£8 Ryanair cocktail leaves man stunned

An in-flight cocktail ruffled a holidaymaker’s feathers back in 2024, despite it being “delish” in the end.

The passenger, Marty Guilfoyle from Dublin, was thrilled to see a cocktail by the name of a ‘Dublin Lemonade’ whilst flying with Ryanair, and promptly ordered one to help see him through the flight.

He said the budget airline’s new cocktail range had been a particular point of excitement for the journey.

For £8 each, he ordered two cocktails consisting of Jameson Irish Whisky, Sprite, and sparkling water and sat back expectantly for the booze to arrive.

Marty enjoying his cocktail - @martyguilfoyle via Instagram

The promotional images naturally made the cocktails look more glamorous than would be reasonable to expect on a budget flight, with the drinks looking like something you’d get served at a high-end bar.

When they arrived, however, Marty was shocked to find he had to put the cocktails together himself.

The deconstructed cocktails came as two bottles of sparkling water, two small bottles of whisky, a can of Sprite, two plastic cups, and an ice cube for each drink.

It hardly sounds like a big effort to crack everything open and pour the cocktails out, but Marty and his companion were nevertheless stunned by the unexpected labour.

"Come with me to make a cocktail on board a Ryanair flight,” Marty said in an Instagram video. “It’s the first time I've heard of a Dublin Lemonade and, tbh, it’s delish."

The video showed the mixing process, which turned out to be as straightforward as you’d expect.

"When I saw the news that Ryanair was now serving cocktails onboard it got me extra excited for a family trip this week,” he said. “There's the ingredients, go on there and make it yourself.

"I thought they might have been pre-made from a can, but I definitely didn't think you'd have to make it yourself.”

The post drew all manner of reactions on the social media platform.

One said they had also partaken in Ryanair’s cocktail range: "They're sh**e. Got a Caribbean one. All excited. They arrived with Fanta and vodka."

"Unreal, they’ve no shame at all," said another.

"Hahahahaha no surprise there," a third chimed-in, while another said: "Oh the glamour!"

A lack of surprise was the order of the day: "No this is so iconic and of course we couldn't expect anything less."

Other Ryanair cocktails include the ‘Fruit Snack’, composed of Bombay Sapphire gin, Sprite Zero and a Capri-Sun; a 'Rose Spritz' containing rosé and Sprite Zero; and the 'Flying Iced Tea' of Bombay Sapphire gin, Absolut vodka and Coca-Cola.

Ryanair wears its budget approach on its sleeve - ewg3D via Getty Images

When the range launched, Jade Kirwa, Head of Comms at Ryanair, said: "Summer is finally here, and what better way to kickstart your summer holiday than with a delicious cocktail from Ryanair’s new in-flight cocktail menu?

"Adding to our already extensive range of in-flight food and beverage options, our new cocktail range offers a selection of seven ready-to-drink cocktails from Flying Iced Tea to French 75 to Rose Spritz and more."

When you’re on a cheap, short-haul flight, expectations should of course be tempered by the fact you didn’t cough up much for the ticket.

All things considered, those cocktails don't sound too bad.