If there is one thing most of us can agree on, it’s that it was a rough 2020. With what seems to be the never-ending covid-19 pandemic, a lot of us had to face the harsh reality of losing their jobs while doing our best to keep sane in the various waves of social isolation. And with restaurants closed for indoor dining, we all had to pivot with how we interacted with food. Many of us (including me) started a baking frenzy at home and raided the grocery aisles by buying out all the flour. Others dived into the world of online grocery shopping and/or subscribed to meal-kit delivery services so we could do our part to socially distance at home.
One Toronto woman who had a roller-coaster type of year in 2020 because of the pandemic was Iksheeta Shah. She was one of the unlucky ones who lost their job due to covid, and for months wasn’t exactly sure what was going to happen next in her foreseeable future. With restaurants closed and spare time now on her hands, Iksheeta along with her partner found themselves creating gourmet restaurant-quality meals and experiences at home just to bring some form of normalcy back into their lives.
Making the meals wasn’t the hard part for Iksheeta and her partner, but like every memorable meal at your favourite restaurant having a cocktail to accompany your dinner is just as crucial to the food itself. And that was the restaurant magic Iksheeta was trying to re-create at home, but quickly realized that sourcing all the necessary cocktail ingredients was much harder than anticipated. Many hours were spent on Google to find the right suppliers as a lot of the ingredients were not found at grocery stores like bitters and syrups. However, even when you are able to find them, she quickly realized that you only need a few table spoons of it, and you just end up having a huge bottle tucked away in your kitchen cabinet that is never fully used.
Successful meal kit companies like Hello Fresh and GoodFood have flourished during the pandemic with their pre-portioned ingredients and recipes delivered to their subscriber’s doors on a weekly basis. Consumers just absolutely love the convenience these companies bring to us when it comes to meal time, and has changed the landscape of the food industry in a huge way. Iksheeta soon realized that there was an untapped market and a huge opportunity here for cocktail enthusiasts, because these large meal-kit delivery companies currently do not offer cocktails in their kits. And with that realization, Shaken and Stirred was born!
In October 2020, Iksheeta launched Shaken and Stirred which is a cocktail kit company that sources and delivers all the required ingredients to make 4 to 6 drinks per kit right to your door! Each kit comes with a carefully curated recipe card to make the process of creating your cocktails at home as easy and seamless as possible with ingredients like bitters, syrups, shrubs, mixes, garnishes, and fresh produce neatly packed inside the box.
One thing to keep in mind is that alcohol is not included in these kits due to legal reasons. A recommended spirit will always be included in their recipe card, but you can always feel free to crack open a bottle you already have at home. Since everyone also has their own preferred brand of booze, not including alcohol and keeping the cost of the kit lower because of it is actually a good thing in my opinion.
Though most of us probably have a few bottles of alcohol lying around at home already, barware may be a different story. One of my favourite aspects of Shaken and Stirred is how you’re able to purchase any barware you may be missing at home directly off of their website, and they’ll ship it together with your cocktail ingredients. Barware you’re able to purchase includes items like a stainless steel jigger, cocktail pins, cocktail muddler, bar spoon, and a premium 3-piece cocktail shaker. Other optional items you can purchase in addition to your cocktail kit are bar snacks like chips, nuts, and popcorn, along with VISA and LCBO gift cards.
The customized cocktail kit I received was for the Screaming Bloody Orange, a perfect Winter cocktail bursting with rich citrus flavours from the blood orange juice, and then perfectly balanced with the earthy and floral notes of thyme. The recommended spirit for this cocktail was bourbon, and the recommended glassware is a lowball glass. Lucky for me I had both at home already so I had that covered, but I did have a few pieces of barware missing. As mentioned before, these barware items can easily be added inside any cocktail kit so my box also came with the premium 3-piece cocktail shaker, barspoon, and jigger to make my cocktail making experience at home complete.
After following the extremely simple instructions on the recipe card, the Screaming Bloody Orange cocktail turned out absolutely amazing. My experience with making restaurant quality cocktails is extremely limited, yet I felt like a seasoned professional after following its very simple instructions. Having all the ingredients at your finger tips is a game-changer, and literally within a few minutes I had a delicious cocktail in my hands. It’s safe to say I’m definitely going to keep the recipe card handy for when the time comes when I have guests come over to visit.
Another great thing about Shaken and Stirred is that they also offer white glove service meaning you can also ask them to fully customize their cocktail kits for a specific event or occasion such as Holiday related cocktails, 70s themed, or even having a specific cocktail named after someone for a goodbye party for instance. The possibilities are endless and you’ll be able to work directly with Iksheeta to craft your very own personalized cocktail experience.
If there’s one thing we can probably all agree on is that drinking by yourself is not as fun as compared to drinking with others. That’s why Shaken and Stirred also specializes in hosting fun and engaging parties and corporate events, where they partner with some of Canada’s most beloved bartenders to host classes and interactive group sessions. With the pandemic still in full swing, these interactive events are all done virtually where the cocktail kits are delivered to the participant’s home directly 2 to 3 days prior to the start of the event. The virtual event can be held virtually on platforms like Zoom or Google Meet where the bartender can demonstrate how to make that perfect cocktail, answer questions, and may even perform a trick or two. It’s quite the show!
With new cocktail recipes out each season, Shaken and Stirred is carving out its own path in the cocktail industry and pioneering a brand new way on how we can re-create our favourite alcoholic drinks at home. Some of the best and most creative ideas are born out of the most unexpected moments. Shaken and Stirred is truly a beautiful success story of turning a bad situation into something positive. When life gives you lemons, make a cocktail! And that is something I can drink to. Cheers everyone!
