Cocktail kits: have you ever given or gotten one?

[Gifted Gourmet]

I have seen these advertised as gifts for hosts and hostesses and began to wonder what people here at eG actually think about them ..

are they silly or practical?

Insulting?

Simply quick and uncomplicated?

Your opinions?

Which are the best? the worst of the kits?

Martini kit

Cosmopolitan kit

Snakebite Bloody Mary kit

Margarita kit

[slkinsey]

Personally, I don't think I'd want one of these and I wouldn't give one.

Far better, I think, to give make something up yourself. You want to give someone a "Martini kit?" Pick up small bottles of Tanqueray and Noilly Pratt, maybe a little jar of olives, find a cool mixing glass and a Hawthorne strainer, and put it together with The Martini Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide by Gary & Mardee Regan.

Or, if you want to make a more general "cocktail kit" there are other books you could use, etc.

[JAZ]

I wouldn't give any of them, but of the four, I think the martini one is the best choice, primarily because it (by necessity) contains no premade mixes. If someone gave it to me, at least I'd have a jar of onions and olives (although I don't use either in my martinis) and a CD that might have some decent music. If someone gave me a kit containing any kind of premade mix, I'd smile politely and toss it the minute the guest left.

I agree with Sam that making a "kit" from ingredients and equipment you choose yourself can be fun.

[ludja]

During a trip to New Orleans I picked up some extra Herbsaint and also Peychaud's Bitters. Along with some Bourbon or Rye and a recipe these became "Sazerac kits" for a few friends.

So, I like the idea of putting together a kit but wouldn't buy a pre-made one.

[Liz Johnson]

Agreed. Put it together yourself! I just got someone a rum, limes, hand-press juicer, a muddler, a shaker and a strainer for making mojitos. I wrote out my own recipe. I think he quite liked the gift!

[winesonoma]

I have an aluminum case that holds 4 martini glasses, a shaker,orange bitters, a small vermouth, onions and olives and a bottle of Gin. Add ice and off we go, it lives in my truck.

[LEdlund]

When some friends bought a house with a large front porch, I made them a mint julep kit with cups, mint seeds, bourbon etc. It was a blast to put together!

[Varmint]

I wouldn't want one of those, but I'd be very happy if I received a basic bartenders' kit, with a good shaker, jigger, strainer and the other basics. But the commercial stuff above is pretty silly.

[Gifted Gourmet]

It appears that the overwhelming answer to my inital question is "do it yourself" because one can be more creative in putting together the gift kit .. and more selective in what is included in the kit ...