Today’s sponsored post is very exciting because the product, ZMIX, was developed by college friends of mine. ZMIX is a low-calorie cocktail mix that aims to be a convenient, one-shot flavoring that can be added to a variety of alcoholic beverages to create an instant cocktail. I love seeing my friends with entrepreneurial spirit put themselves out there and really make a go of it. When one of you hits it big, I can say I knew you back when. In other words, I’m a parasitic famewhore.
I mixed several cocktails over the last few weeks using ZMIX — hey, it’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it. The clear standout was this very easy-t0-stir spiked Arnold Palmer made of Firefly sweet tea vodka, a squirt of ZMIX lemon drop and splashes of club soda and a mint garnish. More on that later.
ZMIX comes in three pocket-sized flavors: Cosmo, Lemon Drop and Purple Hooter. When I first opened the package, I was really surprised to see that each of the three bottles comes in a tiny, 1.62 ounce-sized squeeze bottle. Each bottle contains enough concentrated squirts of cocktail mix to flavor up to 24 beverages. It’s small enough to fit in a back jeans pocket, although I wouldn’t recommend it. I would imagine that a forgotten pocket of tiny yet extremely concentrated purple stuff unexpectedly bursting can wreak havoc on upholstery. The size definitely plays into ZMIX’s strongest selling point, which is that it serves as an all-in-one, take-it-with-you cocktail mix solution. Plus, the fact that it’s zero-calorie is a strong selling point to those watching their waistlines.
The first flavor I tried of the three was the Purple Hooter flavor in a black raspberry mojito recipe posted on ZMIX’s website. Unfortunately, the mint and the soda wasn’t enough to mask the strongly artificial saccharin permeating throughout the beverage, but I liked the zippy purple coloring. Immediately I knew who ZMIX would be perfect for. I thought back to my college days. I had a tiny purse back then, one that could only logically be carried by a twenty-something with not a care in the world (on the other hand, my purse these days could carry an entire rotisserie chicken, a pint of hummus and picnic place settings for no less than six people). My tiny purse was meant only for the essentials: cell phone, wallet, keys and peanut butter crackers in a Ziploc to prevent irrational hunger. Had ZMIX existed back then, I’m sure I could’ve found room for a bottle. One never knows when one might be called upon to serve as an impromptu bartender. Or something like that.
After a few weeks of mixing and re-mixing beverages using ZMIX (again, world, I’m here to serve you and make our lives a better place — you’re welcome), I arrived at my hands-down favorite: the spiked Arnold Palmer. The original Arnold Palmer is an iced tea mixed with lemonade, one that the famed golfer used to order regularly. When experimenting with ZMIX cocktail recipes, I didn’t want to add too many steps to detract from the simplicity and convenience of ZMIX, which are its two strongest selling points. This spiked Arnold Palmer is a beautifully simple drink that gets a nice, sweet boost of citrus flavor from ZMIX without adding complicated steps. Making fresh lemonade to add to a spiked Arnold Palmer is a laborious and sugar-laden task, but all I had to do with ZMIX is add a healthy squirt for just enough sweet pucker to flavor my Firefly sweet tea vodka. With a few leaves of fresh mint as a garnish, the drink transported me to a hot, sticky summer day spent on a side porch in Charleston. I could see myself in a sundress, my legs dangling from a creaky swing while sipping my boozy Arnold Palmer and spinning yarns with my friends.
Thankfully, with the zero added calories of ZMIX, my legs should be less chunky. I say should because, you know, a healthy diet and exercise and all that should probably account for most of the chunk reduction.
I JUST DON’T WANT TO.
ZMIX SPIKED ARNOLD PALMER
PREP TIME
TOTAL TIME
Serves: 1
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 ounces Firefly sweet tea vodka (one shot)
- crushed ice
- 1 squirt ZMIX Lemon Drop zero calorie cocktail mix
- club soda
- minced fresh mint leaves, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a double old-fashioned glass halfway with ice. Pour Firefly sweet tea vodka over ice.
- Add 1 small squirt of ZMIX Lemon Drop cocktail mix.
- Top glass with club soda and garnish with fresh mint.
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