Help a clueless person with alcohol please!

[fuzzpig]

I virtually never drink. Mostly as I'm fussy and don't like most of it.

But I really love some cocktails and like some spirits: Malibu, archers, blue curaçao and midori.

So my first question is - can you get small bottles of these anywhere? In supermarkets I can only find huge litre bottles which I'd never get through.

My other question - can you recommend any fancy beers/ciders that you can buy singly, I'm putting a treats hamper together for my dad.

I'm afraid you'll find it difficult to get small bottles of the spirits you've listed, unless you go to some weird specialist supplier, like the people who do airlines and hotel mini bars. May well cost an arm and a leg, or the minimum order will be so big you might as well just have bought one bottle in the supermarket.

As for the posh beers/ciders, Waitrose usually have a good selection, and I think I noticed some were on promotion.

Newsagent/corner shops tend to be the only place you can get miniatures these days.

Beers and ciders as gifts - I let DC pick them, they choose ones with nice labels and/or funny names. Which is exactly what I would do too being fair, but it is nice to say that the kids chose them.

Ah right fair enough. I suppose I'll have to work my way through bigger bottles then - at least we will have some visitors who will probably appreciate a cocktail or two.

Thanks for replies - will have a look in a newsagents if I can find any (it's all Co-Op round here) but if not I'll just get the bigger ones :)

Lay in a bunch of the big bottles and they'll last you forever. I still mix martinis with vodka I bought in my teens and vermouth my parents bought in the '80s.

Amazon appear to do huge numbers of these - I'd search on sets, though, or you'll be clobbered on postage. \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_24?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=alcoholic+miniatures+sets&sprefix=alcoholic+miniatures+set%2Caps%2C334&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aalcoholic+miniatures+sets\Here's} a sample.

I never thought of amazon thanks! :)

Me neither, actually. I just happened to look! (I might actually buy some later.)