The big new trend in home cocktailing? Powdered cocktail mixers that give you a true “just add booze” method to cocktail crafting. Taking a cue from the Crystal Light model, Minute Mixology comes in a box of single-serve packets designed to dispensed directly into a glass, with the addition of the appropriate liquor, ice, and water (or soda water, in the case of the mojito).

Can a powder provide a credible shortcut to a “craft cocktail?” Is it even appropriate, say, for mixing drinks on a plane? (Spoiler: No!)

We tried concocting cocktails by mixing up all three of Minute Mixology’s products according to instructions, using premium spirits for the backbone. Thoughts follow.

Minute Mixology Margarita – Largely undrinkable, this is comes across like a margarita in Kool-Aid form, chalky and overwhelming with pungent fake lime flavors and saccharine sweetness. This chemical note manages even to mask the tequila in the mix, which may be good or bad, depending on your evening. D-

Minute Mixology Coconut Mojito – Better than I expected, this is a pina colada-lite beverage that effectively masks that funky lime (and barely-there mint) note from the margarita with a decent coconut kick. While it’s hardly an elevated cocktail, thin and more than a little boring, the cloudy beverage might work well enough poolside, mixed on the fly in a plastic water bottle when your server has gone missing. C

Minute Mixology Spiced Old Fashioned – This one’s different because it’s a short drink, requiring just a splash of water alongside two ounces of bourbon. There’s simply not enough liquid to dissolve this heaping mass of sugar, which ends up making the finished drink extremely chalky and granular. While the promised flavors of orange peel and spicy black cherry notes do indeed make themselves known, there’s so much gunk in the glass — plus a powerful chemical note that percolates out of it — that it’s impossible to actually enjoy. F

each $14 per box of eight packets

Minute Mixology Spiced Old Fashioned

$14

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