The Glenlivet Distillery has been in operation for 199 years and counting and ranks as one of the best-selling Scotch brands in the world. The Speyside label has long been associated with quality, its core range consisting exclusively of single malts at least a dozen years old. It's not the type of brand that comes to mind when thinking of ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs), but today The Glenlivet is unveiling its very own bottled cocktail — with a twist (literally).
The Glenlivet Twist & Mix cocktails aren't your typical RTDs. For one, they're sold in 375-ml bottles that are meant to serve eight — no canned cocktails here. But that's not the revolutionary bit. The Glenlivet has engineered a special cap that contains all of the mixer ingredients for the cocktail. The bottle itself contains only Glenlivet single malt Scotch, and it's not until you actually open the bottle that a cocktail is created. As soon as you twist the cap, cocktail ingredients literally blast from the cap into the Scotch below, instantly creating a fresh cocktail for you to serve.
"Along with our mission to break conventions and redefine the single malt Scotch whisky category comes our passion for inspiring consumers to enjoy single malt in unconventional ways," The Glenlivet's brand director Edwina Howie tells Gear Patrol. "The Glenlivet Twist & Mix cocktails offer a new way to enjoy scotch, elevating at-home entertaining. All it takes is a simple twist of the cap to experience a new way to enjoy the quality and style The Glenlivet is renowned for in an exciting and delicious way."
At launch, The Glenlivet's Twist & Mix cocktails come in two flavors: Old Fashioned, with notes of orange, cinnamon and nutmeg, and New Manhattan, with flavors of cherry and ginger. While those drinks are traditionally made with rye whiskey, or sometimes bourbon, they're arguably the two best-known whiskey cocktails in existence and mark a logical entry point into the bottled cocktail space for The Glenlivet. Each retails for just $21, which is quite a bargain for eight premium cocktails made with single malt Scotch ... I'll take one of each.