Canned Cocktails

Blasphemy, I thought. There it was, a prepackaged mojito in a grocery store. This was about a decade ago. Still, I was curious to try it, because a canned cocktail that was actually good? That could be a gateway to converting pedestrian drinkers into cocktail nerds. Sadly, there was no craft in that canned mojito. No love. It confirmed my conviction that quality drinks must be mixed, not mass-produced.

Recently, however, I popped open a daiquiri from Tip Top, an Atlanta-based company specializing in classic cocktails served in Lilliputian cans. It was, shockingly, sublime. The simple yet difficult-to-balance daiquiri is often considered a litmus test to separate ordinary bartenders from great ones. The fact that a version that stellar came from a can was revelatory. Ready-to-drink cocktails—or RTDs, as the industry calls them—are no longer what they used to be. As demand surged during the pandemic, more serious bartenders and distilleries began producing them using real spirits instead of industrial malt alcohol or vodka. Now we’re living in a golden age of the canned cocktail.

Nothing will ever quite replace the experience of being served a perfectly made cocktail to order—whether at a serious bar or at your friend’s dinner party. And there are still plenty of prepackaged drinks to avoid. But we discovered a profusion of flavorful options worth adding to your drinking—and hosting—repertoire.

Source: Esquire magazine