Metropolitan Ready-Made Martinis

Bill Dowd photo

Anyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention to the adult beverage industry knows the RTD niche -- ready to drink -- keeps growing. However, the expansion usually comes in flavored versions of existing drinks, or ready-made cocktails with lots of fruit flavors. Here's one that breaks the mold, from Mystique Brands LLC in Brooklyn, NY.

• Metropolitan Vodka Martinis

Talk about convenience. If you're planning on hosting a backyard cocktail party when the weather cooperates, what more could you want than a ready-made martini you can simply chill ahead of time, then peel off the cover and serve?

The cocktail is from the Metropolitan Martini Co., which launched its first RTDs back in 2006 in four flavors -- green apple, chocolate, cosmopolitan, and this one, the vodka martini.

They come in individual plastic martini glasses with peel-off covers -- which can be customized for you, your business or other organization. The vodka martini is a 60-proof drink; the others are 40 proof. The manufacturer packages them in two-martini tubes or cases of 24, which some shops are selling separately. They're made in Israel and distributed through Southern Wine & Spirits of America.

Oh, the taste?

I had dutifully chilled a couple of the RTDs as suggested by the maker. So, I peeled off the cover and stick-on label of one, and sipped.

Hot, rough-edged, utterly dreadful stuff. But, you get what you pay for. If your cookout guests aren't too picky maybe you can get away with it if the BBQ sauce is spicy enough.

Suggested retail price: $1.49 per cocktail.

Go to Dowd's Spirits Notebook.