Dry January: Caleño Cocktails Review and Recipes*

So what are these drinks, I hear you say? We were sent a Caleño Sippers Collection Cocktail Kit! Caleño has been developed by Ellie and her families homeland of Colombia. She wanted to bring the fun to not drinking, and in the same way that you get excited to crack open your gin, she wanted that feeling to be transported to her flavourful non-alcoholic alternatives.

Ginger Kick 

Place it in a coupe glass with a large ice cube or a handful of small cubes, and then all in the Dark & Spicy and the juices, mix well and then top with Ginger Beer.

About the  Caleño kit and how each of the cocktail tasted

Within the kit sent to us by Caleño, we received a small 20cl bottle of Light & Zesty, a 20cl bottle of Dark & Spicy, a 60ml bottle of Agave Syrup, Ginger Cordial and Sugar Syrup, a 10ml bottle of Foaming Bitters and a 250ml bottle of Pineapple juice, plus a recipe car for three cocktails, all of which you have all the ingredients for within the kit. As far as I can see this kit isn’t available a the moment on their website, so I will also add on a couple of recipes for cocktails you could make at home with things you more than likely have.

I invited my friends over for Friends Friday, something we have been doing for years before lockdown, and we have only started back up again recently. I sat us all down, and we all had a look at which cocktail we’d like to make from the recipe card. We then each stated to follow the instructions and make them. It was really fun to do and something we said we could see being fun at a baby shower, where you’d perhaps want non-alcoholic drinks to feature, or like we did as an afternoon get together, where you want to be able to collect the kids whilst still sober!!

The recipes were easy to follow and made three fabulous drinks, the first one being, a Caleño Collins, which is best served in a highball, or tall glass, and is light and lemony and the perfectly sip’able start to the evening. Secondly and a slightly fiery version to the first drink, this blends the Dark & Spicy, with the warming of ginger cordial and the sweetness of the pineapple juice. Finally, the third drink is a Medellin Mule, also using the Dark & Spicy, but this time accompanied with Foaming Bitters, adding a twist to the zesty fiery ginger, and making for a shorter drink, really packing a punch.

All three of us preferred the Dark & Spicy cocktails the most. We felt this had the fullest flavour of the two spirits. The Light & Zesty tasted great but not quite as flavourful. However, the Light & Zesty still made for a refreshing drink, and like I mentioned early is the perfect drink as a start for an evening. The Dark & Spicy seemed to work well with the zesty fruit and ginger and was adaptable to strong flavoured mixers, whereas the Light & Zesty, was easier to mix with other lighter flavours.

If you want to alternative, in general and not solely for Dry January, then be sure to check out Caleño, as they have managed to create a drink that you’d want to take with you on a night out and with the plethora or cocktails recipes they have on their site, you can ensure that you won’t ever be drinking the same one twice in one night. See below for one of my easy to make at home cocktail alternatives to the ones we were sent (which might be harder to locate the ingredients to).

Lemon, Lime, Fresh & Zesty!

50ml of Light & Zesty
10ml of lemon juice
10ml of Lime juice
Topped with cloudy apple juice

Pour all the ingredients into a high ball glass filled with ice – use a stirrer to mix it all together and enjoy.

Ginger Kick 

50ml of Dark & Spicy
20ml of lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best)
20ml of orange juice (freshly squeezed if possible)
Topped with Ginger Beer

Place it in a coupe glass with a large ice cube or a handful of small cubes, and then all in the Dark & Spicy and the juices, mix well and then top with Ginger beer.

These are easy alternatives to the drinks we were sent the ingredients to, which I have struggled to locate again, although, I am sure it would be possible to make a sugar syrup and to also make a version of the ginger cordial.

Where can you buy your Caleño? 

You can get them directly from the website here, or at Waitrose, Amazon, Sainsburys, and Ocado.

How much is a bottle of Caleño?

Each 50cl bottle (which is 3/5 larger than the ones we were sent) is priced at £18, you will get 10 drinks from each bottle with a 50ml measure.

About Caleño 

Created by Ellie, who out of personal frustration decided to create some Latin inspired alcohol free drinks that she would feel happy sipping through a night out with friends.

The limited amount of adult alcohol free drinks makes it hard when trying to enjoy evenings with friends, who sit with their lavish cocktails, so Ellie, thought what better way to combat this than to create her own and using the flavours from her heritage, has created Caleño.

Caleño is fun and fruity beverage and is inspired by the flavours you get from gin and spiced rum. Her two bottles are aptly called Light & Zesty, Dark & Spicy, and can be enjoyed with your usual spritzers, such as tonic water, or cola, or can be made into fabulous cocktails, using fruit juices and bitters/aromas.

So, if you fancy some Latin funk and want it free of a horrid hangover, then be sure to try Caleño…

Review by: Lex Ward

You may also want to read this:

Review: Everleaf, a Non-alcoholic Bittersweet Aperitif

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