Ready-to-Drink/Premixed Cocktails
Ready-to-drink or RTD cocktails got their start as so-called “alcopop” beverages, such as Smirnoff Ice, which are malt liquor-based beverages that approximated a cocktail experience through the addition of different flavorings, generally sugar- and fruit-heavy, plus a healthy amount of carbonation. As with most alcoholic beverages, RTD products have moved upscale in recent years, with numerous craft distillers producing genuine cocktails ready to drink out of the can or bottle. These are often made with the identical ingredients you’d get if you made the cocktail from scratch, though quality tends to vary considerably.
Top Ready-to-Drink Cocktail Posts:
Zima
Cutwater Spirits Whiskey Highball and Whiskey Lemon Tea
Truly Spiked & Sparkling Water
Casamigos is the latest tequila brand to jump into the ready-to-drink space, this time with two bottles timed to take advantage of World Cup madness. The two expressions — Classic Lime and Spicy — are made with Casamigos blanco tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, and natural flavors, and both come in either 750ml or 375ml…
On a surface level, FreeAF Espresso Martini can be interpreted as either a promise or a dare. Freedom from alcohol, but also from whatever joyful, slightly disreputable physics making the real thing such a classic cocktail. This is a drink that, in its original form, rests squarely at the center of need and impulse: a…
Zeitaku Shibori is one of Japan’s top-selling RTD brands, and this year producer Asahi brings it to the U.S. — its first RTD in the States. The concept is extremely simple: vodka, “sparkling soda” — their term — and 10% fruit juice. A 12 oz can has just 100 calories and hits a mere 4%…
The Pathfinder is an up-and-coming non-alcoholic brand with a unique production method. The core product, Hemp and Root, is fermented from hemp and then distilled. The non-alcoholic spirit is then infused with a variety of botanicals, including wormwood, angelica root, ginger, sage, juniper, saffron, orange peel, and Douglas fir. Note that though it’s made from hemp,…
Korea fervor has given soju a moment of late, so it’s natural that soju would find its way to the ready-to-drink seltzer world. Hello Soju is currently offered in five flavors — many evoking the flavors you’ll find with regular soju from Korea — each made with a combination of real soju, grain neutral spirits,…
Rolling Loud is the world’s biggest hip-hop music festival, and Pit Punch is its official THC seltzer. The product is sold in 12 oz. cans containing 10mg of THC and no alcohol. Two flavors are on offer. Rolling Loud Pit Punch Fruit Punch Review Vibrantly sweet, this fizzy (yet translucent) concoction features all the trappings…
Of late, the whiskey blenders at Yellowstone have expanded from whiskey to bottled cocktails, mixed and deposited into aluminum bottles, ready-to-pour over ice. Three offerings are currently available, including and old fashioned, a bourbon-based espresso martini, and a gold rush, which we received for review. This recipe includes bourbon plus lemon and “fig honey”…
Crafthouse Cocktails has James Beard Award cred behind it courtesy of bartender Charles Joly, but it’s the approach to real ingredients and authentic recipes in its canned, RTD offerings that really caught our attention. The operation currently offers seven different canned cocktails, all 200ml in size (good for about 1.7 servings in each). They aren’t…
It was perhaps inevitable that those icons of stonerdom, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, would work their way into the THC beverage industry. And so they have: Cheech & Chong’s High & Dry and High Tea products arrived this year with fanfare at Tales of the Cocktail, and the beverages — of which there are…
In the realm of cocktails, few drinks evoke the same level of sophistication and intrigue as the Vesper Martini. Originally made famous by the iconic character James Bond in the novel Casino Royale, the Vesper is a striking blend of vodka, gin, and Lillet, capturing the essence of glamour and refinement. Now, thanks to The…