Our Rick (who is immune to both the cold and to criticism), puts sparkling wine cocktail brand Ibiza Ice’s premise/promise of ‘every day is a holiday‘ to the test. In his back garden. In winter. In flip flops.
Does he succeed? We’re still not sure!
Rating
Price
£2.49 in retailers and £3.50 in bars
In a Nutshell
Fruity clubland Alcopop cocktails with half the calories of wine.
Ibiza Ice is available in two flavours, ‘White Isle’ (lychee, melon, and lime, 44.4 calories per 100ml)and ‘Sunset’ (pomegranate, 42.2 calories per 100ml).
Both contain 5.5% alcohol and are lower in calories than champagne, wine and cider.
Hyperthermia. A tale of Ibiza Ice in middle of February
Rick: Ibiza Ice’s slogan has dutifully informed me that ‘every day is a holiday’. That’s fantastic news!
This is why I’ve decided to sit in the garden one frostbitten February morning sampling their sparkling fruit wine cocktail.
Yes I’m literately ‘chilling out’ at a mucky garden table cover in dead spiders, a layer of …not Ibizan but Croydonian ice and other garden detritus – and freezing my Squirrel Nuttkins off.
Oh it might be the height of winter, when all the tramps are screaming but that hasn’t deterred me, not one bit. So I’m decked out in Bermuda shorts and flip flops ready to sample the delights of summertime…
We Drink It, Stuff Happens
The first thing you’ll notice with these drinks is the unusual opening mechanism in the bottle caps.
They lift straight off with handy built in ring pulls. Gone are the days of hunting round for a bottle opener, a rugby player’s teeth, or a lighter, if that’s how you choose to live your life.
The aluminium bottles have also been purposefully designed to stay cool for longer. Just what I need!
I’ve got myself nice and comfy with the Ibiza Ice sunset – a sparkling pomegranate cocktail…
Sunset is incredibly light and fruity in all its decant pomegranate vibrancy. This would go down incredibly well at a summer music festival or and exotic beach resort like the one I’m currently residing at.
The bottles are lightweight and as they are not made of glass, which means they won’t shatter if you take a squiffy tumble on the dance floor or attack a security guard.
Next to sample is the the White Isle...
Yes, it’s cool, its sexy. Its sophisticated. So I decide to saunter on down to a more appropriate location. The pond. Armbands and all.
[Ed: REVIEW INTENSIFIES]
As I paddle knee deep, to the frozen island of reeds and stranded bemused toads in the center of the icy death trap, I’m getting a medley of fruit blasts, I’m getting zest, I’m getting refreshed, I’m getting hints of pneumonia and all in the best possible way…
Nose
Carbonated fruity fizz
Palate
Thirst quenching fruit with thirst quenching Vodka [Ed: lol]
Finish
“More please”
The Verdict
It’s different from many of the fruit based cocktail variants I have seen before. Owing to the diverse ingredients Ibiza Ice have flavoured their product with.
A refreshing mix of sparkling wine, Lychee and Melon with a twist of lime shaken in for good measure and pretty damn… exotic in all its Mediterranean zeal.
So much so that if I just close my eyes really really tight I really could be on holiday.