Ten Ready-To-Drink Cocktails Worth Sipping
From cans to bottles, these beverages are delicious and easy to serve
Ready-to-drink cocktail options can easily overwhelm as more brands continue to enter an already crowded market—where quality is often neglected. In the last few the years, and through innumerable trials, we’ve come to love so many. Today, clever canned drinks like Volley and Social Hour Cocktails populate our fridge shelves alongside the category defiant cans of Copenhagen-based flavor company Empirical and the simple, delicious pleasure of Fishers Island Lemonade. Behind our at-home bar, there are deeply impressive batched bottles like The Gold Fashioned and Hochstadter’s Slow & Low that are just as easy to serve and enjoy. The ten options below warrant attention for reasons ranging from their flavorful presence to their meticulous recipe or enjoyable effervescence. Each is also wildly different than the next.
Casalú
From co-founders Ricardo Sucre, Gabriel Gonzalez and Gustavo Darquea, Casalú‘s debut product is Limón, a crisp canned hard seltzer featuring dark rum aged for two years and fruit juice. There’s a refreshing vibrance to the beverage, which is a sensible 5.9% ABV. Limón can be found throughout Miami, but also ships to more than 20 states.
Lunar
From Asian American co-founders Sean Ro and Kevin Wong, Lunar is the first ever Asian craft hard seltzer brand. In their luscious line, Ro and Wong highlight real fruit from Asia as well as traditional Asian flavors from the immigrant and first-generation Asian American experience, including yuzu, Korean plum, lychee and passion fruit. Working in partnership with acclaimed NYC-based Asian restaurants like Win Son, Jeju Noodle Bar and Bonnie’s, Lunar has also dropped highly sought after collaborative RTD cocktails.
The Finnish Long Drink
Ever since we first tried The Finnish Long Drink in 2019, it’s been a refrigerator staple. Based on the batch cocktail developed in Finland for the 1952 Olympic Games, The Finnish Long Drink is traditionally served on tap and composed of premium gin and sparkling citrus. The canned iteration, which is 5.5% ABV, does not fail to impress or refresh.
Hercules Mulligan Rum & Rye
Based on a recipe from the historical figure Hercules Mulligan, an American Revolutionary War spy (and tailor), Hercules Mulligan Rum & Rye is a rich blend of Caribbean aged rum and American rye whiskey (in equal parts). The liquid is accentuated with macerated ginger root and bitters, lending an organic, herbaceous edge. At 43% ABV, this bottled beverage can be enjoyed over ice—though it can also be added to other cocktails for a punch.
Death & Co
From beloved NYC cocktail bar Death & Co, and crafted in collaboration with The Craft Spirits Cooperative, Death & Co’s three RTD cocktails are on par with what one would expect from sliding up to the bar within the acclaimed establishment. The three launch products include the Aurora Highball (with Woody Creek Distillers Vodka, Clear Creek Pear Brandy and Junmai Sake) at 8% ABV, the Monosail Fizz (with Bimini Gin) at 12.2% ABV and the Ranger Buck (with Woody Creek Distillers Straight Bourbon) at 11% ABV.
Dante NYC & F!VE Drinks Co
In 2020, Dante NYC (often awarded as one of the world’s best bars) partnered with F!VE Drinks Co for two extraordinary canned cocktails. Both the Summer Spritz (which is, unfortunately, no longer available) and the Americano 2.0 carry the spirit of the celebrated venue itself. The latter, which is 9.5% ABV, pairs Mancino Vermouth with amaro, Italian bitters and soda.
High West
A longtime CH favorite, Utah’s High West Distillery unveiled two whiskey-forward bottled cocktails. Our preference, the High West Manhattan Barrel Finished Cocktail, featuring straight rye whiskey and straight bourbon, is a luscious batched beverage with mouthwatering flavors of cherry and candied orange, emphasized by baking spices. At 37% ABV, it’s a pleasure on the rocks.
Golden Rule Spirits
Founded by two cousins with an eye for design and a palate that allowed them to preserve the precise flavors of two beloved cocktails, Golden Rule Spirits launched with 100ml Old Fashioned and Margarita cans. The former is 39.5% ABV and features top-shelf bourbon; the latter is 27% ABV and pairs premium tequila with fresh lime juice and triple sec.
Canteen Spirits
Vodka soda fans will delight over Canteen Spirits‘ flavorful range, which stretches from Lime to Cucumber Mint, Watermelon and more. Each product maintains 5% ABV, and finds real vodka blended with bold fruit flavors.
Cutwater
Utilizing premium tequila, popular RTD beverage brand Cutwater has rightfully amassed a following for its line of margarita-like canned cocktails (as well as vodka and rum drinks, too). Their recently launched Pineapple Margarita, at 10% ABV, marries tequila with triple sec and pineapple juice—lending a tropical freshness. Though, their 12.5% ABV Lime Margarita (or even their 5.9% ABV Ranch Water) might be the undeniable highlights.
Hero image courtesy of Giada Paoloni
