Saturday night, a gathering of friends at home, and everyone wants something different to drink. Someone suggests a cocktail, but the limitations are obvious: fruit must be bought, cut up, mixed in a blender — the whole ritual with the ensuing mess. This is why it has become usual to use powdered soft drinks to make shakes and cocktails.

This new idea may seem strange to anyone who has never tried a cocktail made with powdered soft drinks. But bartender Ms. Patricia Romanatti explains that the recipe is perfectly possible, provided the soft drink is prepared before making the cocktail. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks can be prepared.

We are watching this new way of using powdered soft drinks. ‘As our soft drinks are made with actual fruit-pulp, cocktails don’t lose taste, but they are definitely much more practical’, explains Mr. Rodrigo Albanese, Brassuco’s development manager. Another advantage of powdered soft drinks over actual fruit, he says, is that many people like to mix flavours, as in Brassuco’s Orange with Mango, which keeps costs down. ‘People can save a lot of money by buying powdered soft drink mixes, instead of buying the different fruits. Additionally, all the fruit flavours are readily available at the supermarket, independently to whether the fruit itself is in season or not.

Ms. Romanatti, the bartender, has another tip to share. People who want to keep fit but not give up cocktails can use the diet versions of powdered soft drinks. ‘In our case, we have Teen Diet, which yields 1 litre and contains less than 25 calories. That works out at about six calories per glass’, explains Mr. Albanese.

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