Madri Excepcional Lager Gift Set Review: pub-standard beer and glasses in not-so-gifty packaging

I picked up this “2 x Madri Excepcional Lager Limited Edition Branded Pint Glass with 2 x Madri Excepcional Lager 568ml Pint cans” set because I wanted something simple: a couple of decent beers and proper pint glasses, ideally good enough to give as a present. On paper, it ticks all the boxes: two pint cans, two branded pint glasses, around 4.6% ABV lager, and a Spanish/UK collab story. In reality, it feels more like a practical buy for yourself than a ready-made gift.

From the start, the impression is pretty clear: this is basically supermarket Madri plus standard pub-style glasses thrown together by Signature Drinks. Nothing wrong with that if you like Madri and just want the matching glasses. But if you expect some fancy gift presentation, you’ll be disappointed. The Amazon review saying “don’t buy for a present” is fair. The way it arrives is more functional than festive.

I used it over a couple of evenings: one night just the cans and glasses at home with a takeaway, another night with friends watching football. That gave me enough time to judge the beer, the feel of the glasses, and the overall value. You’re essentially paying for convenience and branding, not some rare or special edition lager.

Overall, my first impression is: solid everyday lager, decent pub-style glasses, weak as a ready-made gift. If you’re thinking of treating yourself and you already know you like Madri, it does the job. If you’re hunting for a birthday present that looks impressive out of the box, this is not it unless you repackage it yourself.

On the beer itself, if you’ve had Madri before, there are no surprises: it tastes like standard, easy-drinking lager. It pours a light golden colour with a decent head if you chill it properly and pour into the glass at an angle. The aroma is pretty mild – you get that usual grainy/malty smell with a bit of sweetness. Nothing strong, nothing weird. It smells like regular European lager you’d get on tap in a pub.

The taste is straightforward: a bit of malt sweetness at the start, then a mild bitterness at the end. It’s not heavy, not too gassy if you pour it into the glass instead of drinking straight from the can. At 4.6% ABV, it’s in that comfortable zone where you can have a couple without feeling wiped out. I drank one with a pizza and another time with chips and chicken, and it worked fine with both. It’s the kind of beer you drink without thinking too hard about it, which can be a good thing if you just want something simple.

If you’re into craft beers or very hoppy IPAs, this will probably feel a bit boring. It doesn’t have big flavours or complexity; it’s more like a clean, slightly sweet lager that’s made to please a wide audience. Personally, I’d rate the taste as decent, pub-level. I’ve had better lagers, I’ve had worse. It’s the sort of beer that’s ideal for barbecues or football nights where you care more about the moment than analysing what’s in your glass.

So, taste-wise: nothing special, but perfectly drinkable. If you already know you like Madri on draught, you’ll be happy with these cans. If you were hoping for some special edition or stronger character because it’s in a gift set, that’s not what this is. It’s just standard Madri in pint cans, which is fine as long as your expectations are realistic.

On value, it really depends on why you’re buying this. If you already like Madri and you want a couple of branded pint glasses for home, this set is fairly reasonable. You’re basically paying for two pint cans plus two pub-standard branded glasses in one go. If you compare it to buying two pints in a bar, you’re obviously saving money, and you get to keep the glasses. In that sense, it’s a practical little bundle.

Where the value drops is if you’re thinking of it as a polished gift. Because the packaging is so basic, you don’t get that “wow” factor when it’s opened. You’ll likely spend a bit more on a gift bag, tissue paper, or a nicer box if you care about presentation. At that point, you might ask yourself if it wouldn’t be cheaper just to buy a couple of individual Madri glasses and a few cans from the supermarket and build your own set. The end result would be similar, and you’d control how it looks.

For what you actually get – 1136 ml of lager and two glasses – I’d call the value decent but not amazing. You’re paying partly for convenience and branding. If the price is close to what two branded glasses plus two cans would cost separately, then it’s fine. If it’s significantly higher, then it starts to feel a bit like you’re paying extra just because they put the word “gift” in the title without improving the presentation.

So overall: good value if you just want the beer and glasses for yourself, average value as a gift set. I don’t feel ripped off, but I also don’t feel like I’ve found some bargain. It’s one of those purchases that “gets the job done” without feeling particularly special in terms of price or extras.

The main interest in this set, for me, is the branded pint glasses. If you drink Madri regularly in pubs and like the look of their glasses, this set basically lets you bring that home. The design is exactly what you’d expect from a standard branded pint glass: tall, straight-ish profile, clear glass, branding printed on the side. No quirky shapes or heavy bases, just typical pub glassware.

The branding itself looks clean. The logo print on both glasses I got was sharp, with no smudges or faded areas. After a few washes (hand wash and one dishwasher run), the print still looked intact, which is good. I can’t say how it will hold up after months, but so far it behaves like other pub-branded glasses I’ve collected over the years. It doesn’t feel premium or collector-level, but it doesn’t feel cheap either. Just standard bar quality.

In the hand, the glasses feel fairly light, not those thick, heavy pints you sometimes get. That’s neither good nor bad; it just depends what you like. They’re comfortable to hold, and the size is a proper pint (568 ml), so the can fills the glass nicely with a bit of head. If you like that classic “beer in a branded pint” look while you watch TV or have a barbecue, these do the job with no fuss.

Overall, design-wise, I’d say: pub-standard look, decent print, nothing particularly original. If you’re buying this for some special limited-edition glass design, you’ll be underwhelmed. If you just want a couple of Madri pints that feel like what you get in a bar, they’re spot on. The set delivers what it shows in the photos, just without any extra wow factor.

Material-wise, there’s nothing surprising here. The glasses are regular glass, similar to what you’d get in a pub. They’re not thick crystal or anything fancy, but they don’t feel flimsy either. I’d call them medium weight: light enough to handle easily, but not so thin that you’re scared to wash them. When you tap them lightly, they sound like typical barware, not cheap supermarket promo glasses.

The rims are smooth, no rough edges, and the base is flat and stable enough on the table. I didn’t notice any bubbles or obvious defects in the glass itself. They feel like they could handle everyday use, as long as you’re not throwing them around. I’ve put both through the dishwasher once on a normal cycle; no cracks, no weird marks, and the branding stayed put. Over time, like most printed glasses, the logo will probably fade if you keep dishwashing, but that’s normal.

The cans are just standard 568 ml pint cans, nothing special to mention on materials there. The outer cardboard box is very basic, thin, and clearly designed for transport, not display. It’s enough to protect everything in shipping, and that’s about it. If you plan to keep the glasses long term, you’ll probably just chuck the box after checking everything is intact.

So in short: materials feel solid enough for regular home use. You’re not getting high-end glassware, but you’re also not stuck with super cheap, fragile stuff. For the price and the type of product, the build quality is fine. The only area that feels a bit low effort is the outer packaging material, which is more warehouse-style than gift-style, but the actual glass and cans are what you’d expect.

The packaging deserves its own section because it’s really the weak point if you’re buying this as a present. When it arrives, you get a plain cardboard box with the items inside wrapped for protection. No printed outer design, no inner tray that displays the glasses and cans nicely, nothing you’d want to hand over directly to someone as a finished gift. It feels like a bulk shipping box more than a retail gift box.

From a protective point of view, it’s fine. Both glasses arrived intact, no chips or scratches, and the cans weren’t dented. So in terms of doing the basic job of keeping things safe during delivery, it works. But visually, it’s bland. If you imagine a classic gift set you’d see on a supermarket shelf around Christmas – this is not that. This is more like someone in a warehouse grabbed two glasses and two cans and packed them just to get them to you in one piece.

If you actually want to give this to someone, you basically have two options: either take everything out and repackage it yourself in a nicer box or bag, or accept that it will look like an Amazon order rather than a present. Given the price and the fact it’s advertised as a gift set, that’s a bit disappointing. A simple printed sleeve or branded box wouldn’t have cost much more and would have made a big difference.

So, packaging verdict: safe and functional, but not at all gift-friendly. If you’re buying this for yourself, you won’t care. If your goal is to send a ready-to-gift beer set to a friend or family member, you’ll probably be underwhelmed by how plain it looks when they open it. It’s one of those products where the word “gift” in the title is doing more work than the packaging itself.

In terms of practical performance, the set does what you expect. The cans chill quickly in the fridge, and the lager tastes best when it’s properly cold, around the 4–6°C they recommend. I left one can in the fridge overnight and one for just a couple of hours; the overnight one was noticeably better – crisper and more refreshing. So if you can, plan ahead and give them time to cool down fully.

The glasses work well for pouring a full 568 ml can with a bit of foam on top. The shape helps control the head if you tilt the glass while you pour, then straighten at the end. After a couple of tries, I was getting a nice-looking pint each time. The carbonation holds reasonably well for a session – you can sip it over 20–30 minutes without it going completely flat. That’s exactly what I’d expect from this kind of lager.

On the everyday use side, the glasses handle normal washing and drying fine. I’ve used both a few times now, and there’s no cloudiness or weird marks. They stack okay in a cupboard if you’re careful, though they’re not designed for perfect stacking like some pub glasses. They’re light enough that you don’t feel like you’re lifting a weight every time you take a sip, but they still feel like proper glass, not plastic.

So overall, performance is pretty solid: the beer is easy to drink, the glasses are practical, and the whole set works well for casual drinking at home. There’s nothing special going on, but also no annoying issues like awkward glass shapes or cans that foam up too much. It’s a straightforward, functional combo that does exactly what you buy it for: letting you pour a chilled pint of Madri at home without any hassle.

The biggest letdown here is clearly the presentation. The listing calls it a gift set, so I expected at least some kind of branded outer box or sleeve you could hand over as-is. Instead, it comes in a basic cardboard box with the items individually wrapped. It’s the kind of packaging that protects the contents during delivery, but it doesn’t look like something you’d proudly give to someone without doing extra work.

When I opened it, it felt more like I’d ordered glasses and cans separately, and someone just put them in the same shipping box. No insert, no printed card, no simple design, nothing that screams “gift”. For a product marketed as a birthday or occasion beer set, that’s pretty lazy. The one Amazon review saying they had to find an alternative gift is exactly what I thought: if you want it to look nice, you’ll need to buy a gift box or bag yourself.

On the plus side, the practical side of the packaging is fine. The glasses were well protected, no chips or cracks, and the cans weren’t dented. So in terms of safety, it’s okay. But visually, it’s zero effort. If you’re just ordering this for yourself, you won’t care. If you’re sending it directly to someone as a present, it’s underwhelming when they open it. It looks like a random Amazon order, not a thought-out gift.

So in practice: as a personal buy, the presentation is acceptable; as a gift, it’s weak. You’ll either need to rebox it or put it in a gift bag to make it look decent. For something sold as a “Signature Drinks Gift Set”, I expected at least a bit more effort than plain cardboard and bubble wrap.