Pre-mixing liquor -- any downsides?

Question

I love Long Islands. In fact, all I make are Long Islands. Yet every time I make one, I have to independently mix the four liquors I use: Vodka, Tequila, Gin, and Rum. (plus I add lemon juice and splenda)

It seems to me it would be easier for me if I could pour all four bottles into one container and just pour my drinks out of that. (and store this container in the fridge indefinitely until ready for use) That way I don't have to worry about proportion (since I always mix them equally anyway). Is there any downside to doing this (aside from the obvious downside that I can no longer pour any other mixture)?

Answer 1

There should not be any problems with mixing alcohol as long as you don't introduce organics. I would suggest mixing the alcohols and leaving the lemon juice and splenda out until you pour a drink. Keeping alcohol cool and in a dark place. As for indefinitely, no. The amount of time it stays good is dependent on the amount of air in the bottle. Glass is always preferred if possible.

Answer 2

The only thing that typically needs to be dealt with in pre-made cocktails is the ice.

When making a cocktail fresh, you are normally using room-temperature liquors, and then adding ice. The ice will not only cool the drink but, in the process, some will melt and dilute the drink to the expected level.

If, on the other hand, you are mixing your liquors in advance, and refrigerating that, adding ice will not have the same effect. As the drink is already cold, the ice will not melt as readily and you will have a much stronger drink. Typical recipes for make-ahead cocktails recommend adding water to compensate. More on the subject here, but you should shoot for a 1:3 ratio of water to liquor, or, in other words, about 25% of your final product should be water.