speculoos syrup and spiced to perfection. They also do Christmas hampers and miniatures thaht make perfect stocking fillers, FYI.
Black Lines Oatnog, £20
Founded in 2017, Black Lines operates as an employee-owned collective – meaning everyone involved has a genuine stake in every bottle they produce. And it shows. With founders whose backgrounds span from drink development at Soho House to strategy and design, their expertise runs deep – simply everything they produce both looks and tastes beautiful. For Christmas, it has to be the Oatnog, a concoction five years in the making. A dairy-free twist on the festive classic, it’s yet light, it blends buttery rum with warming winter spices. Need we say more? Consider it your fireside essential this Christmas.
Black Lines Negroni, £24
Another vote for Black Lines. This is, quite simply, the finest bottled Negroni we’ve tried. Bold, bittersweet and flawlessly balanced, it’s everything you want from the classic crimson cocktail, ready to pour over ice at a moment’s notice. The striking illustrated label is as beautiful as what’s inside – and since the whole world went mad for this headiest and most beautifully festive looking of drinks, it’s one to have on standby.
MAP Lab – Bourbon Old Fashioned, £40
Crafted by MAP Maison’s in-house cocktail atelier, this bottled Bourbon Old Fashioned is a masterclass in refinement – a smooth blend of Kentucky bourbon, Angostura bitters and rich, molasses-deep brown sugar. It does everything an Old Fashioned should, channelling that sultry, old-Hollywood glamour we like to imagine, undoubtedly erroneously, we radiate come cocktail hour. Just stir over ice, add an orange twist, and consider your inner Joan Crawford well and truly awakened.
Moth Spicy Margarita, £26 (for 8 cans)
Another pre-mixed cocktail colossus, another brand formed by two childhood pals during lockdown. Rob Wallis and Sam Hunt launched the B-Corp MOTH in 2021, distinguished on this list for coming in cans (very stylish ones at that), their mission to make bar-level cocktails in a handy format that are perfect for any style of cocktail hour, whether for a pitstop on a wintry walk, on a cross-country train to relatives, or huddled fireside. This season, we’re reaching for the Spiced Margarita: a bold, citrus-bright cocktail with a subtle warmth that feels tailor-made for festive sipping.
Satan’s Whiskers Champagne Paloma, £34.50
Satan’s Whiskers – the effortlessly cool Bethnal Green bar — comes courtesy of Kevin Armstrong, Damian Benjamin and Fraser Chapman, a trio whose credentials span London icons from The Player and Milk & Honey to Trailer Happiness. Since opening in 2013, it’s become a byword for serious cocktail craft and laid-back style, so it’s little surprise that its pre-bottled range delivers the same magic. For the festive season, the Champagne Paloma is an instant classic — bright, effervescent and unapologetically celebratory. Because really, what could be more fitting than bubbles and tequila in one perfectly balanced glass?
