Spirit Matters

In the vast world of ready-to-drink cocktails, a good base spirit makes all the difference.

WORDS Kara Newman

Shortly before ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails burst onto the scene, I was invited to participate in a focus group about cocktail flavors. Together with a small group of bartenders, writers and other drinks pros, we gathered in an empty hotel bar, Aperol spritzes in hand.

A year later, I was horrified to learn what that discussion had wrought: a line of canned flavored “margaritas,” made with a malt beverage base. There was no tequila in those cans. There was no lime juice. And what was in that can was definitely not a margarita.

It was an early but important lesson: not all RTDs are created equal.

Today, premixed drinks are everywhere, from hotel minibars to sports-arena concession stands to liquor store shelves, representing a $2.2 billion market, according to 2022 data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). And while hard seltzer clearly drove early growth of the RTD trend, today, spirits-based RTDs are the fastest-growing category. In 2022, they accounted for 13 percent of the total RTD market, surging five percent from the previous year, DISCUS says.

In other words, consumers are plenty ready for a canned margarita (or paloma, or ranch water), but made with actual tequila, please. And while options abound, the truth is many are mediocre, offering poor-quality spirits masked by artificial flavors and a whole lot of carbonated mixers.

Yet, a small but growing number of RTD producers are focusing on building high-caliber premixed drinks. What do they all have in common? Recognition that a first-rate spirit is critical in building a better RTD.

“The quality of the base spirit­ matters when you are making any cocktail, whether you’re making it behind­ the bar or for a commercially scalable product like our RTDs,” says Amanda Victoria, Cofounder and CEO of Siponey Spritz Co. The flagship product, Siponey Royale, a bubbly version of a whiskey sour, is made with a “three- to five-year-old aged New York state rye whiskey,” along with wildflower honey sourced from upstate New York, lemon juice and carbonated water.

“To me, it was a no-brainer,” says Victoria of the choice to use a premium rye (she declined to specify the distillery: “from a branding perspective, we’re not in a relationship”).

“After making cocktails behind bars for a couple of a decades, it was pretty obvious that the best cocktails and the best-received cocktails were made with the best-quality spirits, best-quality citrus, best-quality ingredients and all of that. I believe you’ll create an incredible recipe if you use incredible ingredients.”

Others have chosen to partner with well-known brands as a way to signify­ an exceptional quaff. For example,­ Social Hour, a line of canned cocktails founded during the height of the pandemic by Brooklyn bar pros Julie Reiner and Tom Macy, added a George Dickel-branded Bourbon Smash to its line-up in June 2023. Previous offerings, like a peachy, vodka-based Sunkissed Fizz, and even whiskey-based drinks like a fernet-laced Prizefighter, also called out certain spirits brands, until now local Brooklyn favorites. So this was clearly a strategic move.

“In a space as saturated as canned cocktails, having a well-respected, high-quality name brand on our label does something crucial: it prompts a second glance,” explains Macy. “Considering that someone won’t look at your product for maybe more half a second on the shelf, that alone makes the partnership worthwhile.”

But it’s not just a sales ploy, he continues. A well-made (and well-known) spirit is a way to elevate even a seemingly humble canned cocktail.

“The real draw to me is having access to such an exceptional quality spirit,” says Macy. “It’s virtually impossible to source spirits this good on the open market, not to mention prohibitively expensive. This is particularly true with whiskey.”

To be fair, these are just two examples of cans that trumpet what’s inside. Most RTDs—even the good ones—don’t annotate ingredients. Which begs the question: In this golden age of RTD cocktails, why don’t most producers share what’s in the drink?

The answer is simple, says Aaron Polsky, founder of LA-based LiveWire, which partners with bartenders to release­ their original cocktails in RTD format­ (try the canned Honeydew Collins, with gin made by House Spirits, the distillery known for creating Aviation, or their newest canned cocktail, Tropipop, with Casa Magdalena Rum from Guatemala): “They don’t have to.”

While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees non-alcoholic beverages, requires ingredient and nutritional info on labels, the government agency that oversees alcoholic beverages (the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau, or the TTB) does not.

“We’re not bound by the same requirements, legally speaking,” Polsky explains. “The same way you see a bottle of Campari, there’s no ingredient statement, versus a bottle of maple syrup. It’s the same with RTDs… It’s not anything nefarious, it’s just the norm in this country. No ingredient list or nutrition info.”

In the end, accountability is key. If you want a superior ready-to-drink cocktail, you want to be confident in trusting the spirit that makes up the drink’s backbone. We’re sorry to add a little due diligence to the pleasure of a well-made drink, but for now, that’s where we are. Victoria likens the vetting process to buying a new computer, or a new car.

“Ask who is making the product,” she advises. “How are they sourcing the components? How are they working with their entire supply chain? Use that same discernment when it comes to sourcing your next canned cocktail, and you might be surprised what you find along the way.”